veins in a more powerful surge at the thought that she was his. There was no doubt she was the most attractive girl in Lemon -- very little doubt, therefore, that she was the most attractive girl alive.
There was a slight hiatus in his thoughts as he realized that there was something he didn't fully understand about the affair. Toni had had the thing worked out in a way that didn't seem at all typical of her. And she had made up her mind quickly after they had flirted briefly, innocently . . . It occurred to him fleetingly that instead of taking the leading part in the affair he was almost being pushed into it.
But he refused to follow out that thought. John Pertwee was a strong man with a weakness, and his Achilles' heel was women. When the Council cut women out of his life, they struck deeper than would have been the case with most men of his years. With a wise woman he loved beside him, Pertwee could still be a leader, a big man in any community. Without her he was uncertain, weak, lacking purpose in life.
He didn't /want/ to survey Toni's reasons too closely. It was enough that he had Toni.
4
The disappearance of Pertwee and Toni was probably the most disturbing single event in the history of Mundis. They were the first two who ran away from the community, and they were Pertwee and Toni. Only the disappearance of Rog Foley with Mary Bentley would have produced the same stir.
It was suddenly rediscovered that Pertwee was a great man. This didn't mean people took his side and said they would welcome him with open arms when and if he came back. It meant, however, that the incident was important.
Jim Bentley collected a dozen stories in the first morning. They included:
Pertwee and Toni were setting out to start a new race on the other side of the planet. He would bring up his children indoctrinated to attack and destroy Lemon one day.
Pertwee had gone to search for other human beings on Mundis in a sort of Hidden City somewhere. Deposed in Lemon, he was looking for another race he could rule.
Pertwee and Toni had been kidnapped by intelligent non-human Mundans who lived underground and had hidden when the Terrans arrived in their great ship twenty years since.
Pertwee and Toni were already dead. They had had a suicide pact -- one night of love, and then death together.
An unknown lover had killed Toni. Then, wondering how to cover up, he hit on the plan of murdering Pertwee, too, and making it look as if they had gone away together.
Bentley reported these to his wife and Alice and young Jim. Alice was diverted by the first theory.
"Pertwee and Toni have to go away because our rules for strong breeding won't permit a union like that," she observed sarcastically. "Yet now it's suggested that the two of them can found a race that will overcome all of us here in Lemon. Do I smell an inconsistency?"
The Bentleys got on better than most families. Perhaps that was because there were only four of them. Most families were much bigger, and there was a lot of quarreling just on general principles. The Bentleys never quarreled. They just silently disagreed. They seemed to get on even better than they did, for they avoided the subjects on which they knew they would disagree.
"Do you know anything about this, Alice?" Bentley asked, with a shrewd glance at her.
"No," she said honestly. "But I know what you mean. There's more in it than meets the eye. And I'll tell you this -- just before Rog Foley married June Smith, Toni was chasing him hard."
"Oh. Foley," said Bentley thoughtfully. "Frankly, Alice, I hoped you'd marry Rog."
"It was duly considered," Alice observed briefly.
Bentley and Mary looked at her with interest at that, but her expression told them not to pursue the matter.
In the afternoon a large search party was organized. The older people were grim and angry; the young people thought the whole thing was a great joke. There was jocular calculation of how long Pertwee would last living with Toni.
Hardly
There was a slight hiatus in his thoughts as he realized that there was something he didn't fully understand about the affair. Toni had had the thing worked out in a way that didn't seem at all typical of her. And she had made up her mind quickly after they had flirted briefly, innocently . . . It occurred to him fleetingly that instead of taking the leading part in the affair he was almost being pushed into it.
But he refused to follow out that thought. John Pertwee was a strong man with a weakness, and his Achilles' heel was women. When the Council cut women out of his life, they struck deeper than would have been the case with most men of his years. With a wise woman he loved beside him, Pertwee could still be a leader, a big man in any community. Without her he was uncertain, weak, lacking purpose in life.
He didn't /want/ to survey Toni's reasons too closely. It was enough that he had Toni.
4
The disappearance of Pertwee and Toni was probably the most disturbing single event in the history of Mundis. They were the first two who ran away from the community, and they were Pertwee and Toni. Only the disappearance of Rog Foley with Mary Bentley would have produced the same stir.
It was suddenly rediscovered that Pertwee was a great man. This didn't mean people took his side and said they would welcome him with open arms when and if he came back. It meant, however, that the incident was important.
Jim Bentley collected a dozen stories in the first morning. They included:
Pertwee and Toni were setting out to start a new race on the other side of the planet. He would bring up his children indoctrinated to attack and destroy Lemon one day.
Pertwee had gone to search for other human beings on Mundis in a sort of Hidden City somewhere. Deposed in Lemon, he was looking for another race he could rule.
Pertwee and Toni had been kidnapped by intelligent non-human Mundans who lived underground and had hidden when the Terrans arrived in their great ship twenty years since.
Pertwee and Toni were already dead. They had had a suicide pact -- one night of love, and then death together.
An unknown lover had killed Toni. Then, wondering how to cover up, he hit on the plan of murdering Pertwee, too, and making it look as if they had gone away together.
Bentley reported these to his wife and Alice and young Jim. Alice was diverted by the first theory.
"Pertwee and Toni have to go away because our rules for strong breeding won't permit a union like that," she observed sarcastically. "Yet now it's suggested that the two of them can found a race that will overcome all of us here in Lemon. Do I smell an inconsistency?"
The Bentleys got on better than most families. Perhaps that was because there were only four of them. Most families were much bigger, and there was a lot of quarreling just on general principles. The Bentleys never quarreled. They just silently disagreed. They seemed to get on even better than they did, for they avoided the subjects on which they knew they would disagree.
"Do you know anything about this, Alice?" Bentley asked, with a shrewd glance at her.
"No," she said honestly. "But I know what you mean. There's more in it than meets the eye. And I'll tell you this -- just before Rog Foley married June Smith, Toni was chasing him hard."
"Oh. Foley," said Bentley thoughtfully. "Frankly, Alice, I hoped you'd marry Rog."
"It was duly considered," Alice observed briefly.
Bentley and Mary looked at her with interest at that, but her expression told them not to pursue the matter.
In the afternoon a large search party was organized. The older people were grim and angry; the young people thought the whole thing was a great joke. There was jocular calculation of how long Pertwee would last living with Toni.
Hardly
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