"But they can't do this!" George protested.
"They have."
Sidney's hand shook as he picked up the sheaf of papers holding Huk's
story. Indicating it and the photographs, he said, "Well, they haven't
taken these away."
"Haven't they?" asked George. He picked up some of the pictures. "Look."
Sidney looked and saw that the pictures were now blank. His glance went
quickly to the typewritten sheets of paper in his hands. He cried out
and then shuffled them frantically.
They, too, were blank.
Sidney jumped up. "I don't care!" he exclaimed. "He told me and I've got
it here!" He pointed to his head. "I can remember it, anyway."
"Can you?" asked George.
"Why, certainly I can," Sidney asserted confidently. "The reason the
cliff dwellers left, George, was that they ..." Sidney stopped.
"What's the matter, Sid?"
"Well, I--it--I guess it just slipped my mind for a second." His brow
puckered. He looked acutely upset and mystified. "Huk told me," he
faltered. "Just a minute ago I was thinking of it when I started to tell
you. Now ... I can't remember."
"That's gone, too."
"I'll get it!" Sidney declared. "I've just forgotten it for a minute.
I'll remember!"
"No," said George, "you won't."
Sidney looked around. "There must be something left." He thought. "The
atlatl lances they shot at us!" He looked at the U-Haul-It. The lances
no longer stuck in its side. Nor were those that had fallen to the
ground to be seen.
Sidney sat down again, heavily. "We had it all," he moaned. "Everything
we'd been working for. And now ..."
"Now we'll have to dig for it again," said George. "Do it the hard way.
We'll start tomorrow when the workmen come."
Sidney looked up. "There's one thing!" he cried. "The dent in the car
made by the lance! It's still there, George! However everything else
worked, that was forgotten. It's still there!"
George glanced at the dent in the side panel of the station wagon. "It's
still there," he agreed. "But only to tell us this wasn't a dream. No
one else would believe it wasn't caused by a rock."
George groaned. He stared at the rise of ground behind which the Indians
had disappeared. "Huk," he pleaded. "Good Fox. Moon Water. The others.
Come back, come back ..."
No one appeared over the rise of ground as the cool desert night began
to close in.
Transcriber's Note:
This etext was produced from _Fantastic Universe_ November 1956.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S.
copyright on this publication was renewed. Minor spelling and
typographical errors have been corrected without note.