[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
plates and cups back into the big paper bag in which she had smug-gled the food from the kitchen this
morning, and wasfolding up the extra cover from Matt's bed.
"You just come along and I'll tell you, shrimp." Sheheard Rick say. Rick was justwonderful today.
ThoughMom always said that Rick could manage Alex betterthan anyone else in the whole family when
he wanted tomake the effort.
There, she gave a searching look around as the boysleft (one of the bags between them) this was
cleared.They would take the other bag, and she would do thedishes. Then Dad could walk right in and
never knowthat Lizzy and Matt had been here for two nights and aday.
Two nights and a day Lizzy had kept herself and Mattout of sight yesterday when Lesley and Rick had
been atschool. She would not go near the house, nor let Mattlater when Alex wanted him to go and see
the train Dad
316 Andre Norton
and Rick had set up in the family room. All she hadwanted were newspapers. Lesley had taken those to
herand some of the magazines Mom had collected for theSalvation Army. She must have read a lot,
because when they met her after school, she had a million questions toask.
It was then that she said she and Matt had to go away,back to where they had come from, that they
could not stay in this mixed up horrible world which was not theright one at all! Rick told her about the
words on thestones and how long it had been. First she called him aliar and said that was not true. So
after dark he hadtaken a flashlight and went back to show her the stone and the words.
She had been the one to cry then. But she did not forlong. She got to asking what was going to happen
in thefield, looking at the machines. When Rick told her, Lizzyhad said quick and hot, no, they mustn't do
that, it wasdangerous a lot of others might go through. Andthey,those in the other world, didn't want
people who did bad things to spoil everything.
When Rick brought her back she was mad, not at him,but at everything else. She made him walk her
down tothe place from which you could see the inter-city thru-way, with all the cars going whizz. Rick
said he was sureshe was scared. She was shaking, and she held onto his hand so hard it hurt. But she
made herself watch. Then,when they came back, she said Matt and she they hadto go. And she offered
to take Alex, Lesley, and Rickwith them. She said they couldn't want to go on livinghere.
That was the only time she talked much of what it waslikethere. Birds and flowers, no noise or cars
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
rushing about, nor bulldozers tearing the ground up, everythingpretty. It was Lesley who had asked then:
"If it was all that wonderful, why did you want tocome back?"
Then she was sorry she had asked because Lizzy's facelooked like she was hurting inside when she
answered:
"There was Ma and Pa. Matt, he's little, he misses Mabad at times. Thoseothers, they got their own
way of life, and it ain't much like ours. So, we've kept a-tryin'
THE LONG NIGHT OF WAITING 317
to get back. I brought somethin' just for Ma." She showed them two bags of big silvery leaves pinned
together with long thorns. Inside each were seeds, allmixed up big and little together.
"Things growthere" she nodded toward the field,"they grow strange-like. Faster than seeds hereabouts.
You put one of these," she ran her finger tip in amongthe seeds, shifting them back and forth, "in the
ground,and you cansee it grow. Honest-Injun-cross-my-heart-an'-hope-to-die if that ain't so. Ma, she
hankers for flow-ers, loves 'em truly. So I brought her some. Only, Ma,she ain't here. Funny thing
thoseoverthere, they havea feelin' about these here flowers and plants.They tellyou right out that as long
asthey have these growin' 'roundthey 're,safe."
"Safe from what?" Rick wanted to know.
"I dunno safe from somethin' asthey think maychange 'em. See, we ain't the onlyest ones gittin' through
tothere. There's others, we've met a couple. Susan she's older 'n me and she dresses funny, like one of
thereal old time ladies in a book picture. And there's Jim he spends most of his time off in the woods,
don't seehim much. Susan's real nice. She took us to stay withher when we gotthere. But she's married
to one ofthem, so we didn't feel comfortable most of the time. Anywaythey had some rules they asked
us right away did wehave anything made of iron. Iron is bad forthem theycan't hold it, it burnsthem bad. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl freetocraft.keep.pl
plates and cups back into the big paper bag in which she had smug-gled the food from the kitchen this
morning, and wasfolding up the extra cover from Matt's bed.
"You just come along and I'll tell you, shrimp." Sheheard Rick say. Rick was justwonderful today.
ThoughMom always said that Rick could manage Alex betterthan anyone else in the whole family when
he wanted tomake the effort.
There, she gave a searching look around as the boysleft (one of the bags between them) this was
cleared.They would take the other bag, and she would do thedishes. Then Dad could walk right in and
never knowthat Lizzy and Matt had been here for two nights and aday.
Two nights and a day Lizzy had kept herself and Mattout of sight yesterday when Lesley and Rick had
been atschool. She would not go near the house, nor let Mattlater when Alex wanted him to go and see
the train Dad
316 Andre Norton
and Rick had set up in the family room. All she hadwanted were newspapers. Lesley had taken those to
herand some of the magazines Mom had collected for theSalvation Army. She must have read a lot,
because when they met her after school, she had a million questions toask.
It was then that she said she and Matt had to go away,back to where they had come from, that they
could not stay in this mixed up horrible world which was not theright one at all! Rick told her about the
words on thestones and how long it had been. First she called him aliar and said that was not true. So
after dark he hadtaken a flashlight and went back to show her the stone and the words.
She had been the one to cry then. But she did not forlong. She got to asking what was going to happen
in thefield, looking at the machines. When Rick told her, Lizzyhad said quick and hot, no, they mustn't do
that, it wasdangerous a lot of others might go through. Andthey,those in the other world, didn't want
people who did bad things to spoil everything.
When Rick brought her back she was mad, not at him,but at everything else. She made him walk her
down tothe place from which you could see the inter-city thru-way, with all the cars going whizz. Rick
said he was sureshe was scared. She was shaking, and she held onto his hand so hard it hurt. But she
made herself watch. Then,when they came back, she said Matt and she they hadto go. And she offered
to take Alex, Lesley, and Rickwith them. She said they couldn't want to go on livinghere.
That was the only time she talked much of what it waslikethere. Birds and flowers, no noise or cars
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
rushing about, nor bulldozers tearing the ground up, everythingpretty. It was Lesley who had asked then:
"If it was all that wonderful, why did you want tocome back?"
Then she was sorry she had asked because Lizzy's facelooked like she was hurting inside when she
answered:
"There was Ma and Pa. Matt, he's little, he misses Mabad at times. Thoseothers, they got their own
way of life, and it ain't much like ours. So, we've kept a-tryin'
THE LONG NIGHT OF WAITING 317
to get back. I brought somethin' just for Ma." She showed them two bags of big silvery leaves pinned
together with long thorns. Inside each were seeds, allmixed up big and little together.
"Things growthere" she nodded toward the field,"they grow strange-like. Faster than seeds hereabouts.
You put one of these," she ran her finger tip in amongthe seeds, shifting them back and forth, "in the
ground,and you cansee it grow. Honest-Injun-cross-my-heart-an'-hope-to-die if that ain't so. Ma, she
hankers for flow-ers, loves 'em truly. So I brought her some. Only, Ma,she ain't here. Funny thing
thoseoverthere, they havea feelin' about these here flowers and plants.They tellyou right out that as long
asthey have these growin' 'roundthey 're,safe."
"Safe from what?" Rick wanted to know.
"I dunno safe from somethin' asthey think maychange 'em. See, we ain't the onlyest ones gittin' through
tothere. There's others, we've met a couple. Susan she's older 'n me and she dresses funny, like one of
thereal old time ladies in a book picture. And there's Jim he spends most of his time off in the woods,
don't seehim much. Susan's real nice. She took us to stay withher when we gotthere. But she's married
to one ofthem, so we didn't feel comfortable most of the time. Anywaythey had some rules they asked
us right away did wehave anything made of iron. Iron is bad forthem theycan't hold it, it burnsthem bad. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]