And then he saw that she intended to bribe him in the only way she knew
how, and he said, "Don't worry, I won't tell Don."
He saw relief on her face, and then he was out of the apartment,
shaken. He felt as if he had been kicked in the stomach, and he was
sickened and his hand trembled. He wanted to talk to someone and try to
explain it.
Hertha was waiting when he came out to the street.
* * * * *
The fever passed; control of his body returned.
"For you?" Hertha asked.
He half propped himself up on the cot. He waved his hand weakly. "Those
dead plants. You must throw them out and bring in more."
He listened tensely, imagining that he could hear the precious oxygen
hiss in from the emergency tank to freshen and revitalize the dead air.
Halfway down on the dial. Not enough for ten days, even for one person,
unless the air was replenished by bringing in plants.
"Hertha, we've got to purify this air. Now listen. Listen carefully,
Hertha. You've seen me dig up those plants on the outside?"
"Yes, I watch when you go out. I always watch, Jimmy."
"Good. You've got to do the same thing. You've got to go out and dig up
some plants. You've got to bring them in here and plant them the way I
did. You know which ones they are?"
"Yes," she said.
He closed his eyes, trying to think of a way to make her see how vital
a thing a tiny plant could be. The complex chemistry of it bubbled to
the surface of his mind. He wanted to tell her why the plants died in
the artificial human atmosphere and had to be replaced every week or
so. He wanted to tell her, but he was growing weaker.
"They purify the air by releasing oxygen. You understand?"
She nodded her head dumbly.
"You must bring in a great many plants, Hertha. Remember that--a
_great_ many. Don't forget that. When you go outside, through the
locks, we lose air. Air is very precious, so you must bring in a great
many plants."
"Yes, Jimmy."
"And you must plant them as I did."
"Yes, Jimmy."
He began to talk faster, in a race with the growing fever.
"I've gathered most of the oxygenating plants around the hut. So you
may have to go into the forest to get enough."
"The--the forest?"
"You _must_, Hertha! You _must_!"
Her mouth twisted as if she were ready to cry. "For you. Yes, for you I
will go into the forest."
The fever came back. His mind wandered away.
* * * * *
He was walking in the open air. He walked from Nineshime to Venus, down
Venus to Windopole, up Windopole to "The Grand Eagle and Barrel." He
went in. Hertha came with him and sat down by his side at the bar.