Methuselah's Children Read Online Free PDF Page B

takes a hundred years or so to realize just how good life is." He stood up and stretched. "But right now this growing boy could use some sleep."
    "Me, too."
    Mary's flat was on the top floor, with a sky view. When she had come back to the lounge she had cut the inside lighting and let the ceiling shutters fold back; they had been sitting, save for an invisible sheet of plastic, under the stars. As Lazarus raised his head in stretching, his eye had rested on his favorite constellation. "Odd," he commented. "Orion seems to have added a fourth star to his belt."
    She looked up. "That must be the big ship for the Second Centauri Expedition. See if you can see it move."
    "Couldn't tell without instruments."
    "I suppose not," she agreed. "Clever of them to build it out in space, isn't it?"
    "No other way to do it. It's too big to assemble on Earth. I can doss down right here, Mary. Or do you have a spare room?"
    "Your room is the second door on the right. Shout if you can't find everything you need." She put her face up and kissed him goodnight, a quick peck. " 'Night."
    Lazarus followed her and went into his own room.
     
    Mary Sperling woke at her usual hour the next day. She got up quietly to keep from waking Lazarus, ducked into her 'fresher, showered and massaged, swallowed a grain of sleep surrogate to make up for the short night, followed it almost as quickly with all the breakfast she permitted her waistline, then punched for the calls she had not bothered to take the night before. The phone played back several calls which she promptly forgot, then she recognized the voice of Bork Vanning. " 'Hello,' " the instrument said. " 'Mary, this is Bork, calling at twenty-one o'clock. I'll be by at ten o'clock tomorrow morning, for a dip in the lake and lunch somewhere. Unless I hear from you it's a date. 'Bye, my dear. Service.' "
    "Service," she repeated automatically. Drat the man! Couldn't he take no for an answer? Mary Sperling, you're slipping!-a quarter your age and yet you can't seem to handle him.
    Call him and leave word that-no, too late; he'd be here any minute. Bother!

2
    When Lazarus went to bed he stepped out of his kilt and chucked it toward a wardrobe . . . which snagged it, shook it out, and hung it up neatly. "Nice catch," he commented, then glanced down at his hairy thighs and smiled wryly, the kilt had concealed a blaster strapped to one thigh, a knife to the other. He was aware of the present gentle custom against personal weapons, but he felt naked without them. Such customs were nonsense anyhow, foolishment from old women-there was no such thing as a "dangerous weapon," there were only dangerous men.
    When he came out of the 'fresher, he put his weapons where he could reach them before sprawling in sleep.
    He came instantly wide awake with a weapon in each hand . . . then remembered where he was, relaxed, and looked around to see what had wakened him.
    It was a murmur of voices through the air duct. Poor soundproofing he decided, and Mary must be entertaining callers-in which case he should not be slug-a-bed. He got up, refreshed himself, strapped his best friends back on his thighs, and went looking for his hostess.
    As the door to the lounge dilated noiselessly in front of him the sound of voices became loud and very interesting. The lounge was el-shaped and he was out of sight; he hung back and listened shamelessly. Eavesdropping had saved his skin on several occasions; it worried him not at all-he enjoyed it.
    A man was saying, "Mary, you're completely unreasonable! You know you're fond of me, you admit that marriage to me would be to your advantage. So why won't you?"
    "I told you, Bork. Age difference."
    "That's foolish. What do you expect? Adolescent romance? Oh, I admit that I'm not as young as you are . . . but a woman needs an older man to look up to and keep her steady. I'm not too old for you; I'm just at my prime."
    Lazarus decided that he already knew this chap well enough to dislike him. Sulky