"I am trying to say, sir, leave your Miss Britain who did not quite
make it and fly away with me to Alpha Centauri--"
"Oh, come now," Twitty said laughing. "In that brief toggery you expect
me to believe you are some moon maiden from a midsummer night's dream
and go wandering with you through loveland in the sky? Go back to your
fairy tale, Miss--"
"Gelerie."
"Gelerie what?"
"Gelerie is all they gave me in the Alpha Centauri group. We have a
home-grown vehicle waiting in the woods. And a leafboat at the foot of
Forty-second Street to carry us under its own power to the site of the
vehicle. We covered the vehicle with driftwood to protect it lest some
Earthling should swipe it and Homekind be forced to grow us another."
Twitty called over his shoulder. "Brighton? Take over for a little
while. I shall return by and by." But the allure of the woman creature
in short pants was drawing him near. "May I see this thing in the
woods?"
"Of course," she said, and she could feel the mental smile of Threlkeld
inside her brain as it seemed to take a deep, relieved breath.
They descended the elevator and come out at the main exit. Twitty
bolted forward and grabbed a guard by the arm. "Sir, I wish you to
arrest this woman on suspicion as an alien from outer space or a
candidate for Bellevue."
A burly guard with a kind face looked into Gelerie's eyes. Now her
father's brain was at anxiety's peak, calling the plays. "Go ahead,
double your fingers into a fist, shove it forward, now, under his jaw--"
"But--" Gelerie was stammering.
"No buts!" Threlkeld's internal instructions poured. "When Homekind
made you beautiful, my dear, they also made you big. You are an Amazon."
"Amazon?"
"No time to explain," he said. "Let the bruiser have one!"
Gelerie shrugged and took a swing. The arms of the guard shot skyward,
and the big, hulking body in uniform fell backwards and plopped against
the floor. As he rose up, shouting, Gelerie grabbed the slim Mr. Twitty
around the waist, lifted him bodily and ran like a sudden gale through
the lobby, out the door, down the ramp and to the river. With an
Olympic leap, she made it to the stable, sturdy leafboat.
* * * * *
On orders from Homekind the craft quietly slid toward the trysting
place. Gelerie was aware of a flood of congratulations from her father
in her brain.
Twitty was red with humiliation. "You know, of course, they will be
flying over us momentarily. You'll be courtmartialed, or whatever it
is they do to the American kidnapers of international diplomatic corps
persons."
"You don't like me," Gelerie pouted. "I came all the way from Alpha
Centauri to take you home with me and you don't even as much as like
me."
The young Englishman lifted Gelerie's chin and studied her tears. "By
jove, they are not crocodilian. I believe you are serious. You are
innocent and serious... strong, of course, but innocent."
"I love you. I want no one but you," she said.
"I can see there would be an advantage in a fellow my size having a
wife your size," he said reflectively. "But Babs would never approve."
Gelerie shrugged her broad shoulders. She hugged herself lovingly.
"Babs can always get another fellow. I'll never be able to get another
guy."
"Why? Are you planning to resign from the human race?"
"That's exactly it," she agreed. "However, if I get you to come back
with me, Homekind may consent to my staying in the human form and
living with you the rest of my life."
Twitty laughed. "Boys, come and get me," he muttered at the sky.
Threlkeld stayed on guard mentally, and Gelerie depressed into a
morose, human activity known as sinking one's head into one's knees.
The U.K. man's laugh turned abruptly to awe when he saw the helicopter
flutter over them and land on a spot of riverbank just ahead. Vaguely
he could see military pilots, and two civilians hop out and run for the
woods. He watched with disturbed concern as the leafboat made a sharp
right turn of its own volition and headed for the bank.
Now Gelerie arose, picked him up by the waist and carried him bodily
toward the gathering. The militia were uncovering the seed pod.
"Twitty," one of the men called. "What in heaven's name is she doing to
you?"
"You'll never guess," he fumed. "She's taking me to Alpha Centauri."
"You don't mean it!" his crony replied. "Whatever will Babs think?"
The military men ran back to the group. "Cadogan, sir. I believe you'd
better come look. That clay mound behind all the rubble. It is just
like the old man said it would be."
Gelerie looked and saw her father at the vehicle. She raced forward
with Twitty scratching and kicking.
Cadogan said, "We found the old man wandering aimlessly. We asked him
to show us where he came from. He kept pointing until we landed here.
He has an excellent memory, but something has control of him. Something
very sinister and weird, Twitty."
Inside, Gelerie was getting a strong command from Threlkeld. "Get
close, much closer. How can I effect a transit until you come within
the required distance?"