He smiled at her. It came to him that earlier this night he had been recalling a man who died young of senseless causes, but who first Jived more than most. Among the words he left:
– And so I never feared to see
You wander down the street,
Or come across the fields to me
On ordinary feet.
For what they’d never told me of,
And what I never knew,
It was that all the time, my love,
Love would be merely you.
Pamela looked closer at Reid and sat straight. ‘Why, you’ve a different coat on,’ she said. ‘And—’
‘Well, you see, a crewman and I got talking, decided we liked each other’s coats better, and swapped,’ he replied. ‘Here, inspect.’ He slipped the garment off and tossed it onto her lap. She couldn’t help staring at it, feeling the unfamiliar material. Meanwhile he scrambled out of the rest and, under cover of donning a bathrobe, dropped the pieces in a drawer. He’d toss them overboard later.
She raised her eyes again. ‘Duncan,’ she said. ‘You’re suddenly thin. And those creases in your face—’
I must distract her, he thought. Someday I’ll tell her the whole truth. But not yet. She couldn’t believe. Anyhow, we’ve more important business first.
I feel the new thing in me, the knowing what is needed, the spirit that does not surrender, the courage to be joyful.
‘What do you mean?’ she pleaded.
He answered: ‘I want to make my woman happy.’
About the Author
Poul Anderson (1926–2001) grew up bilingual in a Danish American family. After discovering science fiction fandom and earning a physics degree at the University of Minnesota, he found writing science fiction more satisfactory. Admired for his “hard” science fiction, mysteries, historical novels, and “fantasy with rivets,” he also excelled in humor. He was the guest of honor at the 1959 World Science Fiction Convention and at many similar events, including the 1998 Contact Japan 3 and the 1999 Strannik Conference in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Besides winning the Hugo and Nebula Awards, he has received the Gandalf, Seiun, and Strannik, or “Wanderer,” Awards. A founder of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America, he became a Grand Master, and was inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame.
In 1952 he met Karen Kruse; they married in Berkeley, California, where their daughter, Astrid, was born, and they later lived in Orinda, California. Astrid and her husband, science fiction author Greg Bear, now live with their family outside Seattle.
All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 1971 by Trigonier Trust
Cover design by Jason Gabbert
978-1-4976-9426-2
This edition published in 2014 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.
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