"I can see the light!"
"You--that's wonderful, sir!"
"I can see the light! Dammit, where are you? Take me outside!"
"It's no brighter out there, sir." Murdoch was dismayed. He'd counted
on another day before Waverill's sight began to return; with a chance
to arrange a broken drinking glass, a knife in Waverill's way,
something to bring blood in an apparent accident. Now....
"Take me outside!"
"Yes, sir." Murdoch, his mind spinning, guided the older man.
The door slid open for them and Waverill crowded through. As he stepped
on the gravel with his bare feet, he said, "Ouch! Damn it!"
"Step lightly, sir, and it won't hurt." Murdoch had a sudden wild hope
that Waverill would cut his feet on a sharp pebble. But there were no
sharp pebbles; they were all rounded; and the light gravity made it
even more unlikely.
Waverill raised his head and swung it to the side. "I can see spots of
light up there."
"The sunlamps, sir. They're getting brighter."
"I can see where they are." The older man's voice was shaky. He looked
toward Murdoch. "I can't see you, though."
"It'll come back gradually, sir. Why don't you have breakfast now?"
Waverill told him what to do with breakfast. "I want to stay out here.
How bright is it now? Is it like full daylight yet?"
"No, sir. It'll be a while yet. You'll be able to feel it on your
skin." Murdoch was clammy with the fear that the other's sight would
improve too fast. He looked around for some sharp corner, some twig he
could maneuver the man into. He didn't see anything.
"What's that sweet smell?" Waverill wanted to know.
"Flowers, sir. There's a blossoming hedge around the walkways."
"I'll be able to see flowers again. I'll...." The older man caught
himself as if ashamed. "Tell me what this place looks like."
Murdoch described the grounds, meanwhile guiding Waverill slowly around
the curved path. Somewhere, he thought, there'll be something sharp
I can bump him into. He had a wild thought of running the man into a
wall; but a bloody nose would be too obvious.
"I can feel the warmth now," Waverill said, "and I can tell that
they're brighter." He was swiveling his head and squinting,
experimenting with his new traces of vision.
* * * * *
Murdoch carried on a conversation with half his attention, while his
mind churned. He thought, I'll have to resist the feeling that it's
safer here in back of the building. They'll be watching everywhere.
He wished he could get the man inside; under the cover of serving
breakfast he could improvise something. I'm sweating, he thought. I can
just begin to feel the lamps, but I'm wet all over. I've got to--
He drew in his breath sharply. From somewhere he heard the buzz of a
bee. His mind leaped upon the sound. He stopped walking, and Waverill
said, "What's wrong with you?"
"Nothing. I--stepped on a big pebble."
"They all feel big to me. Damned outrage; taking away a man's...."
Waverill's voice trailed off as he started experimenting with his eyes
again.
There were more bees now, and presently Murdoch saw one loop over the
edge of the building and search along the hedge. The first of them,
he thought. There'll be more. He looked along the hedge. Most of the
blossoms hadn't really closed for the night, though the petals were
drawn together. He walked as slowly as he dared. The buzzing moved
tantalizingly closer, then away.
A second buzz added itself. He heard the insect move past them, then
caught it in the corner of his eye.