[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

long enough to decide on something."
"Pet's a name," he said. "What can I call it? Doc? Hero?"
17
She made a face. "I can't say I care for either choice, although it did
save your life."
"Yes, but that's an attribute it can't help. The important thing is that if
you listed what you expect of a pet you'd find it in this creature. Docile,
gentle, lively at times; all it wants is to be near you, to have you touch it.
And it's very clean."
"All right, call it Pet if you want," said Peggy. "Come on, Pet."
It paid no attention to her. It came when Bolden called, getting slowly
off the bed. It stayed as close as it could get to Bolden. He was still weak
so they didn't walk fast and, at first, the animal was able to keep up.
IT WAS almost noon when they went out. The sun was brilliant and
Van Daamas seemed a wonderful place to be alive in. Yes, with death be-
hind him, it was a very wonderful place. Bolden chatted gaily with
Peggy. She was fine company.
And then Bolden saw the native who had given him the animal. Five
to seven days, and he had arrived on time. The rest of the tribe must be
elsewhere in the settlement. Bolden smiled in recognition while the man
was still at some distance. For an answer the native shifted the bow in
his hand and glanced behind the couple, in the direction of the hospital.
The movement with the bow might have been menacing, but Bolden
ignored that gesture. It was the sense that something was missing that
caused him to look down. The animal was not at his side. He turned
around.
The creature was struggling in the dust. It got to its feet and wobbled
toward him, staggering crazily as it tried to reach him. It spun around,
saw him, and came on again. The tongue lolled out and it whined once.
Then the native shot it through the heart, pinning it to the ground. The
short tail thumped and then it died.
Bolden couldn't move. Peggy clutched his arm. The native walked
over to the animal and looked down. He was silent for a moment. "Die
anyway soon," he said to Bolden. "Burned out inside."
He bent over. The bright yellow eyes had faded to nothingness in the
sunlight. "Gave you its health," said the man of Van Daamas respectfully
as he broke off the protruding arrow.
It was a dark blue arrow.
18
NOW EVERY settlement on the planet has Bolden's pets. They have
been given a more scientific name, but nobody remembers what it is. The
animals are kept in pens, exactly as is done by the natives, on one side of
town, not too near any habitation.
For a while, there was talk that it was unscientific to use the animal. It
was thought that an electrical treatment could be developed to replace it.
Perhaps this was true. But settling a planet is a big task. As long as one
method works there isn't time for research. And it works the percent-
age of recovery is as high as in other common ailments.
But in any case the animal can never become a pet, though it may be in
the small but bright spark of consciousness that is all the little yellow-
eyed creature wants. The quality that makes it so valuable is the final
disqualification. Strength can be a weakness. Its nervous system is too
powerful for a man in good health, upsetting the delicate balance of the
human body in a variety of unusual ways. How the energy-transfer
takes place has never been determined exactly, but it does occur.
It is only when he is stricken with the Bubble Death and needs addi-
tional energy to drive the invading microbes from the tissue around his
nerves that the patient is allowed to have one of Bolden's pets.
In the end, it is the animal that dies. As the natives knew, it is kindness
to kill it quickly.
It is highly regarded and respectfully spoken of. Children play as close
as they can get, but are kept well away from the pens by a high, sturdy
fence. Adults walk by and nod kindly to it.
Bolden never goes there nor will he speak of it. His friends say he's un-
happy about being the first Earthman to discover the usefulness of the
little animal. They are right. It is a distinction he doesn't care for. He still
has the blue arrow. There are local craftsmen who can mend it, but he
has refused their services. He wants to keep it as it is.
 F. L. WALLACE
19
Loved this book ?
Similar users also downloaded:
" "Flight Through Tomorrow", Stanton A. Coblentz
" "Stopover", William Gerken
" "The Weakling", Everett B. Cole
" "I Like Martian Music", Charles E. Fritch
" "Farewell to the Master ", Harry Bates
" "The Quest of the Sacred Slipper", Sax Rohmer
" "Beyond Lies the Wub", Philip K. Dick
" "Brood of the Witch-Queen", Sax Rohmer
" "Devil Crystals of Arret", Hal K. Wells
" "Tales of Chinatown", Sax Rohmer
20
www.feedbooks.com
Food for the mind
21 [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]