never saw him before until tonight. Is that clear?”
Alice replied coldly, “Very well. You never met him before. Now let go of my wrist.”
She stood up and with a faint sound of contempt left the room. David waited until he heard her door close, then let himself out into the hall and knocked lightly at John Carr’s door. It opened immediately. There was a candle burning in the room, and Carr was in pajamas, but it was obvious that he had not yet gone to bed. On a chair near the door lay a gun. The two men exchanged glances.
“You heard?” David whispered.
“How could I help it?”
“She’s afraid.”
“Well, she has reason to be, hasn’t she?” Carr asked.
Chapter 5
By sunrise the snow had stopped falling. The sky was a silvery gray and the drifts in some places were almost six feet high.
“Don’t let this fool you,” Alice told John Carr and her brother as they ate breakfast in the dining room. “The blizzard is just catching its breath for more mischief. I know these storms.”
“I’ve never been isolated before,” John Carr remarked as he began putting away three eggs and several strips of bacon. “There aren’t any neighbors?”
“The nearest, the Ulbrichs, are over half a mile away,” Alice answered. “And they had the sense to leave for Florida the first of December. The village is over three miles away.”
She looked at him and grudgingly admitted to herself that he had a great deal of charm and magnetism, though he was not especially handsome. I could like him, Alice thought, if only I knew more about him. She held out her chilled hands to the small oil stove. “I’ve heard cranky sounds in the kitchen. The help doesn’t like being cut off from radio and TV. They think it’s all the fault of some amorphous collection of human beings they call ‘the powers-that-be’.”
“They’re not the only ones,” John commented. “I heard a Princeton graduate call another equally amorphous collection of human beings ‘the vested interests’. I’m a vest man, myself. But I do know what they call us — I mean, me.”
“What?” Alice asked.
Edith burst into the dining room. “I suppose you want more coffee?” she asked in a belligerent tone.
“We all want more,” Alice told her. “Have you taken a tray up to Mrs. Frazier yet?”
“Mister Frazier said she wasn’t to be disturbed,” Edith stated. “He said to let her be until she yelled. She had a bad night. But it’s almost ten-thirty, and we gotta clean up the kitchen sometime !”
The three in the dining room looked at each other. “Get a tray ready, please. I’ll take it up to Mrs. Frazier,” Alice volunteered. “You and Mrs. Daley have enough to do as it is with the five of us.”
“You can say that again,” Edith agreed.
They laughed. “Everybody in the world thinks that there is ‘some group’ after him,” John said, drinking his third cup of coffee. “We’ve become a paranoid society.”
“ ‘Sick, sick, sick’,” David quoted.
“I prefer ‘sin, sin, sin’,” John amended. “What does a paranoid world do, eventually? It starts murdering ‘in defense’. Then it blows its head off. It’s happened before.”
“You were about to tell us what they call you, John, when Edith came in,” Alice reminded him.
He seemed baffled. “Was I? I don’t remember.”
David was amused. His black eyes sparkled. “They call you the ‘wastemakers’,” he said. “Or a subsidiary of the wastemakers. I agree.”
“I wonder where Henry is?” Alice said.
“He’s hauling up the blocks of frozen meat from the basement to the frozen woodshed with the handyman,” her brother answered. “Remember? Electricity’s off. To save the meat and other edibles our host is imitating the Eskimos.”
“So that’s all the jolly calling back and forth I hear. Aren’t you boys going to help?”
“Let Hank get the heart attack,” David retorted. “He’s the athletic type. I’m the doctor. If I
Alice replied coldly, “Very well. You never met him before. Now let go of my wrist.”
She stood up and with a faint sound of contempt left the room. David waited until he heard her door close, then let himself out into the hall and knocked lightly at John Carr’s door. It opened immediately. There was a candle burning in the room, and Carr was in pajamas, but it was obvious that he had not yet gone to bed. On a chair near the door lay a gun. The two men exchanged glances.
“You heard?” David whispered.
“How could I help it?”
“She’s afraid.”
“Well, she has reason to be, hasn’t she?” Carr asked.
Chapter 5
By sunrise the snow had stopped falling. The sky was a silvery gray and the drifts in some places were almost six feet high.
“Don’t let this fool you,” Alice told John Carr and her brother as they ate breakfast in the dining room. “The blizzard is just catching its breath for more mischief. I know these storms.”
“I’ve never been isolated before,” John Carr remarked as he began putting away three eggs and several strips of bacon. “There aren’t any neighbors?”
“The nearest, the Ulbrichs, are over half a mile away,” Alice answered. “And they had the sense to leave for Florida the first of December. The village is over three miles away.”
She looked at him and grudgingly admitted to herself that he had a great deal of charm and magnetism, though he was not especially handsome. I could like him, Alice thought, if only I knew more about him. She held out her chilled hands to the small oil stove. “I’ve heard cranky sounds in the kitchen. The help doesn’t like being cut off from radio and TV. They think it’s all the fault of some amorphous collection of human beings they call ‘the powers-that-be’.”
“They’re not the only ones,” John commented. “I heard a Princeton graduate call another equally amorphous collection of human beings ‘the vested interests’. I’m a vest man, myself. But I do know what they call us — I mean, me.”
“What?” Alice asked.
Edith burst into the dining room. “I suppose you want more coffee?” she asked in a belligerent tone.
“We all want more,” Alice told her. “Have you taken a tray up to Mrs. Frazier yet?”
“Mister Frazier said she wasn’t to be disturbed,” Edith stated. “He said to let her be until she yelled. She had a bad night. But it’s almost ten-thirty, and we gotta clean up the kitchen sometime !”
The three in the dining room looked at each other. “Get a tray ready, please. I’ll take it up to Mrs. Frazier,” Alice volunteered. “You and Mrs. Daley have enough to do as it is with the five of us.”
“You can say that again,” Edith agreed.
They laughed. “Everybody in the world thinks that there is ‘some group’ after him,” John said, drinking his third cup of coffee. “We’ve become a paranoid society.”
“ ‘Sick, sick, sick’,” David quoted.
“I prefer ‘sin, sin, sin’,” John amended. “What does a paranoid world do, eventually? It starts murdering ‘in defense’. Then it blows its head off. It’s happened before.”
“You were about to tell us what they call you, John, when Edith came in,” Alice reminded him.
He seemed baffled. “Was I? I don’t remember.”
David was amused. His black eyes sparkled. “They call you the ‘wastemakers’,” he said. “Or a subsidiary of the wastemakers. I agree.”
“I wonder where Henry is?” Alice said.
“He’s hauling up the blocks of frozen meat from the basement to the frozen woodshed with the handyman,” her brother answered. “Remember? Electricity’s off. To save the meat and other edibles our host is imitating the Eskimos.”
“So that’s all the jolly calling back and forth I hear. Aren’t you boys going to help?”
“Let Hank get the heart attack,” David retorted. “He’s the athletic type. I’m the doctor. If I
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