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Show -343- bump as they hit the ground, the familiar stress as they braked to a stop. Outside the terminal in the parking lot, he quickly found his parked Mercedes, streaked by accumulated dust and rain. The storm here had dwindled to a cold drizzle, wetting and chilling him as he found his keys and unlocked his door. When he pressed the starter, the engine gave two xroak, protesting turns, then stopped. He tried twice more, and the engine refused to move altogether. It seemed to him frustration had just been lying in xait for him over the past five days. He looked about, wondering where he could find a tow-truck, wondering if he had enough money remaining to pay the fee. He got out of his car and looked up and doxm the rows of parked vehicles. A long Lincoln Continental pulled out of a space and drove toward him. The driver, xrearing a fur-collared coat and smoking, a cigar, drove by without a glance. The Professor brushed the drops of wetness off his shoulders and got back into his car. He tried the starter again, but it xrould not turn the engine over. Through the corner of his eye, he saw the dull blue of a car's hood as it moved into the space vacated by the Lincoln. He got out again and xalked toxard the newly.parked vehicle. It was an ancient pickup truck containing txro passengers, a young man with a ragged black beard and a girl in a long, ruffled, gingham dress. The Professor asked the man |