Henry came up. “Somebody help me with the beer….”
Beth reached out, caught his sleeve and whispered, “A couple of professors here, Henry.
They’re making a survey of the region to find out why things went so badly in River City and so well, comparatively, over here. I hope you don’t mind. I asked them to stay for supper.”
Henry looked across the lawn and again spotted the men. “Hell,” he said. “Time we quit talking about it! Only difference was, some of us tried to swap freedom for security; the rest of us went on fighting for freedom, as usual.”
“Tell them that,” Beth said. “They’ll never find a better answer, no matter how smart they are, or how long they ask.”
Henry’s eyes moved, stopped again. “Who’s that redhead Ted’s mawking at?”
“Lives next door,” Beth replied. “She’s mighty sweet.”
Henry stared at the girl a moment longer. Then his twinkling affectionate gaze traveled on to the Bailey house. “Kind of where we came in, isn’t it, Mother?”
“People don’t change very much or very fast,” she smiled. Henry nodded and walked over to meet the professors and his new neighbors. The sun went down and left the lawn in gilded light. Queenie yawned—and touched his mouth delicately.
Copyright
Rinehart & Company, Inc.
New York, Toronto
Published Simultaneously in Canada by Clarke, Irwin & Company, Ltd., Toronto Copyright, 1954, by Philip Wylie
All Rights Reserved
Printed in the United States of America
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 53-10924