Сидней Баундс - The Robot Brains [with w_cat]

128 Looking at the Brains, he decided: "Fox must be right, after all."

129 At around 10 o'clock the show was over, and the public left the Fair. Christian went to the kitchen, took his supper and sat on one of the benches.

130 Soon two small girls came in. One of them sat down beside Christian and began to talk.

131 "You are new, aren't you?"

132 "Started today, miss." Only now Christian realized that she was not a child, but a very small grown-up woman.

133 "I'm Jo," she said, laughing. "You need not feel awkward. We are different only outside; inside we are just like anybody else"

134 She had soft dark hair and wore a pink dress.

135 "You are a sailor, aren't you? Tell us about the sea - I'm sure you've had lots of adventures."

136 "You won't believe me," replied Christian. "Once I was shipwrecked on a rock in the middle of the ocean, and every night mermaids brought me food and sang me to sleep. Another time I was swallowed by a whale, but I had my knife with me, so I cut a hole in the side of the whale and escaped."

Jo laughed.

137 "Don't tell me about the sharks," she said. "I shan't believe that if you don't show me your wooden leg!"

138 Christian looked round.

139 "I don't see the Brains," he said. "I suppose they eat something."

140 "Not with us," said Jo with contempt. "they are too high to mix with the rest of us. They are not true dwarfs, not like Mabel and me."

141 "If the Brains are not dwarfs," said Christian, "what are they?"

142 "I don't know. None of us like them very much. They never leave their trailer, except for their act. But they are clever... and cruel!"

143 She shuddered.

144 "I wonder if they went out last night," said Christian.

145 "I don't think so," said Jo. "It seems that they are afraid of the dark - at least they keep the door of their trailer locked all night, and the lamps burning."

146 Soon Christian said good-night to Jo and walked to the trailer where he and Miller slept. When he came, Miller was preparing to go out.

147 "I'll come late," Miller said. "But don't worry, I shan't make noise."

148 Christian was glad to hear it, because he wanted to go out himself to watch the Brains; so he would not have to explain anything to Miller.

149 Christian spent almost all night watching the Brains' trailer, but in vain: they did not leave it.

150 In the evening of the next day, when the show was over, Christian was standing at the back of the large tent and waiting for the Brains. It was cold and it was raining. When they came out, he said:

151 "Typical English weather, this."

152 The Brains did not answer. Christian tried again.

153 "I suppose," he said, "the climate is warm in the place you come from."

154 When they were standing close to him, he could see individual differences in them. One had a more pointed chin than the others; the second had his ears flat against the skull; the third had a scar on his nose.

155 "It is true that we are used to an even temperature," said the Brain with the scar.

156 He spoke with a strange accent.

157 "What country it is?" asked the captain.

158 He received no answer. All three Brains were silent. Looking down at them, Christian saw that each had a belt at his waist; and in each belt there was a large black crystal with some strange engraving on it.

159 He stretched out his hand to touch the nearest crystal and exclaimed: "I've never seen anything like these before!"

160 Their reaction was immediate. All three Brains jerked away from him, as from something dangerous.

161 "Keep your hands off," one of them said angrily. "You must not touch!"

162 "Sorry," said Christian. He was intrigued.

163 They looked at him a moment, then quickly walked to their trailer. The captain remained standing there, wondering: what the devil was that all about?

164 Kurt Lawrence looked at the clock again. It was now past midnight, and Grace was not yet home. He thought: "She's seeing too much of Stacey..."

165 He tried to concentrate on his work. He was a tall man with brown hair, younger than he looked. His work was nearly finished. He had worked out a new method of launching rockets. It was a big step forward.

166 He looked at the clock again. Twenty minutes past midnight. Where was Grace now? He decided that in future he would devote more time to his wife.

167 He returned to his table to work out final details. When at last he finished, it was one o'clock. He heard someone at the door of the house. He opened the door of his room and went along the corridor, calling:

168 "Grace? Is that you, Grace?"

169 Kurt Lawrence did not know it then, but his worries were almost over...

170 Three cars stopped at the entrance to the Burkholder Fair. Four men in plain clothes got out of each car. They found Burkholder and explained what they wanted. The owner of the Fair did not like the idea, but he had no choice.

171 In ten minutes, everyone who worked at the Fair, was inside the large tent. The men in plain clothes were questioning them. Meanwhile, other men were searching the tents and trailers.

172 Christian was questioned, too. Miller, to his surprise, was with the people who asked the questions.

173 Afterwards, Miller took Christian aside and said, "I must now introduce myself."

174 He showed Christian his card; very simply it said that he was an operative of Military Intelligence.

175 "So you see," said Miller, "that we haven't ignored the theories of your friend Fox. Now we have something important to discuss. I know that you have been watching the Brains. Well, did you see them yesterday between midnight and two a.m.? Did they leave their trailer?"

176 "Another murder?" asked Christian.

177 "Yes, the seventh - a man named Kurt Lawrence. He worked with rockets. He was murdered, and some important papers disappeared at the same time."

178 "I can't help you," Christian said slowly. "I watched their trailer again, but I didn't see the Brains at all. A lamp was burning in the trailer - I think they were inside."

179 "H-m." Miller sat down on a chair and waved a large hand. "Make yourself comfortable - nobody will disturb us."

180 The captain sat down and put a cigar between his lips.

181 "The trouble is," said Miller, "that now I have declared my position. So I can't remain here." He looked thoughtfully at Christian. "Will you stay on here? They don't suspect you - and I shall be glad if you help."

182 "I'll do anything I can," said the captain.

183 "I'd like to see the murder weapon," said Miller. "Do you know the strangest thing about the Brains? They have no past!"

184 "What do you mean?"

185 "I mean that the Brains appeared suddenly, out of nowhere. Before that, no one had seen or heard of them. They have no past. Maybe they just dropped from the sky..."

Christian thought of Fox's theory.

186 It was a few days later, in the evening, when the show was over and the public had gone. It was late, the stars were shining brightly in a frosty sky. Christian was alone. He was doing some work on the territory, when he heard a loud scream from the direction of the Brains' trailer. He ran.

187 He came to where the Brains' trailer stood, and in the light of the moon saw the Brains and Jo. They had the dwarf-woman between them. The Brain with the flat ears held her by her dark long hair; the second Brain held a piece of cloth to her mouth; and the third cruelly twisted her arms.

188 Still running, Christian shouted: "Stop that, you devils - leave her alone!"

189 The Brains were too busy to hear him. He seized one of them - the one with the scar on the nose - and threw him aside.

190 The other two Brains turned to him, releasing Jo, who fell to the ground. The Brain with the scar stood up and ran up to Christian. He was shaking with rage.

191 "I'll teach you to interfere!" he shouted.

192 He was ready to attack Christian, when Victor, the Brain with the flat ears, who seemed to be their leader, said quietly:

"Waldo!"

193 This one word sounded as a command. The Brain with the scar stopped at once. All three looked coldly at the captain, then turned and marched into their trailer.

194 Christian bent over Jo and said:

"It's all right, Jo, they've gone."

She opened her eyes.

"Hello, Sailor! It's good that you came. Thank you!"

195 Christian helped her to get up. Her face was pale. She laughed.

196 "That's what I get for not minding my own business," she said. "Seeing that they know all the answers, I decided to ask them who did the murders. They did not answer me; just stood there and looked at me as if I were some insect. I did not like their look. Then one of them seized me by the hair. 'Little girls must not ask questions,' he said, 'we'll have to teach you a lesson.' Waldo started twisting my arm, and I screamed. Then you came up."