Flight From Tomorrow | Page 6

condition and of better quality, arrived and a young man got out of it and entered the
house, carrying a leather bag. He was apparently some sort of a scientist; he examined the
man and his wife, asked many questions, and administered drugs. He also took samples
for blood-tests and urinalysis. This, Hradzka considered, was another of the many
contradictions he had encountered among these people--this man behaved like an
educated scientist, and seemingly had nothing in common with the peasant herb-gatherer
on the mountainside.
The fact was that Hradzka was worried. The strange death of the animals, the blight
which had smitten the trees and vegetables around the farm, and the sickness of the
farmer and his woman, all mystified him. He did not know of any disease which would
affect plants and animals and humans; he wondered if some poisonous gas might not be
escaping from the earth near the farmhouse. However, he had not, himself, been affected.
He also disliked the way in which the doctor and the neighbors seemed to be talking
about him. While he had come to a considerable revision of his original opinion about the
culture-level of these people, it was not impossible that they might suspect him of having
caused the whole thing by witchcraft; at any moment, they might fall upon him and put
him to death. In any case, there was no longer any use in his staying here, and it might be
wise if he left at once.
Accordingly, he filled his pockets with food from the pantry and slipped out of the
farmhouse; before his absence was discovered he was well on his way down the road.

3
That night, Hradzka slept under a bridge across a fairly wide stream; the next morning, he
followed the road until he came to a town. It was not a large place; there were perhaps
four or five hundred houses and other buildings in it. Most of these were dwellings like
the farmhouse where he had been staying, but some were much larger, and seemed to be
places of business. One of these latter was a concrete structure with wide doors at the
front; inside, he could see men working on the internal-combustion vehicles which
seemed to be in almost universal use. Hradzka decided to obtain employment here.
It would be best, he decided, to continue his pretense of being a deaf-mute. He did not
know whether a world-language were in use at this time or not, and even if not, the

pretense of being a foreigner unable to speak the local dialect might be dangerous. So he
entered the vehicle-repair shop and accosted a man in a clean shirt who seemed to be
issuing instructions to the workers, going into his pantomime of the homeless mute
seeking employment.
The master of the repair-shop merely laughed at him, however. Hradzka became more
insistent in his manner, making signs to indicate his hunger and willingness to work. The
other men in the shop left their tasks and gathered around; there was much laughter and
unmistakably ribald and derogatory remarks. Hradzka was beginning to give up hope of
getting employment here when one of the workmen approached the master and whispered
something to him.
The two of them walked away, conversing in low voices. Hradzka thought he understood
the situation; no doubt the workman, thinking to lighten his own labor, was urging that
the vagrant be employed, for no other pay than food and lodging. At length, the master
assented to his employee's urgings; he returned, showed Hradzka a hose and a bucket and
sponges and cloths, and set him to work cleaning the mud from one of the vehicles. Then,
after seeing that the work was being done properly, he went away, entering a room at one
side of the shop.
About twenty minutes later, another man entered the shop. He was not dressed like any of
the other people whom Hradzka had seen; he wore a gray tunic and breeches, polished
black boots, and a cap with a visor and a metal insignia on it; on a belt, he carried a
holstered weapon like a blaster.
After speaking to one of the workers, who pointed Hradzka out to him, he approached the
fugitive and said something. Hradzka made gestures at his mouth and ears and made
gargling sounds; the newcomer shrugged and motioned him to come with him, at the
same time producing a pair of handcuffs from his belt and jingling them suggestively.
In a few seconds, Hradzka tried to analyze the situation and estimate its possibilities. The
newcomer was a soldier, or, more likely, a policeman, since manacles were a part of his
equipment. Evidently, since the evening before, a warning had been made public by
means of communicating