The Year When Stardust Fell

by Raymond F. Jones

  Chapter 13. _Stay Out of Town!_

  It took a surprisingly short time to ring Mayfield with a barbed-wirebarricade. A large stock of steel fence posts was on hand in the localfarm supply stores, and these could be driven rapidly even in the frozenground. There was plenty of wire. What more was needed, both of wire andposts, was taken from adjacent farmland fences, and by the end of theweek following the Mayor's pronouncement the task was completed and theguards were at their posts.

  In all that time there had been no occasion to turn anyone away, butsentiment both for and against the program was heavy and bitter withinthe community.

  On the Sunday after completion of the fence, Dr. Aylesworth chose tospeak of it in his sermon. He had advertised that he would do so. Thechurch was not only packed, but large numbers of people stood outside inthe freezing weather listening through the doors. Even greaterexcitement was stirred by the whispered information that Mayor Hilliardwas sitting in the center of the congregation.

  The minister had titled his sermon, "My Brother's Keeper." He opened bysaying, "Am I my brother's keeper? We know the answer to that question,my friends. For all the thousands of years that man has been strugglingupward he has been developing the answer to that question. We know it,even though we may not always abide by it.

  "We know who our brothers are--all mankind, whether in Asia or in Europeor next door to our own home. These are our brothers."

  As he elaborated on the theme, Ken thought that this was his mother'sbelief which she had expressed when the fence was first mentioned.

  "We cannot help those in distant lands," said Dr. Aylesworth. "As muchas our hearts go out to them and are touched with compassion at theirplight, we can do nothing for them. For those on our own doorstep,however, it is a different matter.

  "We are being told now by our civil authorities in this community thatwe must drive away at the point of a gun any who come holding out theirhands for succor and shelter. We are told we must drive them away tocertain death.

  "I tell you if we do this thing, no matter what the outcome of ourpresent condition, we shall never be able to look one another in theeye. We shall never be able to look at our own image without rememberingthose whom we turned away when they came to us for help. I call upon youto petition our civil authorities to remove this brutal and inhumanerestriction in order that we may be able to behave as the civilized menand women we think we have become. Although faced with disaster, we arenot yet without a voice in our own actions, and those who have made thisunholy ruling can be persuaded to relent if the voices of the people areloud enough!"

  He sat down amid a buzz of whispered comment. Then all eyes turnedsuddenly at the sound of a new voice in the hall. Mayor Hilliard was onhis feet and striding purposefully toward the pulpit.

  "Reverend, you've had your say, and now I think I've got a right to havemine. I know this is your bailiwick and you can ask me to leave if youwant to. However, these are my people six days a week to your one. Willyou let me say my piece?"

  Dr. Aylesworth rose again, a smile of welcome on his face. "I think weshare the people, or, rather, they share us on all 7 days of the week,"he said. "I will be happy to have you use this pulpit to deliver anymessage you may care to."

  "Thanks," said Mayor Hilliard as he mounted the platform and stoodbehind the pulpit. "Dr. Aylesworth and I," he began, "have been goodfriends for a long time. We usually see eye to eye on most things, butin this we are dead opposite.

  "What he says is true enough. If enough of you want to protest what I'vedone you can have a change, but that change will have to include a newmayor and a new set of councilmen. I was elected, and the Council waselected to make rules and regulations for the welfare of this communityas long as we were in office.

  "We've made this rule about allowing no more refugees in Mayfield andit's going to stand as long as we're in office. By next summer, if theharvest is even a few days late, your children are going to be standingaround crying for food you can't give them, and you are going to have tocut your supplies to one-fifth their normal size. That's the way it addsup after we count all the people in the valley, and all the cases andsacks of food in the warehouses.

  "It's just plain arithmetic. If we keep adding more people we're allgoing to get closer and closer to starvation, and finally wake up onemorning and find we've gone over the edge of it.

  "Now, if that's what you want, just go ahead and get some city officerswho will arrange it for you. If anybody in this town, including you, Dr.Aylesworth, can think of a more workable answer or one that makesbetter sense than the one we've got I'd like to know about it."

  It snowed heavily that afternoon out of a bitter, leaden sky. It startedin the midst of the morning service, and by the time the congregationdispersed it was difficult to see a block away.

  There was little comment about what they had heard, among the peopleleaving the church. They walked with heads bowed against the snow towardtheir cold homes and sparsely filled pantries.

  The community chapel was near the edge of town. One of the boundaryfences lay only two blocks away. From that direction, as the crowddispersed, there came the sudden sound of a shot. It was muffled underthe heavy skies and the dense snow, but there was no mistaking thesound.

  Ken jerked his head sharply. "That must have been one of the guards!" hesaid. His father nodded. Together, they raced in the direction of thesound. Others began running, too, their hearts pounding in anticipationof some crisis that might settle the unanswered questions.

  Ken noticed ahead of them, through the veil of snow, the chunky figureof Mayor Hilliard running as rapidly as he could. As they came to thefence they saw the guard standing on one side, his rifle lowered andready. On the other side of the barbed-wire enclosure was a stout,middle-aged man. He wore an overcoat, but there was no hat on his head.His face was drawn with agony and uncomprehending despair.

  He staggered on his feet as he pleaded in a tired voice. "You've got tolet me come in. I've walked all the way in this blizzard. I haven't hadany food for two days."

  A group of churchgoers lined the fence now, additional ones coming upslowly, almost reluctantly, but knowing they had to witness what wasabout to take place. Ken exclaimed hoarsely to his father, "That's SamBaker! He runs the drugstore and newsstand in Frederick. Everybody inMayfield knows Sam Baker!"

  Sam Baker turned in bewildered, helpless pleading to the crowd lined onthe other side of the fence. Mayor Hilliard stood back a dozen yardsfrom the wire.

  "You've got to help me," Sam Baker begged. "You can't make me go backall that way. It's 50 miles. There's nothing there. They're all dead orlost in the snow. Give me something to eat, please..."

  "You've got to move on," the guard said mechanically. "Nobody gets in.That's the law here."

  Along the fence, people pressed close, and one or two men startedhesitantly to climb. Mayor Hilliard's voice rang out, "Anybody who goeson the other side of that fence _stays_ on the other side!"

  The men climbed down. No one said anything. Sam Baker scanned them withhis helpless glance once more. Then he turned slowly. Fifty feet fromthe fence he fell in the snow, face down.

  Mayor Hilliard spoke slowly and clearly once more. "If anyone so much asthrows a crust of bread over that fence the guard has orders to shoot."

  As if frozen, the onlookers remained immobile. The guard held his fixedstance. Mayor Hilliard stood, feet apart, his hands in his pockets,staring defiantly. On the other side of the fence, the thick flakes ofsnow were rapidly covering the inert form of Sam Baker. In only a fewmoments he would be obliterated from their sight. That would be thesignal for them all to turn and go home, Ken thought.

  Impulsively, he took a step forward. He looked at his father's face."Dad..."

  Professor Maddox touched Ken's arm with a restraining hand. His face wasgrim and churned by conflicting desires.

  The utter stillness was broken then by the crunching sound of boots inthe snow. All eyes turned to the powerful, white-maned figure thatapp
roached. Dr. Aylesworth was hatless and the snow was thick in hishair. He paused a moment, comprehending the situation. Then he strodeforward to the fence.

  He put a foot on the wire, and climbed. His coat caught on the barbs ashe jumped to the other side. He ripped it free, ignoring the tear of thefabric.

  Mayor Hilliard watched as if hypnotized. He jerked himself, finally, outof his immobility. "Parson!" he cried. "Come back here!"

  Dr. Aylesworth ignored the command. He strode forward with unwaveringsteps.

  "It's no different with you than it is with any other man," Hilliardshouted. He took the gun from the guard. "You're breaking the law. Ifyou don't stop I'll shoot!"

  The majestic figure of the minister turned. He faced Hilliard withouthesitation. "Shoot," he said. He turned back and moved once more to thefallen druggist.

  There was sweat on Mayor Hilliard's face now. He brushed it with agloved hand. His hat fell unnoticed to the ground. He raised the gun nohigher. "Aylesworth," he called, and his voice was pleading now, "we'vegot to do what's right!"

  The minister's voice came back to him, hollowly, as if from an immensedistance. "Yes, we've got to do what's right." Dr. Aylesworth could beseen faintly through the veil of snow as he bent down, raising thedruggist's heavy form to his own back in a fireman's carry, then turningto retrace his steps.

  Mayor Hilliard let the gun sag in his hands. At the fence Dr. Aylesworthpaused. "Separate those wires," he ordered those standing near.

  They hastily obeyed, pressing their feet on the lower wire, raising thecenter one. "Take him!" the minister commanded. He rolled the figure ofSam Baker gently through the opening and crawled through himself."Bring him to my house," he said. Without a glance at the Mayor, hestrode off through the parted crowd and disappeared.

  One by one, the onlookers followed, slowly, never glancing at theimmobile figure of the Mayor. Hilliard watched the last of them fadeinto the snow curtain, and he stood there alone, still holding the gunin his hand.

  The guard came up at last. "Do you want me to keep on here, Mr.Hilliard?"

  * * * * *

  "I still say it was the only thing to do," said Mrs. Maddox at thedinner table. "How could anyone claim to be human and think of leavingpoor Mr. Baker lying there in the snow?"

  "It was the only thing Dr. Aylesworth could do," said Professor Maddox."Mayor Hilliard did the only thing _he_ could do. Which was right, andwhich was wrong--I don't think any of us are really sure any more."

  "What do you suppose may come of this?" asked Professor Larsen.

  "I don't know," Ken's father admitted. "There's a lot of excitement intown. A fellow named Meggs is stirring up talk against Hilliard. He'sthe storekeeper who tried to hold a profiteering sale, you remember."

  "I heard there were some fights in town after church," said Maria.

  Ken nodded. "Yes, I heard about them, too."

  "It mustn't start here!" exclaimed Mrs. Larsen. "That must be the way itbegan in Chicago and Berkeley. We can't let it happen here!"

  * * * * *

  During the next few days a kind of unspoken truce seemed to reign overthe town. It was rumored that both Mayor Hilliard and Dr. Aylesworthwere waiting for the other to come for a talk, but that neither waswilling to go first under the circumstances. Orders had been given thatSam Baker was to get no special ration. He would get only what othersshared with him out of their own meager allotment.

  In the laboratory on College Hill it was confirmed that Professor Maddoxhad indeed discovered a completely effective means of cleansing metalsof the destroying dust. Art Matthews and the science club boys were onceagain scouring the town for engine parts that could be cleaned and usedin assembling new and, this time, workable engines.

  On Friday morning Professor Douglas came in late, after all the othershad been there for a couple of hours. He was panting from his rapid walkup the hill. "Have you heard the news?" he exclaimed.

  The others looked up. "What news?" Professor Maddox asked.

  "A couple of farmers and ranchers from the south end of the valley rodein about 3 o'clock this morning. They were half-dead. They said theirplaces and several others had been attacked last night. Everything inthe whole southern part of the valley, beyond the point, has been lootedand burned. Six families, still living on their own places were wipedout."

  "Who did it?" Professor Larsen exclaimed.

  "Nomads! The ranchers say there's a band of over three thousand campeddown by Turnerville, about 20 miles from here. They've been movingacross the country, killing and looting everything that's in their way.Now they're headed for Mayfield. They've heard about us having a bigcache of supplies."

  All work in the laboratory ceased as the men gathered around ProfessorDouglas. They stared into the distance, but their thoughts were alike.

  "Three thousand," said Professor Maddox slowly. "We could put twicethat many good men against them. We ought to be able to stand them off,if they attack. What's Hilliard doing about it?"

  "He wants us all down there this morning. There doesn't seem to be muchquestion about him staying on as Mayor since this came up."

  In a group the men left the half-completed experiments and made theirway down the hill to the City Hall. When they arrived they found theCouncil chamber already filled. The Mayor and the councilmen were attheir conference table on the platform in front of the room.

  At one side, facing both the leaders and the audience, were threeragged, unshaven strangers in heavy boots and ill-fitting coats. Theyhad not bothered to remove the fur-lined caps from their heads.

  Nomads, Ken thought. It was apparent what was going on.

  "We're coming in," the center man was saying. His massive size andstrength showed even under the thick covering of clothes. "I say we'recoming in, and we either come peaceable and you treat us right or wecome in our own way. It doesn't make much difference to us how we do it.You just call the shots, Mister, and we'll play it your way. We've gottwo thousand armed men who know how to shoot fast and straight becausethey've done a lot of it the last two months. They're the ones that shotfaster and straighter than the guys they were shooting at."

  "You want to live here peaceably with us, is that it?" questioned MayorHilliard.

  The man laughed harshly. "Why sure! We're peaceful people, aren't we,Men?" He took reassurance from his grinning companions. "Just aspeaceful as them around us."

  "How about those ranch families you murdered last night?"

  The speaker laughed again. "They didn't want peace, did they, Men? Allwe asked for was a little something to eat and they started an argumentwith us. We just don't like arguments."

  Mayor Hilliard glanced beyond the table to the first row of listeners.His glance fell upon Dr. Aylesworth. "Before giving my consent to yourcoming in," he said slowly, "I'd like to hear from one of our moreprominent citizens. This is Dr. Aylesworth, one of our ministers. Wouldyou like to tell these people how we feel about their proposal,Reverend?"

  The minister rose slowly, his eyes never leaving the three nomads. "Itwill be a pleasure to tell them." Then to the three he said, "You can goright back where you came from. That's our answer to your proposal."

  The big man snarled. "So that's the way you want it, is it? Well then,we'll be back, and when we come you'll wish you'd sung a differenttune!"

  Mayor Hilliard smiled a wry smile. "I didn't expect our minister to bequite so unfeeling of your plight. Since I am in agreement with hisviews, however, I must say that you will not be back, because you arenot going anywhere. Sheriff, arrest these men!"

  Instantly, the big man dropped his hand to his pocket. Before his gunwas halfway out, a shot rang from the rear doorway of the crowded room.The stranger dropped to the platform like a crumpled bull.

  "You're covered," said Hilliard to the other two. "You came here with awhite flag, but it had our people's blood all over it. We are notviolating any truce because this is not an affair of honor amonggentlemen.
It's going to be only an extermination of wild beasts!"