Cole relaxed. "Fine. That's fine." He turned his attention back to the
box resting between his knees. "Then I'll fix it for you. I'll fix it
for you good."
His fingers flew, working and twisting, tracing down wires and relays,
exploring and examining. Finding out about the inter-system vidsender.
Discovering how it worked.
Steven slipped into the house through the emergency door. He made his
way to the kitchen with great care, walking on tip-toe. He punched the
kitchen controls at random, his heart beating excitedly. The stove
began to whirr, purring into life. Meter readings came on, crossing
toward the completion marks.
Presently the stove opened, sliding out a tray of steaming dishes. The
mechanism clicked off, dying into silence. Steven grabbed up the
contents of the tray, filling his arms. He carried everything down the
hall, out the emergency door and into the yard. The yard was dark.
Steven felt his way carefully along.
He managed to reach the guide-light without dropping anything at all.
Thomas Cole got slowly to his feet as Steven came into view. "Here,"
Steven said. He dumped the food onto the curb, gasping for breath.
"Here's the food. Is it finished?"
Cole held out the inter-system vidsender. "It's finished. It was
pretty badly smashed."
Earl and Sally gazed up, wide-eyed. "Does it work?" Sally asked.
"Of course not," Earl stated. "How could it work? He couldn't--"
"Turn it on!" Sally nudged Steven eagerly. "See if it works."
Steven was holding the box under the light, examining the switches. He
clicked the main switch on. The indicator light gleamed. "It lights
up," Steven said.
"Say something into it."
Steven spoke into the box. "Hello! Hello! This is operator 6-Z75
calling. Can you hear me? This is operator 6-Z75. Can you hear me?"
In the darkness, away from the beam of the guide-light, Thomas Cole
sat crouched over the food. He ate gratefully, silently. It was good
food, well cooked and seasoned. He drank a container of orange juice
and then a sweet drink he didn't recognize. Most of the food was
strange to him, but he didn't care. He had walked a long way and he
was plenty hungry. And he still had a long way to go, before morning.
He had to be deep in the hills before the sun came up. Instinct told
him that he would be safe among the trees and tangled growth--at
least, as safe as he could hope for.
He ate rapidly, intent on the food. He did not look up until he was
finished. Then he got slowly to his feet, wiping his mouth with the
back of his hand.
The three children were standing around in a circle, operating the
inter-system vidsender. He watched them for a few minutes. None of
them looked up from the small box. They were intent, absorbed in what
they were doing.
"Well?" Cole said, at last. "Does it work all right?"
After a moment Steven looked up at him. There was a strange expression
on his face. He nodded slowly. "Yes. Yes, it works. It works fine."
Cole grunted. "All right." He turned and moved away from the light.
"That's fine."
The children watched silently until the figure of Thomas Cole had
completely disappeared. Slowly, they turned and looked at each other.
Then down at the box in Steven's hands. They gazed at the box in
growing awe. Awe mixed with dawning fear.
Steven turned and edged toward his house. "I've got to show it to my
Dad," he murmured, dazed. "He's got to know. _Somebody's_ got to
know!"