The man's glance fell on the statue and his lips twisted in an amused
smile. He looked up toward the rope, then down at the crowd, and then
studied the backs of the crowd and the fronts of the stores around him,
the lids of his eyes half-closed in a calculating look.
A brass plate nearby popped open, a net of delicate hairy tendrils
ran over him, and something like a length of tarred one-inch rope
snaked out and wrapped around his legs. An outraged expression crossed
his face. His hand came up. The rope yanked. He fell on the sidewalk.
The rope hauled him into the hole. The brass plate snapped shut. From
inside came a muffled report.
It occurred to Dan that Galactic was not the only organization
interested in Porcys.
Dan looked thoughtfully at the brass plate for a moment, then walked
toward the entrance of the Save-Your-Life Co., past display windows
showing weights, cables, parallel bars, trapezes and giant springs with
handles on each end.
He tried the door. It didn't move.
A clerk immediately opened the door and took Dan along a cool, chaste
hallway to an office marked "Vacation Advisor." Here a suave-looking
man made an offhand remark about the birth rate, took a sudden look
at Dan's cape, blinked, stiffened, glanced at Dan's midsection and
relaxed. He went through his files and gave Dan a big photograph
showing a smiling, healthy, middle-aged couple and a lovely girl about
nineteen.
"These are the Milbuns, sir. Mr. Milbun is a merchant at present.
Quite well-to-do, I understand. Mrs. Milbun is a housewife right now.
The daughter, Mavis, is with a midtown firm at the moment. The mother
became ill at an awkward time. The family put their vacation off for
her, and as a result their charge has run very low. If you can get to
their apartment without being--ah--swept, I feel sure they will welcome
you, sir." He scribbled a rough map on a piece of paper, drew an arrow
and wrote "6140 Runfast Boulevard, Apartment 6B," and stamped the paper
"Courtesy of Save-Your-Life Co."
Then he wished Dan a healthy vacation and walked with him to hold open
the outer door.
Dan thanked him and went outside, where the crowd was now almost
blocking the sidewalk. He forced his way free, saw someone point, and
glanced at the statue.
The wrench in the statue's left hand had been replaced by what looked
like a magnifying glass.
Dan had gone a few steps when there was a thundering cheer, then a
terrified scream high in the air behind him. He turned around and saw
a man come plummeting down. Dan gaped higher and saw a line of tiny
figures going across high up on the rope. One of the figures slipped.
There was another cheer.
Dan hurriedly turned away.
He had already convinced himself that the Porcyns had a "proper
mercantile attitude." And he thought he was beginning to get an idea as
to how they kept their population down.