Short Stories by Robert A. Heinlein Vol 2 Part 113

Charlie had been watching in queasy fascination. "Trouble?"

"Egg sac is full. They're going to-swarm."

"That's bad, isn't it?"

"Some. They swarm every three, four years." Hans' hesitated. "We'd better skip seeing my land. Got to tell Paw, so they'll keep the kids in."

"Okay, let's get started."

"We'll eat lunch first. Ten minutes won't matter-they aren't really swarming yet, or this one wouldn't have been alone." -

Charlie started to say that he wasn't interested in lunch-not this lunch-but Hans was already starting a fire. -

What was left in the exoskeleton was clean milkywhite meat, lean flying muscle. Hans cut out chunks, toasted them over the fire, salted them from a pocket shaker. "Have some."

"Uh, I'm not hungry."

"You're crazy in the head, too. Here, Nixie." Nixie had been waiting politely but with his nose quivering. He snapped the tidbit out of the air, gulped it down, waited still more eagerly while Hans ate the next piece.

It did smell good. . . and it looked good, when he kept his mind off the source. Charlie's mouth began to water. Hans looked up. "Change your mind?"

"Uh. . . let me tastc just a bite."

It reminded Charlie of crab meat. A few minutes later the exoskeleton was stripped too clean to interest even Nixie. Charlie stood up, burped gently, and said, "Ready?"

"Yeah. Uh, Chuck, one thing I do want to show you. . . and there's a way back above it maybe quicker than the way we came."

"What is it?"

"You'll see." Hans headed off in a new direction. Charlie wondered how Hans had picked it without the aid of a compa.s.s bug.

In a- few minutes they were going downhill. Hans stopped. "Hear it?"

Charlie listened, seemed to pick out a soft roar under the ever-present multiple voice of the jungle. "It's not a dragonfly?"

"Of course not. You've got ears."

"What is it?" Hans did not reply, led on. Presently they broke into a clearing, or rather a room, for the jungle closed in overhead. It enclosed a delightful, surprising waterfall; the muted roar was its song. "Isn't that swell?"-

"It sure is," Charlie agreed. "I haven't seen anything so pretty in years."

"Sure, it's pretty. But that's not the point. My land is just above. I'll put a water wheel here and have my own power." Hans led his two friends down near it, began to talk excitedly about his plans. The noise of falling water was so great that he had to shout.

So neither one of them heard it. Charlie heard Nixie bark, turned his head and saw it at the last moment. "Hans! Dragon!"

Too late-the thing nailed Hans between his shoulder blades. It laid no eggs; Charlie killed it, crushed it with his hands. But Hans had already been stung.

Charlie wiped his trembling hands. on his pants and looked down at his chum. Hans had collapsed even as Charlie had killed the thing; he lay crumpled on the ground. Charlie bent over him. "Hans! Hans, answer me!"

Hans' -eyelids fluttered. "Get Paw."

"Hans. . . can you stand up?"

"Sorry. . . Cbuck"-then very feebly, "My fault." His eyes stayed open, but Charlie could get no more out of him. -

Even in his distress Charlie's training stayed with him. He could not find Hans' pulse, so he listened for his heart.. . was rewarded and greatly relieved by a steady, strong flub-a-dub!.. . flub-a-dub! Hans looked ghastly- but apparently it was true that they just paralyzed; they didn't kill.

But what to do?

Hans had said to get his father. Sure-but how? Could he find his way to the house? Even if he could, could he lead them back here? No, he wouldn't have to-surely Mr. Kuppenheimer would know where the waterfall was that Hans meant to harness. So what he had to do was simply get back. Now let's see; they had come down the bank there-and after they had crossed the stream-it must be this same stream; they hadn't gone over any watershed. Or had they?

Well, it had better be the same stream, else he was lost beyond hope. Back through the bush, then and across the stream- How was he going to-cut back in and hit the stream at the place where it could be forded? The bush all looked pretty much alike.

Maybe he had better go downstream along the bank until he hit it. Then cross, and if he could find a compa.s.s bug, he could strike off in the general direction of the Kuppenheimers until he came to civilization. He remembered which way base was when they had first started out; that would orient him.

Or would it? They had gone first to that place that couldn't be pa.s.sed without a flamer-but where had they gone then? How many turns? Which way were they heading when they reached the place where he had not quite seen a kteela?

Well, he would just have to try. At least he could get onto the same side of the stream as the plantation.

Nixie had been sniffing at Hans' still body. Now he began to whine steadily. "Shut up, you!" Charlie snapped. "I don't want any trouble out of you, too."

Nixie shut up.

Charlie decided that he couldn't leave Hans; he would have to take him with him. He kneeled down and started wrestling Hans' limp body into a fireman's carry, while wondering miserably whether or not Hans had told his mother where they were going? Or if it would do any good if he had, since they were not where Hans had originally intended to take them.

"Heel, Nixie."

An indefinitely long time later Charlie put Hans down on the ground in a fairly open place. It had taken only a few minutes of struggle to convince him that he could not carry Hans along the bank of the stream. A man might have been able to carve his way through with a machete-but while Charlie had two machetes he could not swing them and carry Hans as well. After giving that route up, he abandoned one machete by the waterfall, thinking that Hans could find it there some other day. He was tempted to abandon both, for the one on his belt was heavy and got in his way, but he decided that he might have to have it; they had done plenty of chopping in getting here.

So he set out again, this time trying to retrace their steps through the bush, hoping to spot the places they had chopped to help him find his way.

He never- spotted such- a sign; the living green maze swallowed all such puny marks.

After a long time he decided to go back to the familiar waterfall-he would stay there, nurse Hans, filter water for them all, and wait. Surely Mr. Kuppenheimer would eventually think of the waterfall!

So he turned back.. . and could not find the waterfall. Not even the stream.

He walked through something. He couldn't see- it, there were branches in his face. Whatever it was it clung to his legs like red-hot wires; he stumbled and almost dropped Hans getting free of it. Then his leg did not stop paining him. The fiery burning dropped off a little but a numbness crept up his right leg.

He was glad indeed to put Hans on the ground at the first fairly open place he came to. He sat down and rubbed his leg, then checked Hans-still breathing, heart still beating. . . but out like a light.

Nixie sniffed Hans again, then looked up and whined inquiringly. "I can't help it," Charlie said to him. "He's a mess. I'm a mess. You're a mess, too."

Nixie barked.

"I will, I will.. . just as soon as I can move. Don't hurry me. How would you like to carry him for a while?"

Charlie continued to rub his leg. The pain was going away but the numbness was worse. At last he said to Nixie, "I guess we ought to try it, pal. Wait a second while I look for a compa.s.s bug-the way I f~gure it, we came mostly base, so I guess we ought to try to head reverse." He glanced at his wrist to see what time it was.