The Andre Norton Megapack - 15 Classic Novels and Short Stories

“Please, Peter, don’t tell Thane I let Sergeant Brown off. You can see how all right it is,” she said urgently.
    “Well, then, if you insist on deception, you’d better come to the airport with us and keep Carey amused until Jim gets back. When will that be?”
    “Before dark, he said.”
    Peter looked at his watch. “Three-twenty. I guess you can string Carey along that long. But you’re not to come back here until your protector returns. Go to the inn, if necessary. I don’t want you to be here alone. Understand?”
    “Yes,” Fredericka answered. She was torn between joy at his concern and anger at his officiousness. Surely she could look after herself. Everything had been quiet for days now.
    Thane Carey was now banging at the front door. When Fredericka and Peter joined him, he said at once: “Where’s Jim?”
    “Gone for a coke,” Peter said quickly. “It’s O.K. I did duty for him and now Fredericka’s coming along to wave me goodbye.”
    Thane grinned. “O.K.,” he said, “but I’m not sure I like your interfering with the law like this.”
    They piled into Thane’s small car and it was not long before Fredericka realized that its size was deceptive. She watched the speedometer creep up to seventy with some anxiety.
    “Come, Carey,” Peter said, “we’re not all that late, are we?”
    Thane grinned again; “Police privilege.”
    “Showing off,” Peter remarked and then added with more firmness, “Come on, Carey, if you could see Fredericka’s face you’d know she doesn’t like it any more than your wife does.”
    “O.K. O.K.” Thane answered amiably and the car slowed imperceptibly. “Good car though, isn’t it?” he asked Fredericka.
    “Wonderful,” Fredericka managed.
    “You women are all the same,” Thane said. He was now driving at a steady fifty. “You’d rather creep along like this, than fly and be free and, incidentally, just as safe with a good man at the wheel. But you’d never hesitate to dash across the road in front of a bus or hop on a moving train.”
    “Well, if they do those things and I say if, then they’re in a good position to realize the hazards of fast driving,” Peter contributed. “Now if a female jumped out from the roadside when you were doing eighty plus, you’d save her life, no doubt, by smashing up the car and killing yourself.”
    “Not a chance of it. But I see your reasoning.” Thane laughed.
    “I guess it’s as well for me to keep quiet,” Fredericka said, “since I’m so outnumbered, and just a female.”
    “How wise you are, Fredericka. Now if only my wife—you know Connie, don’t you.” He broke off abruptly: “Do you know, friends, we’re here. In spite of having to crawl, I believe it’s a record, even for me.”
    There was no sign of the plane on the field so they all climbed out of the car and went into the barracklike wooden building where they found a counter and hot coffee. As they sat on their stools and, by mutual consent, talked quietly about unimportant matters, the door banged open suddenly and Roger Sutton came charging into the room. He went first to the ticket window and they could hear him asking in a loud voice if the plane was late. He then turned as if to come over to the counter but, seeing the others, he swerved quickly and hurried off toward the door.
    Peter got down from his stool and called to the retreating back.
    If Roger heard, he took no notice, but Peter followed him outside.
    “He acts frightened,” Fredericka observed.
    “I think it’s just his usual shyness,” Thane said slowly. “I’ve got to know him better since the—well, since I’ve been spending so much of my time at the Farm, and I like him. In fact, I would say that the hope for that family lies there.”
    “But hundreds of men must have had worse face injuries than his—in fact I’ve seen plenty of them in the library in New York. If he has stuff in him why can’t he rise above it?” For some reason she did not want to confess to Thane that she had talked to Roger in the woods and seen his naked hatred for his sister.
    “I’m no psychiatrist, Fredericka, but I would say that some of the best men are the most sensitive. If this last operation is successful, he’ll look a lot better and then if only he could marry and feel like a normal human being…”
    “When I first heard about the family I imagined he and Philippine might have more than a cousinly feeling toward each other but now James Brewster