Stranger in a Strange Land

other girl had a tall glass at her elbow.
                "Mind your own business," Harshaw advised without rancor. "The hydrochloric acid is good for the digestion; the beetle adds vitamins and protein." He raised his glass to Jill and said solemnly, "Here's to our noble selves! There are damned few of us left." He almost emptied his glass, replenished it before he set it down.
                Jill took a cautious sip, then a much bigger one. Whatever the true ingredients, the drink seemed to be exactly what she needed; a warm feeling of well-being spread gently from her center of gravity toward her extremities. She drank about half of it, let Harshaw add a dividend. "Look in on our patient?" he asked.
                "No, sir. I didn't know where he was."
                "I checked him a few minutes ago. Sleeping like a baby-I think I'll rename him Lazarus. Do you think he would like to come down to dinner?"
                Jill looked thoughtful. "Doctor, I really don't know."
                "Well, if he wakes I'll know it. Then he can join us, or have a tray, as he wishes. This is Freedom Hall, my dear. Everyone does absolutely as he pleases . . . then if he does something I don't like, I just kick him the hell out. Which reminds me: I don't like to be called 'Doctor.'"
                "Sir?"
                "Oh, I'm not offended. But when they began handing out doctorates for comparative folk dancing and advanced fly-fishing, I became too stink in' proud to use the title. I won't touch watered whiskey and I take no pride in watered-down degrees. Call me Jubal."
                "Oh. But the degree in medicine hasn't been watered down, as you call it."
                "No. But it is time they called it something else, so as not to have it mixed up with playground supervisors. Never mind. Little girl, just what is your interest in this patient?"
                "Eh? I told you. Doct-Jubal."
                "You told me what happened; you didn't tell me why. Jill, I saw the way you looked at him and spoke to him. Do you think you are in love with him?"
                Jill was startled. She glanced at Dorcas; the other girl appeared not to be hearing the conversation. "Why, that's preposterous!"
                "I don't see anything preposterous about it. You're a girl; he's a boy- that's usually a nice setup."
                "But- No, Jubal, it's not that at all. I .. well, I thought he was being held a prisoner and I thought-or Ben thought-that he might be in danger. I wanted to see him get his rights."
                "Mmmm ... my dear, I'm always suspicious of a disinterested interest. You look as if you had a normal glandular balance, so it is my guess that it is either Ben, or this poor boy from Mars, or both. You had better take your motives out in private and have a look at them. Then you will be better able to judge which way you are going. In the meantime, what do you want me to do?"
                The unqualified scope of the question made it difficult for Jill to answer. What did she want? What did she expect? From the time she had crossed her Rubicon she had thought of nothing but escape-and getting to Harshaw's home. She had no plans. "I don't know."
                "I thought not. You had told me enough to let me know that you were A.W.O.L. from your hospital, so, on the assumption that you might wish to protect your license, I took the liberty, while you were asleep, of having a message Sent from Montreal to your Chief of Nursing. You asked for two weeks emergency leave because of sudden illness in your family. Okay? You can back it up with details later."
                Jill felt sudden and shaking relief. By temperament she had buried all worry about her own welfare once she had made her decision; nevertheless down inside her was a heavy lump caused by what she had done to an on the whole excellent professional standing. "Oh, Jubal, thank you!" She added, "I'm not really delinquent in watch standing yet; today was my day off."
                "Good. Then you are covered like a tent. What do you want to do?"
                "I haven't had time to think. Uh, I suppose I should get in touch with my bank and get some money-" She paused, trying to recall what her bank balance was. It was never large and sometimes she forgot to- Jubal