"Funny thing,
though, you never knew I had two more bottles hidden in the tube
chamber!"
"Why, you old space crawler!" roared Connel. "You put one over on me!"
[Illustration]
Roger and Astro and Alfie had never known Connel's first name. They
rolled the name over in their minds, fitting the name to the man.
Unknown to each other, they decided that the name fitted the man. Lou
Connel!
"Say, Lou," asked Shinny, "where in the blessed universe did you come
from? You never told me."
There was a long pause. "A place called Telfair Estates, in the deep
South on the North American continent. I was raised on a farm close by.
I used to go fishing late at night and stare up at the stars." He paused
again. "I ran away from home. I don't know if--if--anyone's still there
or not. I never went back!"
There was a long silence as each man saw a small boy fishing late at
night, barefoot, his toes dangling in the water, a worm wiggling on the
end of a string, more interested in the stars that twinkled overhead
than in any fish that might swim past and seize the hook.
"Where are you from, Nick?" asked Connel.
Pages:
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242