The Hunters | Page 3

proposal afterwards."
"You certainly are a cold-blooded creature, Carol. But I suppose that in
your profession you have to be."

"Cold, suspicious, nasty--and reliable. It's inevitable when I must deal
with such warm-hearted, trusting, and unreliable clients."
He watched her move about the room, clearing away the dishes from
his meager breakfast. "What are you humming, Carol?"
"Was I humming?"
"I thought I recognized it--All of Me, Why Not Take All of Me? That's it!
Your subconscious gives you away. You really want to marry me!"
"A mistake," she said coolly. "My subconscious doesn't know what it's
talking about. All I want of you is the usual ten per cent."
"Can't you forget for a moment that you're an agent, and remember that
you're a woman, too?"
"No. Not unless you forget that you're a drunk, and remember that
you're a man. Not unless you make me forget that you drank your way
through Africa--"
"Because you weren't there with me!"
"--with hardly enough energy to let them dress you in that hunter's
outfit and photograph you as if you were shooting lions."
"You're so unforgiving, Carol. You don't have much use for me, do
you--consciously, that is?"
"Frankly, Curt, no. I don't have much use for useless people."
"I'm not entirely useless. I earn you that ten per cent--"
"I'd gladly forego that to see you sober."
"But it's your contempt for me that drives me to drink. And when I
think of having to face those dear little kiddies with nothing inside
me--"

"There should be happiness inside you at the thought of your doing a
good deed. Not a drop, George, not a drop."
* * * * *
The two little girls drew apart from the others and began to whisper
into each other's ears. The whispers were punctuated by giggles which
made the entire childish conversation seem quite normal. But Palit was
in no laughing mood. He said, in his own language, "You're getting
careless, Manto. You had no business imitating her expression."
"I'm sorry, Palit, but it was so suggestive. And I'm a very suggestible
person."
"So am I. But I control myself."
"Still, if the temptation were great enough, I don't think you'd be able to
resist either."
"The issues are important enough to make me resist."
"Still, I thought I saw your own face taking on a bit of her expression
too."
"You are imagining things, Manto. Another thing, that mistake in
starting to say you were two hundred years old--"
"They would have thought it a joke. And I think I got out of that rather
neatly."
"You like to skate on thin ice, don't you, Manto? Just as you did when
you changed your height. You had no business shrinking right out in
public like that."
"I did it skillfully. Not a single person noticed."
"I noticed."
"Don't quibble."

"I don't intend to. Some of these children have very sharp eyes. You'd
be surprised at what they see."
Manto said tolerantly, "You're getting jittery, Palit. We've been away
from home too long."
"I am not jittery in the least. But I believe in taking due care."
"What could possibly happen to us? If we were to announce to the
children and the teacher, and to every one in this zoo, for that matter,
exactly who and what we were, they wouldn't believe us. And even if
they did, they wouldn't be able to act rapidly enough to harm us."
"You never can tell about such things. Wise--people--simply don't take
unnecessary chances."
"I'll grant that you're my superior in such wisdom."
"You needn't be sarcastic, Manto, I know I'm superior. I realize what a
godsend this planet is--you don't. It has the right gravity, a suitable
atmosphere, the proper chemical composition--everything."
"Including a population that will be helpless before us."
"And you would take chances of losing all this."
"Don't be silly, Palit. What chances am I taking?"
"The chance of being discovered. Here we stumble on this place quite
by accident. No one at home knows about it, no one so much as
suspects that it exists. We must get back and report--and you do all
sorts of silly things which may reveal what we are, and lead these
people to suspect their danger."
* * * * *
This time, Manto's giggle was no longer mere camouflage, but
expressed to a certain degree how he felt. "They cannot possibly
suspect. We have been all over the world, we have taken many forms

and adapted ourselves to many customs, and no one has suspected. And
even if danger really threatened, it would be easy to escape. I could
take the form of the school teacher herself, of a policeman, of any one
in authority. However, at present there is not the slightest shadow of