Astounding British Edition, Vol. 9, No. 7 — page 24: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

~ and, as Cardon hesitated, added: : 2 he said as Prestonby approached. “Are you alone?” “Doug Yetsko’s all,” Prestonby said, “Don’t be silly, Frank; he’s my bodyguard. What could I be in that he wouldn’t _know all about?” Cardon nodded. “Well, we’re in a jam up to here.” A handwave conveyed the impression that the sea of troubles had risen to his chin. He spoke at some length, describing the fight between Chester Pel- ton and Stephen S. Bayne, the Literate strike at Pelton’s Purchasers’ Paradise, Pelton’s heart attack, and the circum- stances of Claire’s opening the safe. “So you see,” he finished. “Maybe Latterman tried to kill Pelton, maybe he just tried to do what he did. I can’t take chances either way.” Prestonby thought furiously. “You say Claire’s alone at the store with her father?” “And a couple of store cops, sterling characters with the hearts of lions and the brains of goldfish,” Cardon replied. “And Russ Latterman, and maybe four or five Conservative goons he’s managed to infiltrate into the store.” Prestonby was still thinking, aloud, now. “Maybe they did mean to kill Pel- ton; in that case, theyll try again. Or maybe they only wanted to expose Claire’s literacy. It’s hard to say what else they’d try—maybe kidnap her, to truth-drug her and use her as a guest-artist on a Conser- vative telecast. I’m going over to the store, now.” “That’s a good idea, Ralph. If you hadn’t thought of it, I was going to sug- gest it. Land on the central stage, ask for Sergeant Coccozello of the store police, and give my name. Even aside from everything else, it'd be a good idea to have somebody there who can read and dares admit it, till a new crew of Literates can get there. You were speaking about the possibility of kidnapping; how about the boy? Ray?” Prestonby nodded. “T’ll have him come here to my office, and stay there till I get back; Tl have Yetsko stay with him.” He turned to where the big man in black leather stood guard at the door. “Doug, go get Ray Pelton and bring him here. ASTOUNDING SCIENCE FICTION Check with Miss Collins for where he’d be, now.” He turned back to the screen. “Anything else, Frank?” “Isn’t that enough?” the brewer- Literate demanded. “T’ll call you at the store, after a while. “Bye.” The screen darkened as Cardon broke the connection. Prestonby got to his feet, went to his desk, and picked up a pipe, digging out the ashes from the bowl with an ice pick that one of the teachers had taken from a_ sixteen-year-old would-be murderer. He checked his tablet gun, made sure there was an extra loaded clip in the holster, and got two more spare clips from the arms locker. Then, to make sure, he called Pelton’s store, talking for a while to the police sergeant Cardon had mentioned. By the time he was finished, the door opened and Yetsko ushered Ray Pelton in. | “What’s happened?” the boy asked. “Doug told me that the Senator... my father . . . had another heart attack.” “Yes, Ray. I don’t believe he’s in any great danger. He’s at the store, resting in his office.” He went on to tell the boy what had happened, exactly in full detail. He was only fifteen, but already he had completed the four-reading course and he could think a great deal more logically than seventy per cent of the people who were legally entitled to vote. Ray lis- tened seriously, and proved Prestonby’s confidence justified by nodding. “Frame-up,” he said succinctly. “Stinks like a glue factory of a put-up job. Some- thing’s going to happen to Russ Latter- man, one of these days.” “T think you’d better let Frank Cardon take care of him, Ray,” Prestonby ad- vised. “I think there are more angles to this than he told me. Now, I’m going over to the store. Somebody’s got to stay with Claire. I want you to stay here, in this room. If anybody sends you any message supposed to be from me, just ignore it. It'll be a trap. If I want to get in touch with you, Pil call you, with vision- — image.” “Mean somebody might try to kidnap me, or Claire, to force the Senator to withdraw, or something?” Ray asked, his eyes widening. “You catch on quickly, Ray,” Preston- Eomichbooks.co