type…” he conceded. “You know, blonde, and eyes that could be violet at certain moments…”
“I wish I could see her,” sighed Frank.
“You’ll see her, all right! She’ll be staying here for some time and you’ll be cured long before the three of us go our separate ways.”
The woman sat up.
“It’s out of the question!” she said. “I won’t! I don’t want to!…”
Hal burst out laughing. He put one knee on the wooden bench and trimmed the smoking wick of his lamp.
“Listen, sweetie, in this life there are what are called circumstances. Circumstances decided that you should end up here with us… Well, you just have to put up with it. Fate… you see, there is such a thing… Fate, along with its sidekick, Chance! You helped us, so now it’s our turn to help you. If we hadn’t been here, you would now be by yourself on this island crying with cold and fear. Tomorrow you’d have tried to get back to the mainland on foot and you’d have gone to meet your maker with that pretty mouth of yours full of sand…”
“He’s got the gift of the gab, hasn’t he?” leered Frank.
“We wait!” said Hal.
She shook her head.
“Wait for what?”
“Wait until some time has gone by between us and the cops. The cops are just like everybody else. They’ve got memories, but believe me, memories are not intended just for remembering things, but, more importantly, for forgetting them!”
“Aw, put a sock in it!” cried Frank. “Have you finished rabbiting on? Lady, when he starts talking he gets drunk on his own words!” He went on: “Let’s leave it at that! OK, so we make room for Widow Wossername here. I can’t take any more of this!”
“Oh!” cried the woman.
She burst into tears… Her chest heaved, racked by sobbing… She fought for breath.
“You’re being a bit hard on a young woman who was very nice to you,” observed Hal.
Frank sidled up to him.
“You mustn’t hold it against me,” he said meekly.
He waved one hand about on the off chance of locating the woman. He touched her hair and started stroking it.
“Don’t hold it against me…” he repeated. “I feel so down.”
She freed herself with a horrified shrug. He felt the full force of the revulsion he inspired in her.
“You can cut that out!” Frank said angrily. “Don’t get smart with me or I’ll make sure you join your better half down among the fishes! I could do it, you bet I could, blind as I am!”
He lay down on his seaweed bed and starting crying with frustration.
Hal shrugged his shoulders and gathered up an armful of grass, which he spread out in another corner of the hut.
“Come, lie down here,” he ordered the woman, “and cry your eyes out all you want if it makes you feel better. Tomorrow’s another day and it won’t be anything like today.”
Head bowed, she did as she was told.
She was still asleep when the two men woke up next morning.
Frank tore off the bandage, which had stayed stuck over his wound. He blinked at the light.
“Can you see?” asked Hal, who was observing what he was doing.
“No,” said Frank, “but there’s hope… I can already tell the difference between light and dark… It’s just like as if I were looking through frosted glass, if you follow me…”
Hall nodded: “Good. It’s coming back slowly… And the wound isn’t weeping any more—you’re on the mend.”
“Did you sleep well?” asked Frank.
“No.”
“Me neither… Feeling that she was there, the scent of her… It’s a long time since I had a woman anywhere within reach…”
“True,” said Hal, “and it gets to you!”
“And how! My mouth goes dry just thinking about it!”
“She asleep?”
“Yeah,” said Hal after glancing at the woman.
“Is she really good-looking?”
“A stunner!”
Frank sighed. He stood up and forced himself to open his half-closed eyes… But the pain started to come back.
“I’ll have to bathe my eyes in water that’s been
“I wish I could see her,” sighed Frank.
“You’ll see her, all right! She’ll be staying here for some time and you’ll be cured long before the three of us go our separate ways.”
The woman sat up.
“It’s out of the question!” she said. “I won’t! I don’t want to!…”
Hal burst out laughing. He put one knee on the wooden bench and trimmed the smoking wick of his lamp.
“Listen, sweetie, in this life there are what are called circumstances. Circumstances decided that you should end up here with us… Well, you just have to put up with it. Fate… you see, there is such a thing… Fate, along with its sidekick, Chance! You helped us, so now it’s our turn to help you. If we hadn’t been here, you would now be by yourself on this island crying with cold and fear. Tomorrow you’d have tried to get back to the mainland on foot and you’d have gone to meet your maker with that pretty mouth of yours full of sand…”
“He’s got the gift of the gab, hasn’t he?” leered Frank.
“We wait!” said Hal.
She shook her head.
“Wait for what?”
“Wait until some time has gone by between us and the cops. The cops are just like everybody else. They’ve got memories, but believe me, memories are not intended just for remembering things, but, more importantly, for forgetting them!”
“Aw, put a sock in it!” cried Frank. “Have you finished rabbiting on? Lady, when he starts talking he gets drunk on his own words!” He went on: “Let’s leave it at that! OK, so we make room for Widow Wossername here. I can’t take any more of this!”
“Oh!” cried the woman.
She burst into tears… Her chest heaved, racked by sobbing… She fought for breath.
“You’re being a bit hard on a young woman who was very nice to you,” observed Hal.
Frank sidled up to him.
“You mustn’t hold it against me,” he said meekly.
He waved one hand about on the off chance of locating the woman. He touched her hair and started stroking it.
“Don’t hold it against me…” he repeated. “I feel so down.”
She freed herself with a horrified shrug. He felt the full force of the revulsion he inspired in her.
“You can cut that out!” Frank said angrily. “Don’t get smart with me or I’ll make sure you join your better half down among the fishes! I could do it, you bet I could, blind as I am!”
He lay down on his seaweed bed and starting crying with frustration.
Hal shrugged his shoulders and gathered up an armful of grass, which he spread out in another corner of the hut.
“Come, lie down here,” he ordered the woman, “and cry your eyes out all you want if it makes you feel better. Tomorrow’s another day and it won’t be anything like today.”
Head bowed, she did as she was told.
She was still asleep when the two men woke up next morning.
Frank tore off the bandage, which had stayed stuck over his wound. He blinked at the light.
“Can you see?” asked Hal, who was observing what he was doing.
“No,” said Frank, “but there’s hope… I can already tell the difference between light and dark… It’s just like as if I were looking through frosted glass, if you follow me…”
Hall nodded: “Good. It’s coming back slowly… And the wound isn’t weeping any more—you’re on the mend.”
“Did you sleep well?” asked Frank.
“No.”
“Me neither… Feeling that she was there, the scent of her… It’s a long time since I had a woman anywhere within reach…”
“True,” said Hal, “and it gets to you!”
“And how! My mouth goes dry just thinking about it!”
“She asleep?”
“Yeah,” said Hal after glancing at the woman.
“Is she really good-looking?”
“A stunner!”
Frank sighed. He stood up and forced himself to open his half-closed eyes… But the pain started to come back.
“I’ll have to bathe my eyes in water that’s been
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