Tut the plates up, could you, Captain Brunner?' Jerry smiled at the guards.
Captain Brunner touched a button. The steel shutters moaned upwards and they were in darkness. Captain Brunner switched on the light.
'Now,' said Jerry. 'If you wouldn't mind...'
'Say the word.'
'Consider it said.'
'And the word...'
Jerry smiled. 'Captain Brunner — you're a card after my own heart.'
The plate on Jerry's window opened up until there was a hole five inches in diameter in the very centre. Jerry poked his gun through and took aim. The guards shook to pieces. He turned the gun and the gates quivered and creaked and fell down. They roared through 'Hey ho for the open road,' sang Captain Brunner, turning the car in the general direction of Buffalo. 'Where were you thinking of for the honeymoon?'
'Where else?'
With a spontaneous gesture of affection, Captain Brunner flung his arm around Jerry's silken shoulders, hugged him tight, and stepped hard on the accelerator.
Transfusion
SAY THE SECRET WORD AND YOU RE-HYPNOTIZE INSTANTLY!
Fascinating Books and Powerful Aids Help You Perform Hypnotism Here, at your fingertips, are the tools you need to learn and do real hypnotic feats. Amaze your friends, astound whole groups of people or use this power to improve your own personality... become more interesting to be with. Guaranteed to please you -guaranteed to give you countless hours of fascinating fun, excitement and benefits.
Transfix Your Subjects with Electric Machine You've seen it used in the movies and on TV. Now you can own and use this improved machine — WITH 2 DIFFERENT CHANGEABLE DISCS. Plug in, flick the switch and the disc begins its transfixing spin. Use it for professional prestige, for self-hypnosis and on others — individually and groups. Has sturdy metal housing, 7-ft cord, on-off switch, 2 discs and instructions. No. SST-2D Hypno-Whirlascope..................$19.95.
I
How the Israeli war solved a rape murder!
The house was a splendid example of Carpenters Gothic, covered in turrets and eccentric dormer windows, with pointed towers and jigsaw scrollwork and shadowed verandas made to resemble a monks' walk. A somewhat tasteless note was the more recent cobblestone chimney.
Inside, the hall was dark and filled with a huge umbrella stand, a hat rack and a mirror that seemed to reflect the darkness. From the parlour came the damp, musty smell of horse-hair and mahogany, of marble, artificial flowers and anti-macassars. On the other side of the hall the living-room was full of mission furniture in oak and leatherette. Leading off the living-room was the dining-room with its table and chairs of golden oak and its view from the window over the Falls.
The house was still occupied.
Outside the empty streets echoed the whimpering roar of the water. The hotels and motel cabins, the souvenir shops, the restaurants and movie houses blended with the trees, the shrubs and the weeds. Sometimes the wind would move a yellow newspaper or a rusty can.
On their way to the border Captain Brunner had steered nostalgically through streets blocked with twisted automobiles. 'Ah, fickle fashion.' Most of the buildings had been looted, stripped and burned.
At the dining table they ate the individual TV Steak Chateaubriand Dinners Captain Brunner had brought up from the cold room in the basement.
'And how did you leave Europe?' Captain Brunner unbuttoned his uniform jacket to show a yellow shirt of Sea Island Cotton.
'Much as I hope to find it.' Jerry pushed his dinner away and took another sip of his Californian Riesling. 'It's an uphill struggle.'
'Perhaps it always will be, Jerry.'
'One door opens. Another closes.'
'Isn't that for the best?'
Jerry raised a jet-black hand to a jet-black face and rubbed his right eye. Captain Brunner smiled.
'The illusion of power,' said Jerry. 'It sometimes seems too sweet for words.'
'Or actions for that matter.'
'Sure.'
'You've got rid of the deja-vu now, have you?'
'Not altogether.'
'Well...' Captain Brunner stacked the half-eaten trays. Til put these in the kitchen. Do you want to take a walk this afternoon?'
'A last walk...'
'If you wish.'
'It's really up to you, you know.' Jerry turned to look at the Falls.
'I'm getting a bit reluctant to go. That's the trouble.'
'I know what you mean. Do you want to do it yourself?'
Captain Brunner picked up the empty bottle. 'That wouldn't be according to the rules.'
The rules are very strict.'
'Stricter than you could believe.'
'All right. Mind you, I could do with some bloody music.' Jerry stood up.
'The victrola's over there.'
Jerry went into the living-room to look at the big phonograph with its oak-veneered cabinet. He opened the cupboard at the bottom and pulled out the cumbersome 785. They rattled in his hands. He opened the lid, wound the handle and put a record on the turntable.
When Captain Brunner came back into the room George M. Cohan was singing Yankee Doodle and Jerry lay on the mission couch staring up at the beams in the ceiling.
'I believe there's some good Al Jolsons and the whole of Green 'Pastures in there.' Captain Brunner hesitated on the threshold. That's going back a bit.'
'Before my time,' said Jerry.
'And mine.'
They listened to George M. Cohan with intense, clinical concentration.
'What does it tell us?' Captain Brunner stroked Jerry's hair.
'It's not a code we could ever hope to understand.' Jerry shrugged sadly.
'No.'
Systematically they broke the records and stacked the pieces inside the cabinet.
2
Why artists are going back to realism
'What must be must be,' said Captain Brunner.
It was dawn and die sun shone through the lace curtains of the bedroom.
He turned his head on the pillow and looked tenderly at Jerry who had just opened his eyes.
This morning,' said Jerry.
'It's overdue.'
'Okay.'
Captain Brunner rose and stretched his beautiful body then, kneeling on the mattress, reached up and straightened the GOD BLESS OUR HOME pokerwork on the wall.
'You're looking old,' said Jerry. 'Used up.'
'Wouldn't you?'
'I guess my time will come.'
'We all become redundant. It's the one snag, really. Still, I'm glad I served a purpose.'
'An important one. Only you...' Jerry swung out of bed. Purposefully he began to dress. 'I've got work to do.'
'I don't think I'll wear anything today.' Captain Brunner opened the door. 'I'll see you downstairs.'
Jerry strapped on his shoulder holster and checked his gun. He went along the landing to the bathroom and splashed cold water over his face. He dried himself and descended to the kitchen where Captain Brunner had already prepared coffee.
'I'l feel much happier in myself,' said Jerry.
'And so will I. It's kind of you to have borne with me.'
'I can guess what it's like.'
'Of course.'
They finished their coffee and left the house, walking slowly through the deserted streets towards the Falls.
At last they stood on a promontory overlooking the huge mass of descending water. Spray splashed them. Drops of water brightened Captain Brunner's body. He took a deep breath.