‘This stupid law, in fact, has killed a great many people in our country, even more than if we had been at war. And as you can imagine, it’s the best, go-ahead people who have suffered by it. The knowledge that such things ought to be changed gave me the strength to go on talking so long in prison. When I was successful beyond my wildest dreams we abolished the prison, and formed ourselves into a revolutionary committee. Hearing that fighting has broken out with Cronacia, and that there is trouble in Nihilon City, I’m going to offer my talking experience to the insurrectionary forces, which I’ve no doubt they’ll need when they’ve won. Those at the prison are taking over the surrounding area for the new movement. So if you don’t mind I’d like to get some sleep, because we’ll reach Agbat in the morning and there may be some fighting there. Put out the light, please.’
He fell asleep immediately, worn down by so much talking, and as Jaquiline stretched herself on the hard and chilly floor she didn’t see much hope that conditions for women would improve when the new régime took over, though her fatigue was so great that she was soon lost in darkening dreams.
The slow-running train jolted her half-awake against the lower bunk, and she heard the banging chains of goods wagons passing in the night. She wondered where they were, when noise as if a bomb had exploded in a drain pipe shook the carriage. The door was pulled open, and lights switched on. Two burly men in police uniforms stood at the doorway with pointed revolvers. Cola, a sheet around her chest, sat up and screamed, more to do what was expected, it seemed to Jaquiline, than get anywhere by her alarm.
‘You’d better dress,’ one of the men said. ‘It’s the Groves of Aspron for you.’
‘We’re going to Nihilon City,’ Jaquiline told them as she stood up.
‘It’s Aspron for you, as well,’ the other man laughed, reaching into the lower bunk, where the escaped prisoner would have slept through the disturbance if he hadn’t now been punched into waking up. ‘As for you, you’ll be shot at the next station.’
He stood by the door, head down as if helplessly ashamed at his recent escape. The train stopped, and Jaquiline felt she had nothing to lose, for while the policemen’s pistols were lowered, she lifted hers from the book-box and aimed it at them both. ‘Now, you go to Nihilon City,’ she said to the escaped prisoner.
‘I couldn’t,’ he said, ‘they’ve caught me. The world’s in ruins at my feet.’
‘If you don’t go,’ she cried, her hand trembling with rage at his sudden collapse, ‘I’ll kill you. Get off while the train’s stopped.’
‘Don’t make me,’ he pleaded. But he caught the fanatical shine in her eyes, and when she lifted the gun to fire he pushed between the two policemen and went along the corridor.
She smiled, watching him go, and Cola’s hand reached slyly down, snatching her gun away, while one of the policemen knocked her back against the window. It took time to recover from his blow, and to realize what had happened. Now regarding her as a totally unscrupulous person, he pointed a gun at her, while the other man searched her luggage. ‘Not only does she hide a dangerous political prisoner,’ he said, ‘and help him to escape, but she also carries wood in her luggage, which points to the fact that she’s an arsonist and a foreign spy. There’ll be a big trial in Nihilon City for this.’
Her face had gone pale at such blatant betrayal by Cola, now jostling her as she hurriedly dressed. ‘I had to do it,’ she said, ‘for the sake of my son and husband. They won’t send me to Aspron now. All those sessions of analysis would have broken my spirit, really they would. I can’t tell you how sorry I am.’
From the pain in her voice Jaquiline knew that she’d had no alternative, though she was by no means reconciled at being the one to suffer because of Cola’s distress. In any case, all she wanted her to do right now was stop whining — which she did. The train travelled more freely, and Jaquiline saw faint edges of moonlight above the black mark of the mountain crest.
Carrying their luggage, they were forced along the corridor towards the door. The train stopped again, by a hut which served as an isolated wayside-station, and Jaquiline went first, then helped Cola down, already forgetting the bad turn she had done her, since they both seemed to be equal now that they were still prisoners.
The policemen shot the locks away, and inside the hut was a long table, two chairs, and a leather-upholstered seat along one wall under the small window. Jaquiline was glad to get out of the chill wind, and looked gladly towards the fireplace.
The bald policeman, revealed as such when he removed his hat, pulled a handful of old timetable leaflets from a hook on the wall and crumpled them into the fireplace, while his friend, who had thick black hair, took the bundles of wood from Jaquiline’s suitcase and laid them on top. A blaze was soon kindled, and both policemen put their hats into the flames. Underneath their tunics, which they removed, were civilian jackets, and they now looked more like ordinary people. Both the police jackets were silently folded and placed on the fire. ‘Go outside,’ the bald one said to Jaquiline, ‘and get some coal. There’s a heap of it by the side of the hut.’
‘So you’re not policemen?’ she said.
The one with black hair laughed. ‘We never were. My friend here is a shopkeeper called Peter. I’m a master carpenter, and my name is Paul. We both won an Adventure Permit from the government, so we’re allowed to do all this. When we get to Agbat we’ll have to go to the mayor’s office to get the section torn from our certificates which says “Abduct Two Women”. We’ve already qualified for the clause which says “Take Policemen’s Clothes”. When we’ve finished with you we go on to the next panel, which tells us to “Steal a Car”. The adventure’s only just begun, and we’re enjoying it very much, aren’t we, Peter?’
Peter laughed, and tried to kiss Cola, who pushed him away.
‘Let’s get the coal,’ said Jaquiline.
‘If you try to escape when you’re outside,’ Peter said, ‘we’ll come and hunt you. We get extra marks on our score for “Hunt Two Women”, so nothing would please us better. Those awarded the highest score at the end of the year get another ticket the year after, and we’re doing very well so far.’
‘There won’t be any next year,’ Jaquiline told them. ‘Your country is about to have a revolution.’ They sat on the floor by the fire, Peter taking his boots off, and laughed loudly at her threat, which seemed irrelevant in such an enjoyable situation.