I’ve been asleep, he explained. Now I feel much better. Wad Purdom has just left here, and we think he’s on his way to your place. Wait—Danta Rush wants me to tell you something.
He glanced up at the bronze man, and nodded.
“You’ve got her, Jagger? Fine! Let her know that Wad is going to be after her to explain about that sick dog with anthrax I had in the truck this morning. She’s to tell Wad the truth—just the bare truth, and no details. That she heard a dog up on the ridge that seemed to be in trouble, that she and Peter came to me for help, and that we found a white dog someone had shot. That’s all. Except, of course, that she made up the anthrax part to scare Big Joe away. She was afraid he was the one who shot the dog. That clear?”
Jagger nodded and relayed the message to Nan. Do you understand? he asked. That ought to satisfy everybody without giving anything away.
“I—I sure hope it does,” she said uncertainly. “I wish I hadn’t pulled that about anthrax this morning, but it was the only screamy-scary thing I could think of in a hurry. Only it’s bound to set Mr. Purdom off. He just won’t leave a thing alone when—Oh, golly gee, here he comes now!”
Jagger could sense that Nan wanted almost desperately to tell him something else, something extremely important, but there was no time for it at the moment. She was one of those persons who had to talk aloud, if only in a whisper, to send her thoughts, and she would hardly risk doing it when others could hear. This convinced him that she and Peter were no longer alone in the house, and that Tess Gomez must have returned.
He glanced up at Danta Rush, nodded twice to show that the message had been received, then resigned himself to uneasy waiting.
The Indian kindled a small fire in the fireplace, then went into the kitchen to fix supper. At the sound of cans being opened, Cleo appeared miraculously from nowhere and loudly demanded food. When she had eaten, she came over to the hearth and sat down near Jagger to lick her chops. She was very smug and self-satisfied.
This is my house, she told him. So naturally I am always fed first.
Naturally, Jagger admitted. He forced himself to admire her beauty so she would not glean from his mind what he really thought of her.
For an impossible dog, she went on, you are really quite likable. With you here, I felt much safer this morning when the horror came by again.
The horror has been by here before? Jagger asked.
Yes. Days ago, when the mist crept down from the mountains. It came by in the night when all were asleep except me. I was outside, and I saw it. I thought I would die. Her golden eyes widened, and she shivered with the memory.
Jagger stared at her. You actually saw it?
I saw the horror. It was big, big, big—bigger than you. And it was black, black, black.
Jagger tried for more details, but beyond the simple description she had given him Cleo could not go. The thing was very big and very black, and something unspeakable about it had chilled her to the marrow. For the first time Jagger began to wonder if, by some curious chance, the accident that had brought him to this world had brought something else from another world not too different from his own.
The thought startled him. It startled him so much that he sat up suddenly, his floppy ear straightening until it was as erect as the other. For now he remembered Elder Norfo once saying that their world was only one world of three, all very much alike, and all existing in the same space. You couldn’t see the others, the Elder had said, for each world had its own special dimension, and their only connection was an occasional short circuit between their electromagnetic fields.
At the thought of short circuits and electromagnetic fields, which had almost escaped his memory, a great light dawned in Jagger’s mind. Why, of course! he reasoned. That’s how I got here! The lightning struck and the ground heaved, so there must have been an earthquake. It was all part of a short circuit, and somehow it flipped me in the wrong direction.
With that mystery solved, Jagger did not waste mental effort wondering how he could reverse the action and send himself home. It couldn’t be done, at least not by a dog. And quite aside from the fact that it was entirely beyond the abilities of the average human, he knew he wouldn’t leave now even if he could. He was needed here. Soon, he was absolutely sure, Nan and Peter would be in desperate need of his help. He could feel it coming. And of immediate concern was the horror that he and Danta Rush must somehow track down and destroy. Maybe, with luck, he would be strong enough to try it in the morning.
The bronze man brought his supper—a big warm bowl of mixed grains which he was told were peas and rice. A truly wonderful combination, he thought, but he ate absently, for he was still puzzling over the strange creature he might possibly be forced to fight. What manner of thing was it? And what world was it from? Not his own, surely. But it could be from the third world—something entirely unknown and frightful.
“What’s troubling you?” asked Danta Rush, who had sat down near him again to have a dish of the same mixture. “Is it the other banshee?”
Jagger nodded, and looked hard at the Indian while he sent forth a question.
“What do I think it is?” came the reply. “H’mm. It’s not a bear. Doesn’t even act or move like one. And I’m certain it’s not one of our native panthers. Cleo might be afraid of a panther, just as she would be of a wildcat, but she wouldn’t be terrified. Now, there’s a possibility it could be something that escaped from a circus or a zoo—a jaguar or a leopard perhaps, or even a tiger. But somehow I doubt it. Some poor creature is always escaping, but usually it’s so bewildered from being locked in a cage that it’s easily shot or captured.”
For the first time in his life Jagger wished his huge paws had the ability to make signs or draw symbols, for how else could he explain to the bronze man about the third planet, or tell him what Cleo had told him? If only Nan were here, it would be easy, but from the looks of things it might be days before he even saw Nan and Peter again. As for the animals Danta Rush had mentioned, he’d had no trouble visualizing them, but not one seemed to fit Cleo’s description. Big, big, big, and black, black, black. Of course, in Cleo’s awed mind, the thing was probably a great deal bigger and blacker than reality.
Yet the fact remained that Cleo had first seen it soon after the lightning flash and the earthquake. And if it wasn’t from this world or his own, it had to be something from the third world. A black and senseless something, with a raging blackness in its mind …
Jagger’s uncomfortable thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Nan calling urgently, “Jagger, can you hear me?”
Something was wrong. I hear you. What is it, Nan?
“Peter and I have got to run away. Tonight.”
No! he flashed back, horrified at the very idea of the two of them alone in the forest. You must stay out of the woods!
“Don’t be silly! Peter and I know what we’re doing. As I’ve told you before, there’s absolutely nothing outside to be afraid of!”
There is now! he warned. Something terrible is on the loose, and it’s already killed every dog that got too close to it today.
“You—you’re not fooling me?”
Certainly not! It went by the house here this morning. We didn’t see it, but we felt it. Everything here felt it and was frightened. Danta Rush spent a long time looking for it, but all he found was one of the dogs. Didn’t Wad Purdom tell you?
“Why—why, yes. But I didn’t understand. He said the banshee had killed some more dogs—but it just didn’t make sense to us. And he got real mad when I told him the truth about you. The bare truth, I mean, like you said. Jagger, wh-what in the world is going on?”
He told her all that had happened. Those hunters, he added, they think it’s the same banshee they’ve been after from the start. They won’t believe Danta Rush, and they’ve no idea how dangerous it is.
“But—but, Jagger, what is it?”
We don’t know. I’m afraid it’s a—a strange something that was displaced and acc
identally dropped here at the same time I was. It’s a horror, Nan, and no one can afford to take chances with it.
“How—how awful!”
He could feel the shock in her. There was a long pause, then she said, “But, Jagger, we—we’ve got to take our chances. Because, if we stay here, something’s going to happen to us.”
What?
“I—I don’t know yet. But the idea is getting clearer in Aunt Tess’s mind. I could sort of sense it there before she left. Now she and that snaky Mr. Gomez are back, and it’s real strong. Even Peter can feel it.”
I don’t quite understand, Jagger replied, and added hesitantly, Do you mean she’s actually planning to—to get rid of you? To destroy you?
“Y-yes.”
This was such a jolt to Jagger’s sensibilities that his great mouth fell open and for a moment he was incapable of speech. He was vaguely aware that both Danta Rush and Cleo were watching him curiously, yet he realized that both must know he was in the midst of a thought exchange with Nan.
I’ve never heard of such a terrible thing, he told her finally. Is it a common practice here? I mean—one human destroying another for gain?
“Stars alive, Jagger, it—it isn’t exactly a common practice, but people sure do it. And, Jagger, I—I’m scared. So is Peter. We’ve just got to leave—”
Now wait, he interrupted. How does she intend to do it? And when? Do you know her plan?
“All I know,” she said, “is that the thought’s in the front of her mind instead of the back. She and Mr. Gomez must have talked it over while they were away, and agreed to do it.”
You don’t know when, or how?
“I think they were trying to decide how they’d manage it when the banshee hunters came. Aunt Tess was furious with us when she found out we’d been away most of the night with Mr. Rush. Usually she would have given us a licking for disobeying her, but this time she didn’t. In spite of being mad, she just gave us one of those funny-sweet smiles of hers, and said it was the last time we’d ever do anything like that. Golly gee, if you could have heard her! Something about it made my skin crawl.”
Where are you now? Jagger asked.
“Up in my room with the door locked. Peter’s room is next to mine, and he’s locked his door too.”
Then you ought to be safe for the night, he told her. I’ve never known a human to do anything without making several decisions, and she’s made only one. She still has to decide how and when, and probably where.
“But—Jagger, people are not always like that. They—they just suddenly do things. And if they are sort of, well, crackers, like she is—”
Crackers? I do not understand you.
“Oh, I mean a little crazy, sort of off her rocker. And I really think she is.”
Are you trying to tell me there is something wrong with her mind? That she does not have proper control of it? That she is slightly demented?
“Something like that. And she—she likes to hurt things. My—my poor little dog, Dandy—but I can’t talk about it. Jagger, I—I’m scared. I don’t think we should stay here tonight.”
Jagger was astounded. He’d never heard of a human like Tess Gomez. At home no one ever lost mental control. What were the terms for it? Off one’s rocker? Crackers? Crazy? He liked the last, and it seemed to apply to the whole planet. Everything was crazy here, even most of the people.
“Jagger, what should we do?” Nan called plaintively.
Can you talk to Peter in the next room? he asked.
“Yes. We’ve opened the connecting door.”
Then tell him about the new banshee. He’s got to know. While you are doing that, I’ll try to explain to Danta Rush that you want to leave.
“How in the world can you manage it?”
I don’t know, but I’ll try.
“Oh, if he only had a telephone! But he’s always hated them.”
If I’m unable to make him understand, I’m sure I can get him to meet you somewhere in his truck. Now tell Peter about the banshee.
SEVEN He Is Accused
Jagger opened his eyes and saw that Danta Rush was watching him intently. Even the haughty Cleo seemed to be aware of what was going on, for she was slowly switching her tail as if her nerves were on edge. Dusk had come, but the only light in the room came from the small fire in the fireplace.
“What’s brewing, Jagger?” the Indian asked quietly. “Trouble at Thornberry Farm?”
Jagger nodded quickly.
“Are the kids in danger?”
Again he nodded.
“That Gomez woman up to something?”
Jagger nodded for the third time.
Danta Rush scowled at the fire. “I might have known it. She wants the place. That means she must get rid of Nan and Peter. So it’s come to the point where she’s actually decided to do it—and Nan read her mind. Right?”
At Jagger’s nod, the bronze man stood up and began pacing the room, snapping his fingers. Suddenly he stopped. “I see it,” he muttered. “Of course the kids are scared. The only thing they can do is run away—then you told them it would be dangerous to go out tonight. Right again? So far, so good. Now if they remain at the farm tonight, there’s the question of their safety. That would depend on how far that devilish Tess has gone with her plans. Has she decided exactly what she’s going to do?”
Jagger shook his head.
“Good! If she hasn’t worked out the details, that gives us time. However, if Nan feels she and Peter absolutely must leave tonight, tell her I’ll meet them in the truck on the edge of the road near their mailbox.”
Jagger called Nan and relayed the message.
“Peter thinks we should stay here until tomorrow,” she told him. “He doesn’t believe we’ll be in any real danger until tomorrow night, after the hired man has left, and after Aunt Tess has come back from shopping. Tomorrow’s Friday, and the hired man always goes to town for the weekend. And on Friday afternoons, Aunt Tess and her husband always go in to do their shopping. Peter’s idea is for us to catch the school bus and go on to school, just as usual. By the time we get back in the afternoon, Aunt Tess will be in town and there won’t be anyone around to bother us while we pack our clothes and leave.”
Then you’ll come straight here? Jagger asked.
“We’ll decide that later. Anyway, Mr. Rush will have to take us somewhere to a bus station so we can catch a bus to Baton Rouge. You see, that’s the main reason for going to school tomorrow—so we can slip away at noon and go to the bank and draw out our savings.”
Savings? he repeated.
“Yes. We’ll need money to travel, and we’ve enough saved up to take us to Baton Rouge. That’s ’way over in another state, and we’ve a great-aunt there who’s been wanting us to visit her for a long time. She’s a real nice old lady, and I’m sure she’ll take us in. Now, if you can think of some way to do it, will you please tell Mr. Rush what we’ve planned?”
Jagger had the uncomfortable feeling that Peter was making a mistake, and that the children ought to be leaving tonight instead of tomorrow. After all, it would be no trouble to get Danta Rush to meet them with the truck. But as he relayed part of the plan to the bronze man—with the help of careful questioning—it brought a nod of approval.
“That should work out all right,” he was told. “By the time the kids get home from school, everyone should be in town shopping. They’ll have an hour or more to get their things together, and I can be waiting for them to take them to a safe place. Now, let me see …”
Danta Rush paused, then said, “I can’t bring them here. They’ll be found for sure, and it’ll just make trouble with the law.”
The law? Jagger questioned.
“Are—are you asking me what the law is?” the bronze man said.
Jagger nodded.
The Indian stared at him. “I can’t believe you came from a lawless world. But maybe your people are so intelligent and honest they don’t need armed guards to protect them from criminals
. Come to think of it, my people didn’t go in for that sort of thing either. In the old days no Creek ever killed for gain or stole from a neighbor. That’s the white man’s way. As for the white man’s law, it would send the children back to that Gomez woman, because she’s their legal guardian—and it might even send me to jail for kidnapping.”
At Jagger’s look of utter astonishment, Danta Rush added, “The only way the law would favor the kids is absolute proof that Tess Gomez intends to murder them. And how can you prove that? Who would believe Nan can truly read her aunt’s mind?”
The bronze man frowned. “Now, about tomorrow. I’ll have to take the kids somewhere. It may turn into a real trip, so I’d better go to town first thing, stop at the bank, and then get a full tank of gas and some supplies. H’mm. They’ve got an elderly relative somewhere. Wonder if that’s where they’re thinking of going.”
At Jagger’s quick nod, Danta Rush snapped his fingers. “Of course! That old lady in Baton Rouge! They ought to be safe with her, especially if they can get there without anyone knowing about it. Well, I’ll see to that. Now, I think the kids will be okay for the night, but if Nan calls you for help, wake me and we’ll get over there fast.”
A sleepless Nan called him several times before dawn, but it was more for comfort than anything else. “Oh, Jagger,” she told him once, “I feel so much better knowing you’re near, and having you to talk to. Golly, I’m sure going to miss you when we leave!”
You can still talk to me, no matter where you go, he told her.
“Really? As far away as Baton Rouge?”
I don’t know how far that is, he replied. But it would make no difference if you went halfway around the world. Once contact is made—and you make it by calling to that particular person—then distance doesn’t matter.
“Well, I’ll be jigged! I didn’t dream—Then I’ll sure call you when I get to school. But it’ll have to be when no one can see me, or they’ll think I’m cuckoo, talking aloud to myself.”
Breakfast was over, and Danta Rush had put the cottage in order and gone out to the truck to drive to town, when Jagger again heard Nan’s voice in his ear. She and Peter had arrived at school only a little while before.
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