some more stew?" Jane asked as she offered the small oneanother spoonful.
The little mouth didn't open.
"Guess you've had enough," she said, smiling.
Pete glanced up. "Why don't you leave now, Jane. You're going to haveto see the Patrol about that kid. I can take care of things here."
She stood thinking for a moment. "Can I use an extra respirator?"
"You can't take him out without one!" Pete replied. He opened a lockerand pulled out a transparent facepiece. "I think this'll tighten downenough to fit his face."
She took it and walked over to the youngster. His large eyes hadfollowed all her movements and he drew back slightly as she held out therespirator. "It won't hurt," she coaxed. "You have to wear it. The airoutside stings."
The little face remained steady but the eyes were fearful as Jane slidthe transparent mask over his head and tightened the elastic. It pulsedslightly with his breathing.
"Better wrap him in this," Pete suggested, pulling a duroplast jacketout of the locker. "Air's tough on skin."
The girl nodded, pulling on her own respirator. She stepped quickly intoher duroplast suit and tied it. "Thanks a lot, Pete," she said, hervoice slightly muffled. "See you tomorrow."
Pete grunted as he watched her wrap the tiny form in the jacket, lift itgently in her arms, then push through the door.
The girl walked swiftly up the street. It was quieter now, but in ashort time the noise and stench and garishness of New Reno would beginrising to another cacophonous climax.
The strange pair reached a wretched metal structure with an askew signreading, "El Grande Hotel." Jane hurried through the double portals, theswish of air flapping her outer garments as the air conditioning unitfought savagely to keep out the rival atmosphere of the planet.
There was no one at the desk and no one in the lobby. It was a forlornplace, musty and damp. Venus humidity seemed to eat through everything,even metal, leaving it limp, faded, and stinking.
She hesitated, looked at the visiphone, then impulsively pulled a chairover out of the line of sight of the viewing plate and gently set thelittle boy on it. She pulled the respirator from her face, pressed thebutton under the blank visiphone disk. The plate lit up and hummedfaintly.
"Patrol Office," Jane said.
There was a click and a middle-aged, square-faced man with blue-coatedshoulders appeared. "Patrol Office," he repeated.
"This is Jane Grant. I work at the Elite Cafe. Has anyone lost a littleboy?"
The patrolman's eyebrows raised slightly. "Little boy? Did you findone?"
"Well--I--I saw one earlier this evening," she faltered. "He was sittingat the edge of the street and I took him into the cafe and fed him."
"Well, there aren't many children in town," he replied. "Let's see." Heglanced at a record sheet. "No, none's reported missing. He with younow?"
"Ah--no."
He shook his head again, still looking downward. He said slowly, "Hisparents must have found him. If he was wandering we'd have picked himup. There is a family that live around there who have a ten-year-old kidwho wanders off once in a while. Blond, stutters a little. Was it him?"
"Well, I--" she began. She paused, said firmly, "No."
"Well, we don't have any reports on lost children. Haven't had for sometime. If the boy was lost his parents must have found him. Thank you forcalling." He broke the connection.
Jane stood staring at the blank plate. No one had reported a little boymissing. In all the maddening confusion that was New Reno, no one hadmissed a little boy.
She looked at the small bundle, walked over and slipped off hisrespirator. "I should have told the truth," she murmured to him softly."But you're so tiny and helpless. Poor little thing!"
He looked up at her, then around the lobby, his brown eyes resting onfirst one object, then another. His little chin began to quiver.
The girl picked him up and stroked his hair. "Don't cry," she soothed."Everything's going to be all right."
She walked down a hall, fumbling inside her coveralls for a key. At theend of the hall she stopped, unlocked a door, and carried him inside. Asan afterthought she locked the door, still holding the small bundle inher arms. Then she placed him on a bed, removed the jacket and threw iton a chair.
"I don't know why I should go to all this trouble," she said, removingher protective coveralls. "I'll probably get picked up by the Patrol.But _somebody's_ got to look after you."
She sat down beside him. "Aren't you even a bit sleepy?"
He smiled a little.
"Maybe now you can tell me your name," she said. "Don't you know yourname?"
His expression didn't change.
She pointed to herself. "Jane." Then she hesitated, looked downward fora moment. "Jana, I was called before I came here."
The little face looked up at her. The small mouth opened. "Jana." It washalf whisper, half whistle.
"That's right," she replied, stroking his hair. "My, but your throatmust be sore. I hope you won't be sick from breathing too much of thatawful air."
She regarded him quizzically. "You know, I've never seen many littleboys. I don't quite know how to treat one. But I know you should getsome sleep."
She smiled and reached over to take off the rags. He pulled awaysuddenly.
"Don't be afraid," she said reassuringly. "I wouldn't hurt you."
He clutched the little ragged shirt tightly.
"Don't be afraid," she repeated soothingly. "I'll tell you what. You liedown and I'll put this blanket over you," she said, rising. "Will thatbe all right?"
She laid him down and covered the small form with a blanket. He laythere watching her with his large eyes.
"You don't look very sleepy," she said. "Perhaps I had better turn thelight down." She did so, slowly, so as not to alarm him. But he wassilent, watchful, never taking his eyes from her.
She smiled and sat down next to him. "Now I'll tell you a story and thenyou must go to sleep," she said softly.
He smiled--just a little smile--and she was pleased.
"Fine," she cried. "Well--once upon a time there was a beautiful planet,not at all like this one. There were lovely flowers and cool-runningstreams and it only rained once in a while. You'd like it there for it'sa very nice place. But there were people there who liked to travel--tosee strange places and new things, and one day they left in a great bigship."
She paused again, frowning in thought. "Well, they traveled a long, longway and saw many things. Then one day something went wrong."
Her voice was low and soft. It had the quality of a dream, the textureof a zephyr, but the little boy was still wide awake.
"Something went very, very wrong and they tried to land so they couldfix it. But when they tried to land they found they couldn't--and theyfell and just barely managed to save themselves. The big, beautiful shipwas all broken. Well, since they couldn't fix the ship at all now, theyset out on foot to find out where they were and to see if they could gethelp. Then they found that they were in a land of great big giants, andthe people were very fierce."
The little boy's dark eyes were watching her intently but she went on,hardly noticing.
"So they went back to the broken ship and tried to decide what to do.They couldn't get in touch with their home because the radio part of theship was all broken up. And the giants were horrible and wantedeverything for themselves and were cruel and mean and probably wouldhave hurt the poor ship-wrecked people if they had known they werethere.
"So--do you know what they did? They got some things from the ship andthey went and built a giant. And they put little motors inside andthings to make it run and talk so that the giants wouldn't be able totell that it wasn't another giant just like themselves."
She paused, straightening slightly.
"And then they made a space inside the giant where somebody could sitand run this big giant and talk and move around--and the giants wouldn'tever know that she was there. They made it a _she_. In fact, she was theonly person
who could do it because she could learn to talk all sorts oflanguages--that's what she could do best. So she went out in the giantsuit and mingled with the giants and worked just like they did.
"But every once in a while she'd go back to the others, bringing themthings they needed. And she would bring back news. That was their onlyhope--news of a ship which might be looking for them, which might takethem home--"
She broke off. "I wonder what the end of the story will be?" shemurmured.
For some time she had not been using English. She had been speaking in asoft, fluid language unlike anything ever heard on Venus. But now shehad stopped speaking entirely.
After a slight pause--another voice spoke--in the same melodious, alientongue! It said, "I think I know the end of the story. I think someonehas come for you poor people and is going to take you home."
She gasped--for she realized it had not been her voice. Her artificialeyes watched, stunned, as the little boy began peeling off a skin-tight,flexible baby-faced mask, revealing underneath the face of a little man.
Transcriber's Note:
This etext was produced from _Fantastic Universe_ March 1954. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed. Minor spelling and typographical errors have been corrected without note.
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