'Mid Pleasures and Palaces Read online

where they are because I dug them."

  Loren remained in a half crouch, the fingers of one hand holding thepistol loosely, the other keeping up its monotonous stroking of theanimal. His eyes seemed to become vacant for a moment, as though lost inthe memory of the digging of six graves. Then they narrowed. "Where haveyou been?"

  Kirk tried to match his answer to the wants of the man. "I came as soonas I could."

  "You did?"

  "Yes," Kirk said. "I did."

  Loren's right hand stopped its stroking and his fingers tightened aboutthe thin long neck of the animal. "Eddie?" he said.

  Kirk saw the animal's left claw whipping out. He ducked suddenly, butthe claw ripped along his left arm. He tried to roll sideways, and thenhe lay, half sprawled, looking at the blood welling up from this new setof ripped ridges in his arm. He shifted his eyes to look at the animal,and he was quite certain that he could detect a small mouth fittingaround the under side of the funnel-shaped head. It was only a line, butKirk thought that there was a grinning look to it.

  "You didn't come as soon as you could," Loren said, his voice an angrytrembling sound.

  "I did, Harry," Kirk said, still remaining in his half sprawl. "I reallydid."

  Loren replaced his hand on the neck of the animal, squeezing.

  "No, no," Kirk said, and he tried to keep the panic out of his voice."Harry, I'm telling you the truth!"

  * * * * *

  Loren's mouth showed a faint surface of his yellow teeth. He shook hishead, slowly, back and forth, his fingers tightening about the animal'sneck.

  "Harry, listen," Kirk said, watching Loren's squeezing fingers, "it'sover now. You don't have to wait any longer. I'll take you back now.I'll take you home!"

  Loren froze, staring. "Home?" he said.

  "That's right," Kirk said. "That's right, Harry."

  "_Home_," Loren breathed, and his eyes were suddenly like a child's,wide and unbelieving.

  "The waiting's all over," Kirk said. "You don't have to wait anylonger."

  "I don't have to wait any longer," Loren repeated softly, and his handdropped from the neck of the animal.

  Kirk watched Loren and the swaying animal. "The rocket's ready," hesaid.

  Loren's eyes were lost in some distant memory. Gradually Kirk could seethe eyes turn shiny with tears. "Is Annette waiting?" he asked.

  Kirk thought quickly. He knew that what he was going to say shouldn't besaid, because he had no right. But he was thinking of his own skin."Why, yes, Harry," he said slowly. "I imagine Annette _is_ waiting."

  Loren let a quick breath come through his teeth. "Annette," hewhispered. "And Dickie?"

  "Dickie?" Kirk said.

  "Little Dickie?" Loren said and he held his breath.

  "Oh, yes," Kirk lied. "Of course."

  "I can't ask about Eddie, because we never had the chance," Loren said,his eyes still lost. "I always told Annette that no kid should ever growup without a brother, only we never had the chance for Eddie." Lorenreached out absently and touched the brown and yellow neck of thecreature. "I called this fellow Eddie, though. Do you suppose that wasall right? He's not very pretty."

  Kirk nodded, looking at the waving, funnel-shaped head of the animal."That was all right, Harry."

  "Does she still braid her hair?" Loren asked, his eyes shiny.

  "What?" Kirk said.

  "Annette. Does she still braid her hair?"

  "Why," Kirk said slowly, feeling his palms going moist. "Why wouldn'tshe, Harry?"

  A faint smile flickered across Loren's lips as he remembered.

  Kirk watched one of the creature's claws, out of the corners of hiseyes. He opened and closed the fingers of one hand, testing. The clawjerked slightly.

  The blood of Kirk's new wound was drying, he knew, because it had beenonly a surface cut. He wondered how it would be if the thing used itsclaws with serious intent. Like it must have to make the cut that hadbeen raked into Loren's back. Loren was bending forward now, and Kirkcould see the tip end of that scar. Somehow Loren had managed to stayalive and befriend the creature. Eddie. The lidless eyes stared.

  Kirk knew that he had to make use of the moment. It could break apartany time, the wildness could return, the unreasoning....

  "Listen, Harry," he said, "we ought to get started, you know. There's nouse waiting longer."

  "Started?" Loren said.

  "Of course," Kirk said, trying to keep his voice matter-of-fact."You're going home."

  Loren looked at Kirk and his eyes turned suddenly hard and his mouthlost the faint smile. "I am," he stated flatly.

  "Yes," Kirk said. "Of course."

  "You're a liar."

  "Now, Harry," Kirk said, his eyes flickering to the waiting animal. "Isurely wouldn't lie to you."

  "You haven't come for me until after all this time, and now you say yousurely wouldn't lie to me."

  It was like standing in a gully, Kirk thought, watching a boulderteetering above you. It tipped this way and that, and you didn't knowwhen or if it was going to come hurtling down. You waited. But Kirkcouldn't wait, he knew. He had to do something.

  "Harry, listen. It wasn't easy to find you, don't you see?" He hoped hewas making it sound as though all he had done for the last dozen yearsof exploring was look for Harry Loren. He wished that the damned thingwould stop swaying its ugly head back and forth. Loren's hand wasinching out toward the yellow and brown neck.

  "Look, Harry, these things aren't done in a day. We--"

  "A day!" Loren hissed. "A _day_! All this time and you say a _day_!"

  "No, I'm sorry," Kirk said quickly. He wished he could shift out of thecramped half-lying position he was in. "I didn't mean a day, Harry. Imeant it wasn't easy. We didn't know where you were--" He was talkingquickly, whining almost, and he'd never whined before.

  Loren's fingers were touching the waving neck.

  "We'd better hurry," Kirk said desperately. "Annette's waiting. AndDickie, of course."

  Loren blinked.

  "You wouldn't want to keep them waiting any longer, not after all thistime, Harry."

  Loren stroked his fingers slowly down the long neck of the animal.

  "I think," Kirk said, almost hoarsely, "now that I really remember it,Annette _was_ still wearing her hair braided. I remember that now,Harry. Positively."

  Loren froze the motion of his hand and stared at Kirk. His lipstrembled, and then suddenly he put his hands in front of his face. Hebent forward, and Kirk felt his nerves jumping, watching the man startto cry.

  The animal turned its stare away from Kirk for the first time. It lookedat Loren and then slowly raised a claw, touching Loren's shouldercarefully. It made a sound then, a peculiar hissing sound, soft, barelyaudible. There was no danger in it, or menace, only a pitiful sound.

  Loren raised his head a little and brought his hands away from his face.Tears had cut through dust and grime and his face was streaked.

  "Shall we go, Harry?" Kirk said.

  Loren wiped at his eyes, stupidly, without knowing what he was doing.Then he brought his hands down and wiped them across his chest.

  "All right," he said. "Let's go." He picked up Kirk's pistol from wherehe had dropped it on the ground and held it out.

  Kirk looked at the gun and at the animal. The claw had been drawn awayfrom Loren's shoulder and again it was poised, ready. "You keep it,Harry," he said.

  "Oh, yes. Of course," Loren said. There was a moment of silence as Lorenstuck the pistol absently into the waist of his ragged cloth covering,beside the knife. The three of them waited then, Kirk, Loren, and theanimal.

  "Eddie?" Loren said finally. "Are you ready?"

  * * * * *

  Kirk felt himself smiling in the direction of the animal. He rememberedwhen he was a small boy, going by a house where there had been a mongrelwith a flat head and large teeth. He had smiled at that animal as he wasdoing now. The dog had sensed his fear in spite of the smile.

&n
bsp; Loren was standing up slowly, and the animal's head swayed in slowcircling motions.

  "All right?" Loren said.

  Kirk glanced at the man, saw the wild, nearly vacant look of the face,the polite tilt of the head. Kirk's palms were wet. Goddamn it, hethought, and he stood up suddenly.

  The animal extended a claw, slowly, turning it so that it seemed to windand circle as it came