"Oh, we'd get off the road!"
"Of course. And they will search this forest tree by tree. They really mean it, chum."
"You didn't let me finish. You know that old uranium mine? The Power and Glory? You go over Dead Wolf Pass and then take off north on a gravel road. That's where we're heading. I can put Lummox completely out of sight there; the main tunnel is big enough."
"Flashes of sense in that. But not good enough for what you are up against"
She was silent. Johnnie stirred uneasily and said, "Well? If that's no good, what do we do?"
"Pipe down. I'm thinking." She lay still, staring up at the deep blue mountain sky. At last she said, "You didn't solve anything by running away."
"No... but I sure mixed it up."
"Yes, and so far so good. Everything ought to be turned upside down occasionally; it lets in air and light. But now we've got to see that the pieces fall back where we want them. To do that we've got to gain time. Your notion of the Power and Glory Mine isn't too bad; it will do until I can make better arrangements."
"I don't see why they would ever find him there. It's about as lonely as you can get."
"Which is why it is sure to be searched. Oh, it might fool Deacon Dreiser; I doubt he could find his own hat without a search warrant. But he's dug up an air posse the size of a small army; they are certain to find you. You took your sleeping bag and food; therefore you are camping out. I found you, they will find you. I did it by knowing what makes you tick, whereas they have to work by logic, which is slower. But just as certain. They'll find you... and that's the end of Lummox. They won't take chances... bomb him, probably."
John Thomas considered the dismal prospect. "Then what's the sense of hiding him in the mine?"
"Just to gain a day or so, because I'm not ready to take him out yet."
"Huh?"
"Of course. We'll hide him in town."
"What? Slugger, the altitude has got you."
"In town and under cover... because it is the only place in the wide, wide world they won't look for him." She added, "Maybe in Mr. Ito's greenhouses."
"Huh? Now I know you're crazy."
"Can you think of a safer place? Mr. Ito's son is not hard to reason with; I had a nice talk with him just yesterday. I stood short and looked up at him and let him explain things. One of his greenhouses would be perfect... snug, maybe, but this is an emergency. You can't see through that milky glass they are built out of and nobody would dream that Lummie might be inside."
"I don't see how you can do it."
"You let me handle it. If I don't get the greenhouse... but I will! ... then I'll get an empty warehouse or something. We'll put Lummie in the mine tonight, then I'll fly back and arrange things. Tomorrow night Lummie and I will go back to town and..."
"Huh? It took us two nights to get this far-and it will take us most of tonight to get to the mine. You can't ride him back in one night."
"How fast can he go when he tries?"
"But nobody can ride him when he gallops. Not even me."
"I won't ride him; I'll fly over him, pacing him and making him slow down for curves. Three hours, maybe?... and another hour to sneak him into the greenhouse."
"Well... maybe it would work."
"It will because it's got to. Then you get caught"
"Huh? Why don't I just go home?"
"No, that would be a giveaway. They catch you, you've been doing amateur uranium prospecting. I'll fetch out a radiation counter. You don't know where Lummox is; you kissed him goodbye and turned him loose, then came up here to forget your sorrows. You'll have to be convincing... and don't let them use a truth meter."
"Yes, but... Look, Slugger, what's the good? Lummie can't stay in a greenhouse forever."
"We're simply buying time. They are ready to kill him on sight... and they will. So we keep him out of sight until we can change that."
"I suppose I should have gone through with the sale to the Museum," John Thomas answered miserably.
"No! Your instincts are sound, Johnnie, even though you've got less brains than a door knob. Look... do you remember the Cygnus Decision?"
The Cygnus Decision? We had it in elementary Customs of Civilization?"
"Yes. Quote it."
"What is this? A mid-semester quiz?" John Thomas frowned and dug into his memory. " 'Beings possessed of speech and manipulation must be presumed to be sentient and therefore to have innate human rights, unless conclusively proved otherwise.' " He sat up. "Hey! They can't kill Lummox-he's got hands!"
XI "It's Too Late, Johnnie"
"Mind your air speed," she cautioned. "Do you know the old one about the man whose lawyer assured him that they could not put him in jail for that?"
"What was 'that'?"
"Never mind. His client answered, 'But, counsellor, I'm speaking from the jail.' Point is, the Cygnus Decision is just theory; we've got to keep Lummox out of sight until we can get the court to change its mind."
"Unh, I see. I guess you're right."
"I'm always right," Betty admitted with dignity. "Johnnie, I'm dying of thirst; thinking is dry work. Did you bring any water up from the creek?"
"No, I didn't."
"Got a bucket?"
"Yeah, somewhere." He felt in his pockets, found it and pulled it out. He stopped to blow it up to semi-rigidity, then said, "I'll fetch it."
"No, give it to me. I want to stretch my legs."
"'Ware fliers!"
"Don't teach your grandmother." She took it and went down hill, keeping to the trees until she reached the bank. Johnnie watched her slim figure catching shafts of cathedral light among the pines and thought how pretty she was... very nearly as good a head on her as a man and pretty to boot. Aside from being bossy the way females always were, Slugger was all right.
She came back carrying the plastic bucket carefully.
"Help yourself," she offered.
"Go ahead."
"I drank from the creek."
"All right" He drank deeply. "You know, Betty, if you weren't knock-kneed, you'd be pretty good-looking."
"Who's knock-kneed?"
"And there's always your face, of course," he went on pleasantly. "Aside from those two shortcomings you're not-"
He did not finish-she dived and hit him low. The water went all down his front and partly on her. The scuffle continued until he got her right arm locked up behind her, holding her helpless. "Say 'Pretty please'," he advised.
"Darn you, Johnnie Stuart! 'Pretty please.'"
"With sugar on it?"
"With sugar on it-and spit, too. Let me up."
"All right."
He got to his feet. She rolled to a sitting position, looked up at him and laughed. They were both dirty, scratched, and somewhat bruised and they both felt very fine indeed. Lummox had watched the mock fight with interest but-no alarm, since Johnnie and Betty could never really be mad at each other. He commented, "Johnnie's all wet."
"He certainly is, Lummie-more ways than one." She looked him over. "If I had two clothes pins, I'd hang you on a tree. By your ears, of course."
We'll be dry in five minutes, a day like this."
"I'm not wet, not through a flying suit. But you look like a dunked cat."
"I don't mind." He lay down, found a pine needle and bit it. "Slugger, this is a swell place. I wish I didn't have to go on up to the mine."
"Tell you what-after we get this mess straightened out and before we start school, we'll come back up here and camp a few days. We'll bring Lummox, too-won't we, Lummie?"
"Sure," agreed Lummox. "Catch things. Throw rocks. Fun."
John Thomas looked at her reprovingly. "And get me talked about all over town? No, thanks."
"Don't be prissy. We're here now, aren't we?"
"This is an emergency."
"You and your nice-nice reputation!"
"Well, somebody ought to watch such things. Mum says that boys had to start worrying when girls quit. She says things used to be different"