VII
Miss Leora Frisbie, spinster, was found dead in the mushroom cellar ofher home on Ryder Avenue in the northeastern part of town. She had beensitting in a camp chair, bundled in heavy clothing, when she died. Shehad been subject to heart trouble and that fact, coupled with notes shehad been making on a pad in her lap, led the coroner to believe she hadbeen frightened to death.
The first entry on the pad said: _Someone stealing my mushrooms; mustkeep vigil_. The notes continued:
_Sitting in chair near stairs. Single 60-w. bulb dims, gravityincreases. Superior rising again? Movement in corner--soil being pushedup from underneath. Hand. Hand? Claw!_
_Claw withdraws._
_Head. Rat? No. Bigger._
_Human? No. But the eyes eyes ey_
That was all.
Photostatic copies of the late Miss Frisbie's notes and the coroner'sreport became exhibits one and two in Doc Bendy's dossier. Exhibit threewas a carbon copy of a report by the stock control clerk at the bubblegum factory.
Bubble gum had been piling up in the warehouse on the railroad sidingback of Reilly Street. The stock control clerk, Armand Specht, wastaking inventory when he saw a movement at the far end of the warehouse.His report follows:
_Investigated and found carton had been dislodged from top of pile andbroken into. Gross of Cheeky brand missing. Saw something sitting withback to me opening packages, stuffing gum into mouth, wax paper and all,half-dozen at time. Looked like overgrown chimpanzee. It turned and sawme, continuing to chew. Didn't get clear look before it disappeared butnoticed two things: one, that its cheeks bulged out from chewing so muchgum at once, and other, that its eyes were round and bright, even indim corner. Then animal turned and disappeared behind pile of Cheekys.No chimpanzee. Didn't follow right away but when I did it was gone._
Exhibit four:
_Dear Diary:
_There wasn't any TV tonight and I asked Grandfather Bendy what to do andhe said "Marie, when I was young, boys and girls made their own fun" andso I got out the Scrabble and asked Mom and Dad to play but they said nothey had to go to the Warners and play bridge. So they went and I wasplaying pretending I was both sides when the door opened and I saidHello Grandfather but it wasn't him it was like a kangaroo and it hadbig eyes that were friendly._
_After a while I went over and scratched its ears and it liked that andthen it went over to the table and looked at the Scrabble. I thoughtwouldn't it be funny if it could play but it couldn't. But it couldspell! It had hands like claws with long black fingernails and fur onthem (the fingers) and it pushed the letters around so they spelled Nameand I spelled out Marie._
_Then I spelled out Who are you and it spelled Gizl._
_Then I spelled How old are you and it put all the blank spaces together._
_I said Where do you live and it spelled Here. Then I changed to Where doyou come from and it pointed to the blanks again._
_The gizl went away before Mom and Dad came home and I didn't tell themabout it but I'll tell Grandfather Bendy because he understands betterabout things like the time I had an invisible friend._
* * * * *
Don Cort went to bed in the dormitory at Cavalier with the surprisedrealization that it had been only twenty-four hours since Superior tookoff. It seemed more like a week. When he woke up the floating town wasover New York.
Some high-flying skywriters were at work. _Welcome Superior--DrinkPepsi-Cola_ their message said.
Don dressed quickly and hurried to the brink. Alis Garet was there amonga little crowd, bundled up in a parka.
"Is that the Hudson River?" she asked him. "Where's the Empire StateBuilding?"
"Yes," he said. "Haven't you ever been to New York? I can't quite makeit out. It's somewhere south of that patch of green--that's CentralPark."
"No, I've never been out of Ohio. I thought New York was a big city."
"It's big enough. Don't forget we're four miles up. Have you seen anyplanes besides the skywriters?"
"Just some airliners, way down," she said. "Were you expecting someone?"
"Seeing how it's our last port of call, I thought there might be someFederal boys flying around. I shouldn't think they'd want a chunk oftheir real estate exported to Europe."
"Are we going to Europe?"
"Bound to if we don't change course."
"Why?"
"My very next words were going to be 'Don't ask me why.' I ask you.You're closer to the horse's mouth than I am."
"If you mean Father," Alis said, "I told you I don't enjoy hisconfidence."
"Haven't you even got an inkling of what he's up to?"
"I'm sure he's not the Master Mind, if that's what you mean."
"Then who is? Rubach? Civek? The chief of police? Or the bubble gumking, whoever he is?"
"Cheeky McFerson?" She laughed. "I went to grade school with him and ifhe's got a mind I never noticed it."
"McFerson? He's just a kid, isn't he?"
"His father died a couple of years ago and Cheeky's the president onpaper, but the business office runs things. We call him Cheeky becausehe always had a wad of company gum in his cheek. Supposed to be anadvertisement. But he never gave me any and I always chewed Wrigley'sfor spite."
"Oh." Don chewed the inside of his own cheek and watched the coastline."That's Connecticut now," he said. "We're certainly not slowing down forcustoms."
A speck, trailing vapor through the cold upper air, headed toward themfrom the general direction of New England. As it came closer Don sawthat it was a B-58 Hustler bomber. He recognized it by the mysteriouspod it carried under its body, three-quarters as long as the fuselage.
"It's not going to shoot us down, is it?" Alis asked.
"Hardly. I'm glad to see it. It's about time somebody took an interestin us besides Bobby Thebold and his leftover Lightnings."
The B-58 rapidly closed the last few miles between them, banked andcircled Superior.
"Attention people of Superior," a voice from the plane said. Themagnified words reached them distinctly through the cold air. "Inasmuchas you are now leaving the continental United States, this aircraft hasbeen assigned to accompany you. From this point on you are under theprotection of the United States Air Force."
"That's better," Don said. "It's not much, but at least somebody's doingsomething."
The B-58 streaked off and took up a course in a vast circle around them.
"I'm not so sure I like having it around," Alis said. "I mean supposethey find out that Superior's controlled by--I don't know--let's say aforeign power, or an alien race. Once we're out over the Atlantic wherenobody else could get hurt, wouldn't they maybe consider it a smallsacrifice to wipe out Superior to get rid of the--the alien?"
Don looked at her closely. "What's this about an alien? What do youknow?"
"I don't _know_ anything. It's just a feeling I have, that this isbigger than Father and Mayor Civek and all the self-important VIP's inSuperior put together." She squeezed his arm as if to draw comfort fromhim. "Maybe it's seeing the ocean and realizing the vastness of it, butfor the first time I'm beginning to feel a little scared."
"I won't say there's nothing to be afraid of," Don said. He pulled herhand through his arm. "It isn't as though this were a precedentedsituation. But whatever's going on, remember there are some pretty goodpeople on our side, too."
"I know," she said. "And you're one of them."
He wondered what she meant by that. Nothing, probably, except "Thank youfor the reassurance." He decided that was it; the mechanicaleavesdropper he wore under his collar was making him too self-conscious.He tried to think of something appropriate to say to her that hewouldn't mind having overheard in the Pentagon.
Nothing occurred to him, so he drew Alis closer and gave her a quick,quiet kiss.
* * * * *
The crowd of people looking over the edge had grown. Judging by theirnumber, few people were in school or at their jobs today. Ye
sterday theyhad seemed only mildly interested in what their town was up to buttoday, with the North American continent about to be left behind, theywere paying more attention. Yet Don could see no signs of alarm on theirfaces. At most there was a reflection of wonder, but not much more thanthere might be among a group of Europeans seeing New York Harbor fromshipboard for the first time. An apathetic bunch, he decided, who wouldbe resigned to their situation so long as the usual pattern of theirlives was not interfered with unduly. What they lacked, of course, wasleadership.
"It's big, isn't it?" Alis said. She was looking at the Atlantic, whichwas virtually the only thing left to see except the bright blue sky, astrip of the New England coast, and the circling bomber.
"It's going to get bigger," Don said. "Shall we go across town and takea last look at the States?" He also wanted to see what, if anything, wasgoing on in town.
"Not the last, I hope. I'd prefer a round trip."
An enterprising cab driver opened his door for them. "Special excursionrate to the west end," he said. "One buck."
"You're on," Don said. "How's business?"
"Not what you'd call booming. No trains to meet. No buses. Hi, Alis.This isn't one of your father's brainstorms come to life, is it?"
"Hi, Chuck," she said. "I seriously doubt it, though I'm sure you'dnever get him to admit it. How are your wife and the boy?"
"Fine. That boy, he's got some imagination. He's digging a hole in theback yard. Last week he told us he was getting close to China. This weekit's Australia. He said at supper last night that they must have heardabout this hole and started digging from the other end. They'veconnected up, according to him, and he had quite a conversation with akangaroo."
"A kangaroo?" Don sat up straight.
"Yeah. You know how kids are. I guess he's studying Australia ingeography."
"What did the kangaroo tell your son?"
The cab driver laughed defensively. "There's nothing wrong with the boy.He's just got an active mind."
"Of course. When I was a kid I used to talk to bears. But what did hesay the kangaroo talked about?"
"Oh, just crazy stuff--like the kangaroos didn't like it Down Under anymore and were coming up here because it was safer."
* * * * *
Later that morning, at about the time Don Cort estimated that Superiorhad passed the twelve-mile limit--east from the coast, not up--theSuperior State Bank was held up.
A man clearly recognized as Joe Negus, a small-time gambler, and oneother man had driven up to the bank in Negus' flashy Buick convertible.They walked up to the head teller, threatened him with pistols anddemanded all the money in all the tills. They stuffed the bills in asack, got into their car and drove off. They took nothing from thecustomers and made no attempt to take anything from the vault.
The fact that they ignored the vault made Don feel better. He thoughtwhen he first heard about the robbery that the men might have been afterthe brief case he'd stored there, which would have meant that he wasunder suspicion. But apparently the job was a genuine heist, not acover-up for something else.
Police Chief Vincent Grande reached the scene half an hour after thecriminals left it. His car had frozen up and wouldn't start. He arrivedby taxi, red-faced, fingering the butt of his holstered serviceautomatic.
Negus and his confederate, identified as a poolroom lounger named HankStacy, had gotten away with a hundred thousand dollars.
"I didn't know there was that much money in town," was Grande's commenton that. While he was asking other questions the telephone rang andsomeone told the bank president he'd seen Negus and Stacy go into thepoolroom. In fact, the robbers' convertible was parked blatantly infront of the place.
Grande, looking as if he'd rather be dog catcher, got back into thetaxi.
Joe Negus and Hank Stacy were sitting on opposite sides of a pool tablewhen the police chief got there, dividing the money in three piles. Athird man stood by, watching closely. He was Jerry Lynch, a lawyer. Hegreeted Grande.
"Morning, Vince," he said easily. "Come to shoot a little pool?"
"I'll shoot some bank robbers if they don't hand over that money,"Grande said. He had his gun out and looked almost purposeful.
Negus and Stacy made no attempt to go for their guns, Stacy seemednervous but Negus went on counting the money without looking up.
"Is it your money, Vince?" Jerry Lynch asked.
"You know damn well whose money it is. Now let's have it."
"I'm afraid I couldn't do that," the lawyer said. "In the first place Iwouldn't want to, thirty-three and a third per cent of it being mine,and in the second place you have no authority."
"I'm the chief of police," Grande said doggedly. "I don't want to spillany blood--"
"Don't flash your badge at me, Vince," Lynch said. Negus had finishedcounting the money and the lawyer took one of the piles and put it invarious pockets. "I said you had no authority. Bank robbery is a federaloffense. Not that I admit there's been a robbery. But if you suspect acrime it's your duty to go to the proper authorities. The FBI would beindicated, if you know where they can be reached."
"Yeah," Joe Negus said. "Go take a flying jump for yourself, Chief."
"Listen, you cheap crook--"
"Hardly cheap, Vince," Lynch said. "And not even a crook, in myprofessional opinion. Mr. Negus pleads extra-territoriality."
* * * * *
That was the start of Superior's crime wave.
Somebody broke the plate-glass window of George Tocher's dry-goods storeand got away with blankets, half a dozen overcoats and several sets ofwoolen underwear.
A fuel-oil truck disappeared from the street outside of Dabney Brothers'and was found abandoned in the morning. About nine hundred gallons hadbeen drained out--as if someone had filled his cellar tank and a coupleof his neighbors'.
The back door of the supermarket was forced and somebody made off witha variety of groceries. The missing goods would have just about filledone car.
Each of these crimes was understandable--Superior's growing food andfuel shortage and icy temperatures had led a few people to desperation.
But there were other incidents. Somebody smashed the window atKimbrough's Jewelry Store and snatched a display of medium-pricedwatches.
Half a dozen young vandals sneaked into the Catholic Church and begantoppling statues of the saints. When they were surprised by Father Brianthey fled, bombarding him with prayer books. One of the books shattereda stained-glass window depicting Christ dispensing loaves and fishes.
Somebody started a fire in the movie-house balcony and nearly caused apanic.
Vincent Grande rushed from place to place, investigating, but rarelylearned enough to make an arrest. The situation was becoming unpleasant.Superior had always been a friendly place to live, where everyone kneweveryone else, at least to say hello to, but now there was suspicion andfear, not to mention increasing cold and threatened famine.
Everyone was cheered up, therefore, when Mayor Hector Civek announced amass meeting in Town Square. Bonfires were lit and the reviewing standthat was used for the annual Founders' Day parade was hauled out as aspeaker's platform.
Civek was late. The crowd, bundled up against the cold, was stampingtheir feet and beginning to shout a bit when he arrived. There was amedium-sized cheer as the mayor climbed to the platform.
"Fellow citizens," he began, then stopped to search through his overcoatpockets.
"Well," he went on, "I guess I put the speech in an inside pocket andit's too cold to look for it. I know what it says, anyway."
This brought a few laughs. Don Cort stood near the edge of the crowdand watched the people around him. They mostly had a no-nonsense lookabout them, as if they were not going to be satisfied with more oratory.
Civek said, "I'm not going to keep you standing in the cold and tell youwhat you already know--how our food supplies are dwindling, how we'reusing up our stocks of coal and fuel oil with no imm
ediate hope ofreplacement--you know all that."
"We sure do, Hector," somebody called out.
"Yes; so, as I say, I'm not going to talk about what the problem is. Wedon't need words--we need action."
He paused as if he expected a cheer, or applause, but the crowd merelywaited for him to go on.
"If Superior had been hit by a flood or a tornado," Civek said, "wecould look to the Red Cross and the State or Federal Government forhelp. But we've been the victims of a far greater misfortune, torn fromthe bosom of Mother Earth and flung--"
"Oh, come on, Hector," an old woman said. "We're getting froze."
"I'm sorry about that, Mrs. Potts," Civek said. "You should be homewhere it's warm."
"We ran out of coal for the furnace and now we're running out of logs.Are you going to do something about that?"
"I'll tell you what I'm going to do, Mrs. Potts, for you and all theother wonderful people here tonight. We're going to put a stop to thislawlessness we never had before. We're going to make Superior a place tobe proud of. Superior has changed--risen, you might say, to a newstatus. We're more than a town, now. We're free and separate, not onlyfrom Ohio, but from the United States.
"We're a sovereign place, a--a sovereignty, and we need new methods tocope with new conditions, to restore law and order, to see that all oursubjects--our citizen-subjects--are provided for."
The crowd had become hushed as Civek neared his point.
"To that noble end," Civek went on, "I dedicate myself, and I take thismomentous step and hereby proclaim the existence of the Kingdom ofSuperior"--he paused to take a deep breath--"and proclaim myself itsfirst King."
He stopped. His oratory had carried him to a climax and he didn't quiteknow where to go from there. Maybe he expected cheers to carry him over,but none came. There was complete silence except for the crackling ofthe bonfires.
But after a moment there was a shuffling of feet and a whispering thatgrew to a murmur. Then out of the murmur came derisive shouts andcatcalls.
"King Hector the First!" somebody hooted. "Long live the king!"
The words could have been gratifying but the tone of voice was allwrong.
"Where's Hector's crown?" somebody else cried. "Hey, Jack, did youforget to bring the crown?"
"Yeah," Jack said. "I forgot. But I got a rope over on my truck. Wecould elevate him that way."
Jack was obviously joking, but a group of men in another part of thecrowd pushed toward the platform. "Yeah," one of them said, "let'sstring him up."
A woman at the back of the crowd screamed. Two hairy figures about fivefeet tall appeared from the darkness. They were kangaroo-like, with longtails. No one tried to stop them, and the creatures reached the platformand pulled Hector down. They placed him between them and, their wayclear now, began to hop away.
Their hops grew longer as they reached the edge of the square. Theirleaps had become prodigious as they disappeared in the direction ofNorth Lake, Civek in his heavy coat looking almost like one of them.
Don Cort couldn't tell whether the creatures were kidnaping Civek orrescuing him.