insulated wire.
'This solicitude for my comfort—” began Tauncer mockingly, but then he stopped. Birrel, with a length of the wire, was tying his feet together. He then lashed the bound feet to the bottom frame of the bed, and secured Tauncer's shoulders with another length of wire he ran under the bed itself. He then dragged Harper in and tied him onto the other bed in the same way.
I think that'll hold even a very clever man, for a little while,” said Birrel.
For an instant, a vicious anger flashed in Tauncer's eyes. It was the first time Birrel had penetrated the mocking self-confidence of the man, and it pleased him immensely.
He went back to Lyllin.
'How long?” she asked him.
'Several hours, anyway,” he said. “Brescnik will find a man fast, but it'll take time for him to get up here.” He added gloomily, “Too long. But we'll have to wait.'
Lyllin glanced at the window. A pallid light was streaking the dark sky outside.
'Go get some sleep,” he said. “One of those rooms upstairs.'
She did so. Birrel sat and watched the gray light strengthen, going every now and then to look in at the two captives. Harper eyed him a little frightenedly, each time. But the third time he looked, Tauncer was either sleeping or shamming sleep. He thought it was real sleep, and it betokened a confidence that nagged Birrel with worry.
Why should Tauncer be so confident — because he counted on help coming? Were others beside Harper in on this with him? Birrel took to walking around the house, peering out the windows in turn.
The sun rose, washing the ragged fields and woods with golden-yellow light. He saw no one out there. Twice, he sprang to the front window as he beard a motor, but once it was a ground-car that went casually by, and, the other time, a heavy farm-truck.
Lyllin came down a couple of hours later. “You didn't sleep,” he said accusingly.
She smiled. “No. I'll get some breakfast.'
The midmorning sun was warm and they ate on the porch again. As though he had been waiting for them, the black cat came out of the shrubbery and strolled up onto the steps, insolently expectant.
'Get out of here, you little pest,” said Birrel.
'Oh, feed him,” said Lyllin. “After all, he did give you your warning.'
Birrel grunted, and tossed the leftovers onto the step.
He was just turning to go and have another look at Tauncer and Harper, when there was the unmistakable sound of a car pulling up in front of the house.
'Your man?” said Lyllin, but Birrel shook his head swiftly.
'No, he couldn't get here this fast. Wait here.'
He grabbed the shocker out of his pocket and ran to the front of the house.
CHAPTER 13
The car had stopped in the front lane and a man was getting out of it. Birrel's grasp tightened on the shocker. But then an ample-figured, middle-aged woman got out of the car also. He looked back again at the man, and now he recognized the broad, ruddy face of the man he had met in the tavern the night before, the one who lived just down the road. Vinton. No — Vinson. He and the woman were coming toward the house.
'Is it trouble?” asked Lyllin's quiet voice from close behind him.
Birrel turned quickly. “No, just a neighbor, one of these farm people. You meet them. I'll be back in a moment.'
He ran back along the hall to the back room where Tauncer and Harper lay bound to the beds. Tauncer had his eyes open now. Birrel hastily inspected the insulated wires to make sure both men were still fast. Then he went out, closing the door of the room. He came through the hall and closed the hall door tightly, too. He didn't think his captives could be heard, even if they yelled. If they did make themselves heard, he could always say he had a drunken friend back there, and go back and silence them with the shocker. But, with a vera-probe operator on the way, he did not want to put them out for that long, if he could help it.
When he got back into the living-room, Vinson greeted him jovially in his booming voice.
'A little early for a call, Commander, but we were going by and Edith wanted to meet you folks. Hope you don't mind.'
Yes, he minded, Birrel thought exasperatedly. He minded like the very devil, but there was nothing he could do but smile, and shake his head, and go through the introductions.
Lyllin was aloof and hesitant again with these Earth folk. But Mrs. Vinson did not seem to notice that. She stared at Lyllin with open marvel and admiration.
'You came all the way from Vega with your husband. Think of it. Why, lots of women here on Earth have had their husbands go away into space, but not many ever went that far to stay with them.'
Birrel, chafing inwardly, asked them to sit down. Immediately Vinson began talking about the problems of farming, the high cost of automatic tractors and autoharvesters, the fact that weather-control was still not all that it should be and related subjects about which Birrel knew nothing and cared less.
He began to feel caught in a minor nightmare. To sit here in an ancient farmhouse on Earth, listening to the gossiping of these worthy, but totally strange folk, while the conflict between Orion and Lyra could be rushing toward its climax, seemed insanely impossible. It was like one of those dreams, where you were trapped and tangled in ridiculously frail webs and watched disaster approaching you.
Birrel became aware that Vinson's booming voice had stopped and that the man was looking at him questioningly.
'I'm sorry, I was thinking of something else,” he said.
'I was just saying,” Vinson said, “that when I called on that chap who bought this place, he told me he wasn't going to live here, but was buying it for someone else. But I sure didn't figure that someone would be one of the old Birrel family!'
Birrel stared. Of course Karsh would have said something like that, and naturally everyone here would now assume that he was the new owner. And he could not contradict that assumption without a lot of explanations that he was in no position to make.
'About working your land here,” Vinson went on. “The fields aren't too good, but they could be got in shape again. I'll be glad to help on that.'
'Why, thanks,” stumbled Birrel, “but you see, we'll be leaving very soon, going back to Vega—'
'Oh, sure, I know that,” Vinson said heartily. “But, of course, you're planning to come back here or you wouldn't have bought your folks’ old farm. Might as well get some profit and use out of the place till then. Now, we'll go over the land together and figure.'
Birrel did not know what to say to that. No one had dreamed that such ridiculous but real problems as this would come up when this old farm had been bought as cover for a rendezvous. In fact, they never would have arisen, if Karsh had met him here as planned. The doing away with Karsh by Tauncer had pulled the foundation out from under everything.
Vinson misinterpreted Birrel's silence, and said quickly, “I didn't mean right now. Just dropped in for a social call but I thought I'd mention it. I'll come back later and walk over it with you.'
He rose to his feet and Birrel felt sharp relief, as he and his wife went to the door.
'Sure would like to have you come over for dinner sometime before you leave,” Vinson said.
His wife added coyly, “You're our celebrities here now, you know. In the village they're talking about having a Welcome Home celebration for you.'
When the two had left, Birrel turned and looked blankly at Lyllin. “A Welcome Home celebration. For God's sake, that's all I need right now.'
He hurried back to the rear room, to find Tauncer lying quietly and Harper squirming restlessly.
Tauncer smiled. “You look worried, Commander. Things not going well? I'm afraid you're a little beyond your depth.'
Birrel looked at him steadily, and asked, “Who's coming, Tauncer?'
