OCR Text |
Show 255 sure he really saw, and finally a large elm tree looming dark against the pearl-grey dawn framed by a window which Lorin, lying in bed with aching thighs, caused to flit left and right by opening and closing alternate eyes, while Sorenson slept on the other side of the room snorting through asthma. By squinting Lorin could break the faint light into particles and watch them drift along the sill, crowding closer together as they moved faster and faster until pain stabbed at the root of his eye and he brought them back to the starting place, clustered and jumping excitedly, and already beginning to drift again. He watched them until the elm cast a shadow. It was only another hour or so. * * * * * * His fingertips had stayed numb for a day or two, and the insides of both arms were still a little sore. He hadn't mentioned this to Sorenson, but he reflected on it now while he sat in a warm house that smelled of food, listening to symptoms he hoped he would not have to act on. "No," said Alice, "Richard gets all upset if I talk about it. Besides, it's only happened once, if you want to know." "That's what I thought," said Richard. "You didn't know!" she said, her eyes flashing. They would not, thank God, have to act. * * * * * * Driving home, Sorenson asked Lorin, casually, meaning no criticism or reproach, if Lorin were very sure that hitting a pair of new contacts with the spooky stuff were the best way to begin. Lorin, still feeling guilty at having made a shambles of the first discussion and therefore still |