Candy;

by Robb White

  And Candy thought he was going to cry right there.

  Mr. Jenkins went on, "I understand that in Morristown they train you and the dog together, so each will know what the other wants. That takes a little time, of course. But when you finish there, you'll go on to Perkins."

  "Who's Perkins?" Tony asked.

  "Perkins?" Mr. Jenkins said, as though surprised. "Why, that's the best and oldest of the institutions for the blind, of course. Perkins Institution—that's at Boston, in Massachusetts. You wall stay there until you are twenty-one years old."

  The word "institution" seemed to hang in the air. Candy looked quickly at Tony.

  He was standing in front of the great chair. His fingers were laced together, and she saw him getting white as he strained them together. Under the sun tan the blood went out of his face. He licked his lips with the tip of his tongue and then said quietly, his voice flat, "No, sir."

  Mr. Jenkins's head snapped up and his eyes began to flash. " 'No, sir'? What do you mean, 'no, sir'?"

  Tony slowly unlaced his fingers and his hands dropped to his sides and hung limp, fingers open. His shoulders slumped down a little, but he held his head up high, his blind eyes on Mr. Jenkins. "I won't go to an institution," he said at last.

  "Absurd!" Mr. Jenkins snapped. "The Perkins Institution is the finest school for the blind in the country. It's a privilege to go there."

  Tony shook his head. "No, sir," he said again.

  Mr. Jenkins clamped his hands down on the high arms of the chair and looked as though he were about to leap on Tony.

  Candy decided that it was time for her to help Tony out, so she began, saying, *'Mr. Jenkins, Tony "

  He sileneed her with a wave of his hand. Then he let go the chair with his other hand and settled back in it. He put first his thumb tips together, then the tips of all the rest of his fingers, and looked at them for a moment. Tlien, his voice completely changed, he asked, '*Why not, Tony?"

  Tony stood perfectly still, his shoulders square and his head up. ''Because I want to see again. I want to go and find a doctor who can make me see again. I can't do that if Fm in an institu-tion.^'

  Mr. Jenkins separated his fingertips one by one and then put his hands in his lap. ''All right, Tony. I'll send you to the best eye doctor in the United States." He turned to Candy. "Pull that cord over there, please. Three times."

  Candy went over and pulled the long, thick ribbon hanging beside the fireplace. In a moment a frightened-looking girl wearing big horn-rimmed glasses came hurrying in carrying a pad of paper and handful of sharp pencils. "Yes, sir, Mr. Jenkins?" she said, gulping.

  "How are you, Miss Pledgett? Please make me an appointment with Dr. Worsham in Boston."

  "Yes, sir," she said, and almost ran away.

  Mr. Jenkins turned back to Tony. Then he suddenly looked furious. "Pull that thing again. Once," he ordered.

  Candy pulled the cord again, and Jasper galloped in.

  Mr. Jenkins's voice was sweet as he said, "Where's my milk, Jasper?"

  "It burned a little, sir. Just a little. It'll be ready in a moment, sir."

  Mr. Jenkins turned back to Tony. "I don't think there's a better doctor in the world than Worsham, Tony. I hope he can see you soon."

  "I do, too," Tony said.

  Mr. Jenkins suddenly began to smile as he looked at Candy. ''How's that crazy machine of yours?" he asked.

  'Tou mean the Faraway?'' she asked.

  ''Whatever you call that thing you rode me in."

  Candy smiled. "She's fine, sir."

  Mr. Jenkins put his fingertips together again and looked at them with a sly expression. Then he looked up at Candy. "Have you taken Mrs. Malone for a sail yet?"

  Candy shook her head. "No, sir."

  "Do it! I don't care how you persuade her to get into it, but get her in it. Ha!" he said. "That would do that woman a world of good."

  Miss Pledgett came tiptoeing back in. "Dr. Worsham is leaving for Europe, sir," she said, her hands trembling like a bird's wing, "and he can only see you on the sixteenth, sir."

  "That's day after tomorrow. Miss Pledgett! When's he coming back from Europe?"

  "He doesn't know, sir, but not soon, he said."

  Mr. Jenkins seemed angry. "Oh well, I imagine you can get up there. What are the airplane schedules to Boston?" he asked Miss Pledgett.

  She acted a little happy as she said, "I have two reservations on the plane tomorrow morning. It leaves at five minutes past six from Miami."

  "Good girl. Thank you. Miss Pledgett." As she went out, he turned to Tony. "I'll send Mrs. Malone along to take care of you, Tony. Even if Dr. Worsham can't do much now, he can at least look }0u over and let you know what he thinks."

  "Thank you very much," Tony said.

  "You keep on hoping, Tony," he said, getting up and patting Tony on the shoulder. "Now I've got to go. Good-by."

  Candy watched him as he hurried down the long room and slammed the door as he went out.

  Tony said in a weak voice, "Is there any place to sit down. Candy?"

  She led him over to a sofa the size of a small room and they sat down together.

  Neither of them said anything for a while, then Tony said, "I feel funny."

  ^'How^?"

  "I feel like something big is going to happen."

  *'Me, too. Just think, in the morning you'll be flying to Boston."

  '*And day after tomorrow Dr. Worsham will look at my eves. And then, when he comes back, he'll—he'll do something, Candy."

  "It's lucky Mr. Jenkins came back today, isn*t it? Otherwise Dr. Worsham would have gone and you couldn't have seen him."

  Tony suddenly began to jump up and down on the springy cushions. ''Oh, boy!" he said, laughing, "day after tomonow. Day after tomorrow!"

  Candy laughed, too, and they kept on as Jasper came in and glared down at them. He had a glass of milk on a little tray.

  CHAPTER

  20

  Candy had lunch with Mrs. Malone and Tony and they made plans for the trip to Boston. Mrs. Malone was all excited about it and kept jumping up from the table to pack something else she decided Tony would need.

  The weather got steadily worse, and Candy kept an eye on it as they got Tony ready for his trip. Jasper came in and argued with Mrs. Malone about what time in the morning they should leave for Miami. Since he was going to drive the car, Mrs. Malone finally gave in and agreed that they could leave the house as late as five o'clock in the morning. She then insisted that Tony go take a nap. He argued about that, but Mrs. Malone wasn't going to be defeated again, so Tony had to go to bed.

  Candy told him good-by and they promised to write to each other while he was away.

  When she got back to the Faraway, the wind had veered into the northeast and was steady there and strong. There were whitecaps at the mouth of the Bay, and the sky was streaked with clouds like long, curving swords. Candy knew from experience that one of Mr. Carruthers's ''roarin' nor'-easters" was on the way. It wouldn't have much rain, but the squalls would be something. Something, Candy decided with

  pleasure, she would be glad to watch from the safety of her room.

  It was a nasty sail even across the Bay. Daylight was fading into the gray of evening, although it was only three o'clock. Candy made sure her mooring pennant was well secured before she left the Faraway and started home.

  She met Dotty T. halfway there and, since Dotty T. had enough money, they went to the movies. It was the first time Candy had gone to the movies in the daytime for as long as she could remember, and all the way through the show she kept wondering what the storm was doing outside.

  When they came out, it was practically dark and the wind was blowing a gale. Candy saw the small-boat warning flags flying stiff in the wind. She asked Dotty T. to come down to the beach with her to see if the Faraway was all right, but Dotty T. wouldn't come because she'd get salt water on her new shoes.

  Candy went down alone and, watching the waves breaking against the
sea wall, she decided to put out the anchor in addition to the mooring. Taking off her shoes and rolling up her pants legs, she waded out to the boat and, using the paddle, shoved her upwind and dropped the anchor. Then, with the Faraway tied to the point of the V made by the anchor and mooring lines. Candy stripped the masts. She stowed the folded sails under the foredeck, put stops on the running rigging to keep it from slatting all night, and then laced the canvas cockpit cover over everything. 'Tet her blow," she said to herself as she waded back toward the wharf.

  As she started to climb up on the wharf, which was lit by floodlights, she saw the man standing at the top of the ladder.

  He had on a long black raincoat which the wind was whipping against his legs.

  He didn't have a hat, and his gray hair was clipped short. He was about as old as Mr. Carruthers and had a gaunt, hollow-cheeked face with eyes the color of watery milk set way back in their sockets. He was very stern-looking.

  As Candy reached the top of the ladder she wondered who he was and why he kept looking at her, turning slowly under the floodlights as she started to walk away.

  Then he bowed slightly and said, ''Good evening."

  Candy kept on walking as she nodded and said, ''Hello.''

  "Are you Catherine Pritchard?" he asked. His voice was deep and hollow.

  Candy stopped. 'Tes, I am."

  "I am Abraham Kruger/' he said. He had a calm, slow way of talking, as though he was used to having people listen carefully to what he said.

  "How do you do?" Candy asked politely, and wondered who Abraham Kruger was.

  He bowed slightly again. "Well, thank you. And you?"

  "Fm all right," Candy said, starting to move again.

  His hollow voice came after her. "Your boat is verv beautiful."

  "Yes, she is."

  He took two steps and was beside her, his raincoat making a noise like slapping wet butter with a paddle. "I have only seen one as beautiful," he said.

  Candy wondered what he wanted. She wasn't afraid of him— he wasn't that kind of man, but she wished that someone she knew would come out on the wharf. But everybody was inside, keeping out of the wind. "There are a lot of Snipes," she said, still walking.

  "Undoubtedly," he said. Then his voice changed suddenly and seemed to stab at her. "Does that boat belong to you?"

  Candy decided to keep on walking along the wharf, although her knees were beginning to feel a little weak. "Yes," she said.

  His voice came again, stabbing. "How long have you owned her?"

  Candy thought back. "About a month."

  When he spoke again each word came out evenly, like a

  man walking in a church. ''Where did you get that boat?'*

  Candy still wasn't afraid of him, but he worried her. He made her feel as though she had done something wrong. And there was something about him which seemed to be pushing her all the time—pushing her where she didn't want to go. Candy decided that there was no reason why she had to talk to him if she didn't want to.

  She was perfectly pohte as she asked, ''Why do you want to know?"

  He sounded like a schoolteacher as he said, "It is extremely important that I know."

  Candy's jaw got stubborn. "I don't have to tell you."

  He leaned toward her suddenly, jutting his gaunt face at her. "Then I will tell you. You got her from a man, and his name is " He stopped, then snapped, "John Daniels!"

  Candy stopped in her tracks and stared at him.

  The man seemed to change all over. Inside the black raincoat his body relaxed. At the corners of his sunken eyes a lot of little wrinkles looked like a smile, and his lips did smile.

  'Tlease," he said, "may I talk to you for a little while, Catherine?"

  Candy nodded.

  "Somewhere out of the wind?"

  Candy pointed toward the place where the tourists played shufBeboard in the winter. There were benches beside the courts and a wall against the wind. They went over and sat down under a string of electric lights.

  Candy started putting on her shoes. She wiped one foot with her sock, then pulled on the sock. She knew that she had to be careful now because she had already made one mistake by letting the man know that she knew Dr. Daniels. She mustn't let him trap her again, she decided, as she put on the shoe.

  He said suddenly, "Is he still alive?"

  Candy pulled the laces tight and tied them^ her fingers a

  little awkward. She rolled down that pants leg and started wiping her other foot. The best thing, she decided, was not to tell any lies, but just not say anything.

  The man leaned back against the wall and looked at her. The wind made a peculiar dry noise as it hurtled past the ends of the wall.

  He surprised her by saying in a nice voice, ''They call you Candy, don't they?''

  She nodded, waiting.

  He unbuttoned the raincoat slowly and, reaching inside it, pulled out a roll of round lemon drops with holes in the middle of them. He held the roll out to her and shot one of the lemon drops into her hand with his thumbnail. Then he took one and sucked on it.

  The lemon drop made him lisp a Httle as he said slowly, ''If I can find John Daniels, I may be able to save his life. Candy."

  She had changed her opinion of the man a httle and she wasn't at all afraid of him. She even thought that she could like him some after a while. But she wasn't going to let him trick her again.

  "When you saw him last, how was he. Candy?"

  Since he already knew that Dr. Daniels had given her the Faraway there was no harm answering, she decided. "All right," she said.

  "Was he weak? What did his eyes look like?"

  "He didn't seem weak," Candy answered. "And his eyes-well, they were ordinary looking."

  "Not bloodshot or cloudy?"

  Candy thought a moment. "No, just ordinary."

  "How long has it been since you saw him?"

  "About two weeks."

  "That long!" he exclaimed, and his eyes were worried and afraid. Then he looked straight at her. "Can you take me to him right away. Candy?"

  Candy slowly shook her head. "No."

  For a second his face was angry, then it changed. ''Why not?" he asked, and sounded as though he were begging her.

  ''I promised him that I wouldn't." Candy decided then that it was time to finish the whole thing. **I promised him that I wouldn't tell anyone where he is, or take anyone there. So that's all." She rolled down the other pants leg and stood up.

  'Tlease," he said. ''Wait just a moment."

  Candy sat down again, but on the edge of the bench.

  "He didn't mean me, Abraham Kruger, Candy. I'm his friend—he's known me and worked with me most of his life. I know what's the matter with him. And I think that I can cure him. You've got to take me, Candy!"

  Candy stubbornly shook her head. At the same time she was curious. "What's the matter with him?" she asked.

  He leaned back against the wall and looked up at the darkness which seemed to be pressing down against the light bulbs. He sounded tired as he said, "Candy, during the war ever^'thing was being done in a hurry. There wasn't time to go slowly, to be careful. All of us working in the laboratories kept thinking about the men risking their lives on the beaches and on the sea. The thought that if we wasted a little time by being careful it might waste somebody's life was always pressing dowTi on us.

  "We—John Daniels and I and some other doctors and physicists—were setting up a new cyclotron. That was back in 1943, when the war wasn't going well. You know what a cyclotron is, don't you?"

  "Sort of," Candy said, trying to remember.

  "They smash atoms," Mr. Kruger said. "They are tremendous whirling machines—like gigantic cream separators. Anyway, we got this one started. We knew that when it began really smashing atoms it was very dangerous to stand close to it, but we didn't expect it to work the first time."

  He stopped and bit his lemon drop in half. She could hear his teeth break it.

  Then he went on. "B
ut this cyclotron began to work almost immediately. There were five men standing quite close to it and John Daniels was one of them.

  "They didn't know it, but the machine was bombarding them with neutrons as they stood there. They didn't feel anything—there was no warning, no heat or pressure. But there must have been a charge of ten or fifteen million volts going through them."

  He paused and looked down at her. Xow his eves were sunk deeper, and his voice was so low that she could hardly hear him. ''Those doctors did not know then, Candy, that they had been struck by a force that was going to kill them. It all happened a long time ago, and we didn't know then what we know now about atomic power. So, in spite of everthing we could do, four of those doctors are dead now, Candv, and John alone is left.

  "But I can cure him—I think. If it's not too late."

  He looked at her again. "Will you take me to him now. Candy? If you won't, I can find him—eventually. WTien he was buying that boat of yours, he told me that he was going to find a place down here where nobody would bother him. There aren't many places like that, so I can find him if you won't help me. But if you help, it'll save time and perhaps save his Hfe."

  Candy thought for a long time. Now, slowly, everything that Dr. Daniels had said was clear, and the things he had done, which she hadn't understood, were easy to understand.

  Candy felt like something in a cage. Everwhere her mind turned there seemed to be a wall. She had promised him. He had said not to bring anvbody, or tell anybody. On the other hand, this man in the black raincoat knew everything about it and could save his life.

  She at last turned and slowly shook her head. "I can't break my promise," she said quietly, "but I'll go and ask him."

  Mr. Kruger closed his eyes and didn't open them as he said, "All right. Will you go at once?"

  Candy looked out at the sea breaking against the concrete wall down Front Street. 'Tes," she said.

  ''When will you come back?"

  He didn't know how complicated everything had gotten all of a sudden. ''As soon as I can," she told him.