He looked at his hands and they were white and he felt of his face and
it was his own. He saw his sister's hand against her mouth, and his
father stared at him with unbelieving eyes. His mother had gotten up and
was coming over to him, her eyes blinking. "George," she said, "what did
they do to you?" She patted his shoulder, her hands fluttering like bird
wings.
He turned back to Gistla and she was gone. Beyond the gate now, he knew,
and walking slowly, alone, down the road. Only this time he would not go
after her. He couldn't. And as he stood there, feeling his mother's hand
patting his shoulder, hearing his sister say, "My God," seeing his
father shake his head slowly, he felt very young and at the same time,
very old, and he wanted to cry.
Transcriber's Note:
This etext was produced from _Planet Stories_ January 1954.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S.
copyright on this publication was renewed. Minor spelling and
typographical errors have been corrected without note.