Youth, Page 6

and it'll be allyour fault."

  He made for the narrow spiral stairs that led to the main floor of thebarn, stopped at its head, then backed away.

  Red's mother was moving up, panting a little with the exertion andsmiling a tight smile for the benefit of Slim in his capacity as guest.

  "Red! You, Red! Are you up there? Now don't try to hide. I know this iswhere you're keeping them. Cook saw where you ran with the meat."

  Red quavered, "Hello, ma!"

  "Now show me those nasty animals? I'm going to see to it that you getrid of them right away."

  It was over! And despite the imminent corporal punishment, Red feltsomething like a load fall from him. At least the decision was out ofhis hands.

  "Right there, ma. I didn't do anything to them, ma. I didn't know. Theyjust looked like little animals and I thought you'd let me keep them,ma. I wouldn't have taken the meat only they wouldn't eat grass orleaves and we couldn't find good nuts or berries and cook never lets mehave anything or I would have asked her and I didn't know it was forlunch and--"

  He was speaking on the sheer momentum of terror and did not realize thathis mother did not hear him but, with eyes frozen and popping at thecage, was screaming in thin, piercing tones.

  X

  The Astronomer was saying, "A quiet burial is all we can do. There is nopoint in any publicity now," when they heard the screams.

  She had not entirely recovered by the time she reached them, running andrunning. It was minutes before her husband could extract sense from her.

  She was saying, finally, "I tell you they're in the barn. I don't knowwhat they are. No, no--"

  She barred the Industrialist's quick movement in that direction. Shesaid, "Don't _you_ go. Send one of the hands with a shotgun. I tell youI never saw anything like it. Little horrible beasts with--with--I can'tdescribe it. To think that Red was touching them and trying to feedthem. He was _holding_ them, and feeding them meat."

  Red began, "I only--"

  And Slim said, "It was not--"

  The Industrialist said, quickly, "Now you boys have done enough harmtoday. March! Into the house! And not a word; not one word! I'm notinterested in anything you have to say. After this is all over, I'llhear you out and as for you, Red, I'll see that you're properlypunished."

  He turned to his wife. "Now whatever the animals are, we'll have themkilled." He added quietly once the youngsters were out of hearing,"Come, come. The children aren't hurt and, after all, they haven't doneanything really terrible. They've just found a new pet."

  The Astronomer spoke with difficulty. "Pardon me, ma'am, but can youdescribe these animals?"

  She shook her head. She was quite beyond words.

  "Can you just tell me if they--"

  "I'm sorry," said the Industrialist, apologetically, "but I think I hadbetter take care of her. Will you excuse me?"

  "A moment. Please. One moment. She said she had never seen such animalsbefore. Surely it is not usual to find animals that are completelyunique on an estate such as this."

  "I'm sorry. Let's not discuss that now."

  "Except that unique animals might have landed during the night."

  The Industrialist stepped away from his wife. "What are you implying?"

  "I think we had better go to the barn, sir!"

  The Industrialist stared a moment, turned and suddenly and quiteuncharacteristically began running. The Astronomer followed and thewoman's wail rose unheeded behind them.

  XI

  The Industrialist stared, looked at the Astronomer, turned to stareagain.

  "Those?"

  "Those," said the Astronomer. "I have no doubt we appear strange andrepulsive to them."

  "What do they say?"

  "Why, that they are uncomfortable and tired and even a little sick, butthat they are not seriously damaged, and that the youngsters treatedthem well."

  "Treated them well! Scooping them up, keeping them in a cage, givingthem grass and raw meat to eat? Tell me how to speak to them."

  "It may take a little time. Think _at_ them. Try to listen. It will cometo you, but perhaps not right away."

  The Industrialist tried. He grimaced with the effort of it, thinkingover and over again, "The youngsters were ignorant of your identity."

  And the thought was suddenly in his mind: "We were quite aware of it andbecause we knew they meant well by us according to their own view of thematter, we did not attempt to attack them."

  "Attack them?" thought the Industrialist, and said it aloud in hisconcentration.

  "Why, yes," came the answering thought. "We are armed."

  One of the revolting little creatures in the cage lifted a metal objectand there was a sudden hole in the top of the cage and another in theroof of the barn, each hole rimmed with charred wood.

  "We hope," the creatures thought, "it will not be too difficult to makerepairs."

  The Industrialist found it impossible to organize himself to the pointof directed thought. He turned to the Astronomer. "And with that weaponin their possession they let themselves be handled and caged? I don'tunderstand it."

  But the calm thought came, "We would not harm the young of anintelligent species."

  XII

  It was twilight. The Industrialist had entirely missed the evening mealand remained unaware of the fact.

  He said, "Do you really think the ship will fly?"

  "If they say so," said the Astronomer, "I'm sure it will. They'll beback, I hope, before too long."

  "And when they do," said the Industrialist, energetically, "I will keepmy part of the agreement. What is more I will move sky and earth to havethe world accept them. I was entirely wrong, Doctor. Creatures thatwould refuse to harm children, under such provocation as they received,are admirable. But you know--I almost hate to say this--"

  "Say what?"

  "The kids. Yours and mine. I'm almost proud of them. Imagine seizingthese creatures, feeding them or trying to, and keeping them hidden. Theamazing gall of it. Red told me it was his idea to get a job in a circuson the strength of them. Imagine!"

  The Astronomer said, "Youth!"

  XIII

  The Merchant said, "Will we be taking off soon?"

  "Half an hour," said the Explorer.

  It was going to be a lonely trip back. All the remaining seventeen ofthe crew were dead and their ashes were to be left on a strange planet.Back they would go with a limping ship and the burden of the controlsentirely on himself.

  The Merchant said, "It was a good business stroke, not harming the youngones. We will get very good terms; _very_ good terms."

  The Explorer thought: Business!

  The Merchant then said, "They've lined up to see us off. All of them.You don't think they're too close, do you? It would be bad to burn anyof them with the rocket blast at this stage of the game."

  "They're safe."

  "Horrible-looking things, aren't they?"

  "Pleasant enough, inside. Their thoughts are perfectly friendly."

  "You wouldn't believe it of them. That immature one, the one that firstpicked us up--"

  "They call him Red," provided the Explorer.

  "That's a queer name for a monster. Makes me laugh. He actually feels_bad_ that we're leaving. Only I can't make out exactly why. The nearestI can come to it is something about a lost opportunity with someorganization or other that I can't quite interpret."

  "A circus," said the Explorer, briefly.

  "What? Why, the impertinent monstrosity."

  "Why not? What would you have done if you had found _him_ wandering on_your_ native world; found him sleeping on a field on Earth, redtentacles, six legs, pseudopods and all?"

  XIV

  Red watched the ship leave. His red tentacles, which gave him hisnickname, quivered their regret at lost opportunity to the very last,and the eyes at their tips filled with drifting yellowish crystals thatwere the equivalent of Earthly tears.

  Transcriber's Note:

  This etext was produced from _Space
Science Fiction_ May 1952. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed. Minor spelling and typographical errors have been corrected without note.