“It’s true,” Hesmucet answered, and the buzz redoubled. He added, “But I’ll thank you not to pester me about it right this minute. I need to think.” Unpestered-which would do for a miracle till a greater one came along-he strode through the lobby and out onto the street.
Men called to him there, too. Rumor had to be running wild in Rising Rock. But he ignored them. He ignored everything in this muddy town. His gaze swung toward the north and the west, toward Peachtree Province, toward the glideway center at Marthasville. He could see the city in his mind’s eye as if nothing stood between him and it.
And nothing did-nothing except Joseph the Gamecock’s army. Hesmucet threw back his head and laughed. “That’s not so gods-damned much,” he said, and began to think of how he, unlike Count Thraxton, might make such a brag come true.