Bill said, «Hiya, Max. Glad to see you’re back with us.» I shook hands with him and said, «All the way back, Bill.» He’d know what I meant by that, and he’d know he could quit worrying about me, if he’d been worrying.
He pulled up a chair.
I said, «Let’s get details over with first. How am I set for money? Who’s paying for this?»
«You’re all right. Klockerman’s got your stuff—he’s holding it for you—and he checked your bank book and says there’s enough left to pay your full bill here and get you back again.»
«Did he check with the bank to see whether—?»
«Sure. You’d wired them for money twice and they’d sent it, but that’s figured in. Oh, by the time you get back to work you may owe one or the other of us a couple of hundred or so, but nothing enough to worry about.»
«Good,» I said. «Another thing. I talked to Fell, but forgot to ask him how much longer I’d have to stay here. Has he told you?»
«Checked with him on my way in just now. He says about ten more days and you’ll be able to travel, but that you shouldn’t go back to work for at least a month after that. Will you come and stay with us in Seattle? Merlene and the kids’ll be crazy to have you, and so will I.»
«I—do I have to decide that right now, Bill?»
«Of course not. I didn’t mean to push you. And I ought to tell you you’ve got alternatives. Klocky, M’bassi and Rory have all put in bids for you. You’ve got some swell friends, Max.»
«And swell relatives, Bill.» I turned and looked at him squarely. «Listen, Bill,» I said. «In case I do decide to come to Seattle there’s one thing I want to talk out with you first, and while we’re alone.»
«Shoot.»
«It’s about Billy. Do you mind if I—» I’d started to say, if I try to give him the Dream, but that wouldn’t be Bill’s language. «Do you mind if I talk space to him, try to make a starduster out of him?»
«Merlene and I have talked that over,» he said quietly. «And the answer is no, we don’t mind. It’s up to Billy what he wants to do and be.» He grinned suddenly. «Unless he changes when he grows up, he won’t need any pushing from you. He’s almost as bad as you used to be, Max.»
«Good,» I said. «In that case, Bill, I’ll probably spend part of that month’s rest-up with you. Not the first two weeks, probably, because I’ll be—well, the second two weeks, when I’m stronger, will be better for me to be with the kids. They’re pretty strenuous for an old man, when he’s down.»
«Great. I’ll tell Merlene we’ll have you the second two weeks. About the others, know yet who you want to spend time with first? I can let him know for you and save you writing.»
«No, I haven’t decided yet. But I’ll appreciate it if you’ll do this, Bill. Wire or phone all three of them that I’m out of it, and okay. All the way okay. Will you do that?»
«Sure.»
«And keep a tab of how much the wires or calls cost. Also how much your trip here cost.»
He laughed. «The calls, sure, but don’t be silly about the trip. A vacation from my family, and hell I’ve always wanted an excuse for a trip to Denver. Max, this used to be a cow town. About the biggest one, I think. And they’ve got museums of the Old West here, and I’ll bet you can’t guess where I’ve been staying.»
«My God,» I said, «Don’t tell me there are still such things as dude ranches.»
There were, and he was staying at one and having the time of his life. Probably almost sorry I’d recovered consciousness and coherence because now he’d have to grow up again and go home to his family.
My kid brother, riding a horse, playing cowboy, living in the past. My wonderful kid brother.
Letters came. One from Merlene saying how glad she and the kids would be to see me, that Billy especially was all excited because I was coming.
Letter from Bess Bursteder. «I’m writing because Rory’s awfully busy. He’s changing jobs, Max. He’s not been too happy at Treasure Island for quite a while now. He’s been having trouble with the directors, doesn’t see eye to eye with them on a lot of things. So he’s taking another job and we’re moving there this week end. It’s still a head mech’s job, but at a smaller rocket port and it won’t pay quite so much. That doesn’t matter, though, if he’s happier in the work, and he will be, since they’re giving him full authority over the mechanical end, no restrictions on whom he hires and fires, nor on the time he allocates to each job—and that’s the big beef he’s had with the port directors here; they’ve been trying to get him to cut corners and save a few dollars.
«I know you’ll be glad to know where we’re going—because it’s Seattle. Now and from now on you can kill two birds with one rocket blast in your visiting because we’ll be living in the same city as your brother and his family. We hope to get to know them better, too. I liked your sister-in-law an awful lot the one time I met her. At the party in Los Angeles when we celebrated your getting your degree, remember?
«We’re not buying a house there until we’ve had time to look around, but we both flew up there last week end and rented an apartment to live in meanwhile—and it’s got a guest room for you. We’re moving in Saturday and Sunday and we’ll be settled down and ready for you by the time you get here. You are coming; don’t give us any argument about that. Wait a minute; Rory’s here looking over my shoulder and he says if I’m through he wants to add something. I’ll turn it over to him. Bess signing off.»
Rory’s stubby handwriting took over. «Swell you’re going to be with us, Max. Suppose you’ll be going back to your old job at L. A. but if you don’t want to, there’ll be one for you in Seattle any time you want it. You just read what Bess wrote about the hiring and firing. Keep your chin up.»
It put my chin up, to get a letter like that. And it decided me on Seattle.
Another letter the next day undecided me. It was from M’bassi and it was a brief hurried scrawl. A paragraph telling me I should by all means come and stay with him while I was convalescing, and then:
«Max, I think—I hope—that I’m on the verge of success. I want your help. Please come here.»
That put a different look on things.
What did he mean, he was on the verge of success—that he could teleport himself, or that he thought he could do it soon?
And how the hell could I help?
Or, damn his wonderful black hide, was that just bait to get me there, by arousing my curiosity?
But Jesus, what if—?
It was hard to make up my mind, until two days later a letter came from Klocky.
«Max,» he said, «I’m worried as hell about M’bassi. He’s off on one of his mystical sprees. He’s been fasting and taking drugs, and that’s a hell of a dangerous combination. He’s so thin he doesn’t throw a shadow, and he won’t listen to any common sense I try to talk to him. He can’t go on like that much longer.
«If you feel up to it by the time you leave the re—and I won’t blame you if you don’t—I think you ought to take him up on his invitation, just so you can be with him and try to get him straightened out. He’s crazy to try whatever he’s trying. If he doesn’t starve himself to death he’ll end up as a drug addict—no, I guess he has too much will power for that. But what he’s doing is dangerous, just the same.