Lucifer's Hammer - Larry Niven [154]
"Thieves. Thieves and murderers," Eileen said. "Why don't you just shoot us and be done with it?"
Tim wanted to shout to her, to tell her to shut up. Suppose they did it? Robbins would.
"There's no call to say things like that," the woman said. "It's simple. There's not enough here for all of us. Not for long. More people there are, the less there is, and we don't need Mr. Hamner giving orders, and I don't reckon he's good for a lot else. Not anymore. You go find another place, Mr. Hamner. There's other places to go." She looked to Larry for confirmation. "We'll have to move on pretty soon ourselves. You'll just have a head start."
She sounded thoroughly sane and reasonable. It was a nightmare for Tim: She sounded calm and reasonable, and her tone indicated that she was sure Tim would agree.
"But the girl can stay," Robbins said again.
"Do you want to?" Tim asked.
Eileen laughed. It was a bitter laugh, full of contempt. She looked at Marty Robbins and laughed again.
"There are children in that car," the woman said.
"Mary Sue, they're no business of ours," Fritz said.
She ignored him. She looked to Larry. "Who are those children?"
"From the camp," Eileen said. "They lived in Los Angeles. The rangers didn't have anything to feed them. We brought them. We thought—"
The woman left the porch and went down to the Blazer
"You tell her no," Fritz said. "You make her—"
"I haven't been able to make her do anything for fifteen years," Larry said. "You know that."
"Yeah."
"We don't need kids here!" Marty Robbins shouted.
"Don't reckon they'll eat as much between them as this lady would," Larry said. He turned to Tim and Eileen. "Look Mr. Hamner, you see how it is? We got nothing against you, but-"
"But you're leaving," Marty Robbins said. There was satisfaction in his voice. He let it drop so that the woman couldn't hear. She had gotten into the car and was sitting in the back seat talking with the children. "I still say there are rangers out there. Hamner might find one. Tell you what, I'll go along with him when he leaves—"
"No." Larry was clearly disgusted.
"Maybe he should," Fritz said. "Way he thinks, I'm not sure we ever want to have him behind us. Maybe he should go and not come back. We could tough it out without him."
"We made a deal!" Marty cried. "When you came here! I let you in! We made a deal—"
"Sure we did," Fritz said. "But you better shut up about murder or we may forget that deal. I see Mary Sue's bringing the kids. You want us to keep 'em, Mr. Hamner?"
So damned calm, Tim thought. Fritz and Larry. Two … two what? Carpenters? Landscape gardeners? Survivors now, convincing themselves they were still civilized people. "Since there's no gas left in the car, and Eileen and I aren't likely to get out of the mountains alive, it would be a good idea. Eileen, staying here might be your—"
"Not with that." She was looking at Robbins.
Fritz looked at Larry. They stared at each other for a moment. "I guess we've got a little gas," Fritz said. "Ten-gallon can, anyway. You can have that. Ten gallons of gas and a couple cans of soup. Now get back in that car before we change our minds about the gas."
Tim got back in the car, pulling Eileen along before she could make any more suggestions. The children were clustered around Mary Sue, but they were looking toward the car, and that scared look was going to be on their faces a lot from now on. Tim dredged up a reassuring smile and a wave. His fingers twitched with the need to get going, get away from those guns! But he waited.
Larry filled their tank.
Tim backed out of the drive and drove off into the rain.
The Mailman: One
Everything that is called duty, the prerequisite for all genuine law and the substance of every noble custom, can be traced back to honor. If one has to think about it, one is already without honor.
Oswald Spengler, Thoughts
Harry Newcombe saw nothing of Hammerfall, and it was Jason Gillcuddy's fault. Gillcuddy had imprisoned himself in the wilderness (he said) to diet and to write a novel. He had dropped