[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
.The returns came in, see-sawing maddeningly back and forth.Faster andfaster.The Maritime Provinces split fifty-fifty.Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont,Cosmocrat.New York, upstate, Cosmocrat.New York City, on the basis of incomplete buthighlysignificant returns, was piling up a huge Nationalist majority.Pennsylvania-labor-Nationalist.Ohio - farmers - Cosmocrat.Twelve southern states went sill andsix.Chicago, as usual, solidly for the machine; likewise Quebec and Ottawa andMontrealand Toronto and Detroit and Kansas City and St.Louis and New Orleans andDenver.Then northern and western and far southern states came is and evened thescore.Saskatchewan, Alberta, Britcol, and Alaska, all went Cosmocrat.So didWashington,Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Newmex, and most of the statesofMexico.At three o'clock in the morning the Cosmocrats had a slight but definitelead andwere, finally, holding it.At four o'clock the lead was larger, but Californiawas still anunknown quantity-California could wreck everything.How would California go?Especially,how would California's two metropolitan districts -- the two most independentandfreethinking and least predictable big cities of the nation -- how would theygo?At five o'clock California seemed safe.Except.for Los Angeles and SanFrancisco, the Cosmocrats had swept the state, and in those two great citiesthey held acommanding lead.It was still mathematically possible, however, for theNationalists towin."It's in the bag! Let's start the celebration!" someone shouted, andothers took upthe cry."Stop it! No!" Kinnison's parade-ground voice cut through the noise."Nocelebration is in order or will be held until the result becomes certain orWitherspoonconcedes!"The two events came practically together: Witherspoon conceded a coupleofminutes before it became mathematically impossible for him to win.Then camethecelebration, which went on and on interminably.At the first opportunity,however,Kinnison took Samms by the arm, led him without a word into a small office,and shut thedoor.Samms, also saying nothing, sat down in the swivel chair, put both feetup on thedesk, lit a cigarette, and inhaled deeply."Well, Virge -- satisfied?" Kinnison broke the silence at last.His Lenswas off."We're on our way.""Yes, Rod.Fully.At last." No more than his friend did he dare to usePage 221 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlhis Lens; toplumb the depths he knew so well were there."Now it will roll -- under itsown power --no one man now is or ever will be indispensable to the Galactic Patrol --nothing can stopit now!"EPILOGUEThe murder of Senator Morgan, in his own private ofce, was never solved.If ithadoccurred before the election, suspicion would certainly have fallen uponRoderickKinnison, but as it was it did not.By no stretch of the imagination couldanyone conceiveof "Rod the Rock" kicking a man after he had knocked him down.Not that Morgandidnot have powerful and vindictive enemies in the underworld: he had so manythat itproved impossible to fasten the crime to any one of them.Officially, Kinnison was on a five-year leave of absence from theGalactic Patrol,the office of Port Admiral had been detached entirely from the fleet andassigned to theOffice of the President of North America.Actually, however, in every respectthatcounted, Roderick Kinnison was still Port Admiral, and would remain so untilhe died oruntil the Council retired him by force.Officially, Kinnison was taking a short, well-earned vacation from thejob in whichhe had been so outstandingly sucessful.Actually, he was doing a quick flit toPetrine, toget personally acquainted with the new Lensmen and to see what kind of a jobthey weredoing.Besides; Virgil Samms was already there.He arrived.He got acquainted.He saw.He approved."How about coming back to Tellus with me, Virge?" he asked, when thevisitingwas done."I've got to make a speech, and it'd be nice to have you hold myhead.""I'd be glad to," and the Chicago took off.Half of North America was dark when they neared Tellus; all of it,apparently, wasobscured by clouds.Only the navigating officers of the vessel knew where theywere,nor did either of the two Lensmen care.They were having too much fun arguingaboutthe talents and abilities of their respective grandsons.The Chicago landed.A bug was waiting.The two Lensmen, without an orderbeing given, were whisked away.Samms had not asked where the speech was to begiven, and Kinnison simply did not realize that he had not told him all aboutit.ThusSamms had no idea that he was just leaving Spokane Spaceport, Washington.After a few miles of fast, open-country driving the bug reached the city.It sloweddown, swung into brightly-lighted Maple Street, and passed a sign reading"Cannon Hill"something-or-other -- neither of which names meant anything to either Lensman.Kinnison looked at his friend's red-thatched head and glanced at hiswatch.Page 222 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html"Looking at you reminds me -- I need a haircut," he remarked."Shouldhave gotone aboard, but didn't think of it.Joy told me if I come home without itshe'll braid it inpigtails and tie it up with pink ribbons, and you're shaggier than I am.You've got to getone or else buy yourself a violin.What say we do it now?""Have we got time enough?""Plenty." Then, to the driver: "Stop at the first barber shop you see,please.""Yes, sir.There's a good one a few blocks further along."The bug sped down Maple Street, turned sharply into plainly-markedTwelfthAvenue.Neither Lensman saw the sign."Here you are, sir.""Thanks."There were two barbers and two chairs, both empty.The Lensmen, noticingthatthe place was neatly kept and meticulously clean, sat down and resumed theirdiscussionof two extremely unusual infants.The barbers went busily to work."Just as well, though -- better, really -- that the kids didn't marryeach other, atthat," Kinnison concluded finally."The way it is, we've each got a grandson-- it'd betough to have to share one with you."Samms made no reply to this sally, for something was happening.The factthatthis fair-skinned, yellow-haired blue-eyed barber was left-handed had not rungany bells there were lots of left-handed barbers
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]