Universe Twister - Keith Laumer [233]
"Have done, false rogue, or I'll take pleasure in snapping your spine!"
Below, a swarthily handsome fellow in tight-fitting black with a red cummerbund stood gaping about him with an expression of total wonder.
"Zorro!" O'Leary yelled. "Tell them you're you! That you're not me anymore! I mean, that I'm not you anymore!"
"Think not to cop a plea of insanity!" Alain growled in O'Leary's ear. "There's a VIP dungeon ready and waiting for you, turncoat rebel!"
"I'm not insane! I'm Lafayette O'Leary! I was somebody else, but now I'm me again, can't you understand, you numbskull? And we're not out of trouble yet—"
"How could you?" a tearful feminine voice spoke near at hand. Daphne stood there, looking up into his face. "Is it really you, Lafayette—or was that man telling the truth! That somehow you aren't really you, and—"
"Daphne—before I wasn't me—but now I am, don't you see? I'm Lafayette O'Leary, nobody else—"
"Did somebody call fer Sir Lafayette?" a deep voice boomed. Clarence appeared, making his way through the crowd with a pleased smile on his face. "Dat's me," he announced, indicating himself with a thumb. "Anybody want to make sumpin of it?"
"No, Clarence, not now!" O'Leary shouted. "Cornmeal mush!"
"Don't pay no never mind to dat bozo," Clarence exhorted the crowd. "He's a ringer. Me, I'm duh McCoy."
"Zorro!" O'Leary appealed to the Wayfarer. "I told Clarence to stick to his story until I said 'cornmeal mush.' I mean until you said 'cornmeal mush.' That is, I was you then, and what I meant was—"
"I'm duh real O'Leary!" Clarence roared.
"No, he's not!" Daphne cried. "He is!" She pointed at Zorro, who goggled at her in astonishment. Daphne rushed to him, threw her arms around his neck.
"I recognized you in spite of your—your disguise—as soon as you laid hands on me," she sobbed.
Zorro stared over her head; his look of amazement gave way to a delighted smile.
"You bet, keed," he said.
"Daphne!" O'Leary yelled, "get away from that degenerate! Clarence—" A loud screech cut across the room. There was a stir in the crowd, cries of outrage as a small, furious figure in a scarlet skirt, a shiny black blouse, and jingling earrings forced her way through the press, followed by half a dozen olive-hued, black-haired barbarously attired Wayfarers.
"Gizelle! Luppo! What are you doing here?" O'Leary cried. The girl burst through the front rank and threw herself at Zorro, who leaped from Daphne's embrace to dive for cover as her enamorata's knife whistled past his ribs.
"Peeg! Lecher! Philanderer!" Gizelle shrieked as her arms were seized and the knife clattered away. "Wait unteel I get my hands on you, you sneaky, feelthy worm in the weeds you!"
"Hey! Watch him!" Lafayette shouted—too late. Lom, his captor's attention distracted by the disturbance, wrenched free, ducked to catch up Gizelle's knife, darted to Daphne, now standing alone, seized her by the arm and whirled to face the crowd, holding the point of the stiletto at his captive's throat.
"Back!" he barked. "Or I slit it from ear to ear!"
Women screamed; men uttered oaths and grabbed for their sword hilts; but they fell back.
All but one man. O'Leary stared in horror as a tall, white-bearded patriarch in a glowing blue robe circled behind Lom, unseen.
The latter backed slowly, his eyes darting from face to face; he stooped, scooped up the object that the regent had been holding at the moment of O'Leary's transfer back into his original body.
"No!" Lafayette yelled, and plunged against the men holding him. "Don't let him—"
Lom uttered a shrill laugh. "Don't let me? Ha! Who can stop me?"
The tall man in blue tapped Lom on the shoulder.
"I can," he said in a tone like the tolling of a bell.
Lom whirled to goggle at the tall apparition that had appeared so suddenly behind him.
"Jorlemagne!" he gasped. He dropped the knife, clutched Daphne to him, thumbed a control on the button of the device in his hands—and with a sharp whop! of imploding air, vanished.
4
For the next two minutes, bedlam reigned. Lafayette made a frantic