The Stranger - Max Frei [121]
“My problem is that everything happens too suddenly.”
“In that case, you’re lucky. Try to get used to it.”
Somewhere in the far corner of the sitting room a door slammed. Sir Maba Kalox came back to the table, as cheerful and animated as ever.
“Thank you, Juffin. It was a pleasure to examine the Door you opened, and to see the curious place that lies beyond it. I must say, it was grand!”
“I’m glad you liked it. But the more Max tells me about the place, the less I like it.”
“I’m not saying it appeals to me. It was simply very interesting. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen anything like it. Are you glad you stole away from there, Max?”
“I can’t imagine my life working out any other way. When I first arrived here I felt like I had landed in clover! I felt that someone was rubbing the part of my brain that makes me purr.”
Sir Maba Kalox nodded, settled himself more comfortably in his armchair, and thoughtfully drew out a plate with small rolls from under the table. He tasted them, nodded his approval, and placed his souvenir on the table.
“They’re edible, and very tasty. But, I won’t stall, I’ll tell you everything that happened while I was there. In the first place, Max, you were right. One of your countrymen really is at large in Echo. By the way, Juffin, it’s the first time I’ve come across someone of his age and sex who has such a highly developed faculty of intuition.”
“Same here,” my boss said.
I blushed with pleasure.
“I congratulate you both. Eat up, don’t be afraid. I don’t know where they came from, but nevertheless . . .”
“Poisoner,” Juffin mumbled, stuffing a roll into his mouth. “Chow down, Max. If we die, we’re going out together.”
The rolls were excellent. The flavor seemed familiar to me, though I couldn’t quite place it.
“I don’t know how you managed,” Sir Maba Kalox continued. “But you, my boys, came up with the craziest mode of transportation between Worlds I’ve ever seen.”
“What do you mean ‘we’? Juffin thought it up. I just obediently followed instructions,” I protested. I certainly didn’t want to be burdened by someone else’s laurels. I didn’t even know where to put my own.
“Judge for yourself, Max,” Juffin replied. “How could I have invented that ‘streetcar’ when to this day I don’t know what it is? Someday it will get through to you that we did it together. But for now, you’ll just have to take my word for it.”
“Just resign yourself to not knowing what you’re doing for the next few hundred years,” Maba Kalox added. “It’s only frightening at first. After that it gets interesting. Now then, let’s get back to my impressions. I found myself in the dark and lonely street where the Door between Worlds opened for you, Max. There was some lunatic wandering around who was obsessed with murder. Nothing so unusual in that, and anyway, I love madmen. However primitive they may be, they always have access to marvels. As for this fellow, it was obvious to me right away that he was tripping over the marvelous with both feet. Some kind of eccentric buggy, clearly man-made, drove up and stopped right in front of him. I’ve never seen anything more ungainly in my life. A means of transportation should be able to drive anywhere, and not be confined to a little path! All the more since no path is infinite.”
“That ‘little path’ is called ‘tracks,’” I interposed, just to set the record straight.
“Thank you, Max. That, of course, changes everything. When I realized how this strange buggy was made and what it was for, I split my sides laughing. But for the madman, the arrival of the streetcar was also a surprise. You see, he was aware that on that street there was no little path like the one I have already mentioned. Yes, yes, Max, I remember. ‘Tracks.’ Consequently, the poor fellow was sure that this contraption couldn’t be there at all. Sinning Magicians, how little it takes for some people to lose their minds!”
“Tell me, Maba,” Juffin said, frowning. “How great is the probability that other people will come across this streetcar?