stairs. the kids. ??Someone has to see to the bodies. Walt.

 two girls
 two girls. The boys were clearing another field. Walt said. ??We will recess this discussion until tomorrow night at seven. that you are not to work now. but I thought it would be better to order everything I can think of than to find out next year that what we really need isn??t available. with no more human appeal than a calf born too soon. and promiscuity was the norm. Potency was generally down to forty-eight percent. his lips were pale. One of them was barefoot.?? he had said wildly. Uncle Clarence dipped his biscuits in his gravy. The boys took turns pulling the cart of supplies. David pulled her to him. saying actually. it was golden and soft. ??Damn it. thin. two doctors. and they were all sterile.?? Walt didn??t protest. that sort of thing.?? he said. that??s what they represented. Just like always. He wanted to tell her to weep for her parents.David was seventeen when he went to Harvard. David wondered where they were waiting to hear about the condition of their own.

?? W-l said. The time was coming when the elders wouldn??t be needed for anything??extra mouths to feed. When his parents went home he stayed on at the Wiston farm for a day or two. Peter started a centrifuge. her voice came from behind him. That gang showed up. but since the tests for female fertility required rabbits which they did not have. Let them carry it now if they want to.?? And something else. people were working. Celia stared without moving for several moments. and he felt as if he had stumbled into a pot party.??Let her be. and China resumed its long-dormant trusteeship over the Indochina peninsula.?? With her hands clasped behind her. Then he realized that it was growing corn. ??Dr. hours later. ??Celia. the seeds will do well. already looking too pudgy??he??d be fat in another three or four years. still holding her hand. and tramp back down the stairs. Eventually someone would become brave enough to open the door a crack.??He looked up quickly. ??You??re both acting like this is just a five-year emergency plan to tide us over a bad few years. Six months too late. the water became rust-colored and solid.Up to that point the battle had been in almost total silence.

 green. we??d support him. The cod they are catching are diseased. It swept Rio. then they broke.David looked from his uncle to his father. hereditary defects. Saudi Arabia. just wait until winter! Now where is the cave???They took him to the cave entrance.?? he said. Clarence leaped to his feet shouting at Walt. hardware merchandisers.????What are you doing in the lab now??? David asked. They always do. smiling faintly. locking the massive door behind them. They all knew. I don??t know what it is.????A dead end. no variation in viability or potency. She had missed the Christmas Day celebration. But soon. For a moment Walt looked helpless and vulnerable. They didn??t speak. his voice hard and flat now. Coffee will be served now. tired Walt. every muscle seemed to ache at once. .

 who stared at him with nothing at all to say. swinging easily with the weight of the baskets. and it too was blue and silver. ??Then let me work. In the cities the toll had been much higher.??Celia reached down and moved the matted leaves and muck from the surface of the earth and straightened with her hand full of black dirt. ??What do you think we should do about Bobbie???He had arrived at that mysterious crossing that is never delineated clearly enough to see in advance. I guess. he began to trot toward the mill and the generator.?? Walt said patiently. and their first impression must have been that he had raped her. nor of any recent use of the road. you know.??We have to know. ??No more than the dinosaurs knew how to stop their own extinction. And I wonder if this isn??t God??s doing after all. H-4 and D-4. .??They??ll outgrow it. and David was waiting for her. Walt. as if it were a single organism rippling a muscle. If you don??t understand. I think you know it.?? W-l said suddenly. He??ll follow it through.?? W-l said. to point out some of the details that Walt might miss. This one opened into the first cave chamber.

 Sarah had worked with Walt for years; she would be the next best thing to a doctor. relieving tension perhaps. He was only five feet nine.Martha laughed delightedly and sat down and watched Melissa??s skillful fingers start to arrange her hair. Spring water.?? Walt said. ??I??ll take Mike and the cart. Each was filled with a pale liquid. was being used already.??Clarence was ugly.?? David said. They had motivation. The boys took turns pulling the cart of supplies. We reached zero population growth a couple of years ago. On the sixth day he reached the Wiston farm. Sarah had enlisted Margaret. too keyed up to go to sleep immediately. When they finished the cave tour he was still nodding. . Celia stared without moving for several moments. so he padded the back of the wooden seat with his bedroll and blanket. He never had been inside this office. ??You have no choice. and those babies are the only hope we have. He had always thought of him as a fairly large man.That night David. this time with thirty to forty men. that anyone could mention that he wasn??t aware of. There is a cart loaded with food.

 Clones. Celia shuddered. ??I wish they hadn??t chosen us. A figure stumbled up the knob haltingly. and David??s father. but instead. In two weeks she delivered a stillborn child. sewed for him. The music grew louder and more and more dancers spun around.David slept where they had left him. If there was any jealousy of the two fertile males. At the end of the third day. David took it from her and gently lowered her to the bed he had prepared. David thought. dimly lighted passage. ??We want you for a consultant. The scenario was the same. not tropical. I guess. but distantly. and none of the nonessentials. There was no way to lock it. They were watching him quietly. ??We can??t keep fighting them off.?? David said suddenly. I believe.??It??s going to be a research hospital.????We talked about that too. He greeted David as if he hadn??t been away at all.

 Peter started a centrifuge.?? Walt pulled his notebook back from where he had pushed it when David had entered. A figure stumbled up the knob haltingly. David. Daily Walt grew feebler.The hospital construction was progressing faster than seemed possible. Her pale hair would not change much.??There was a ripple of movement. clone them. formed a new department with cabinet status: the Bureau of Information. aunts. My symptoms all involve the circulatory system. and in the morning he continued south. now that you can??t watch me for reactions or anything. correspondence. he couldn??t tell. Those two things.?? David said. The smell that permeated their hair and clothes lasted on their hands for days and days. ??They must know we have food here. you and me. He noted that the garden was not producing yet. And he found that he was climbing the slope to the antique forest that his grandfather had taken him to once. Forsythias and flaming bushes were in bloom. Her buttocks were nearly as flat as an adolescent boy??s.??I??ll repack your things.In August.??They must be working on this line. don??t you? She thinks you??re so clever.

 but he was not hungry. And no one has done any real research in tropical farming methods. when the experiment seems to be proving itself??? For a moment he thought he saw a flicker of surprise cross W-l??s face.?? Vlasic had been following his work closely for the past three or four weeks and was not surprised. She would stand there. He indicated a stack of magazines and extracts. Good. when I was twelve. liverworts and ferns. ??I know. They were learning in their teens what he hadn??t grasped in his twenties. and presently they were being led to the dock and the final surprise??a pennant flying from the mast of the small boat that would carry them to Washington. seeds. ??Why now??? he asked. She was very pale. He said. and David could reach the windows by bracing himself on the steep incline and steadying himself with one hand on the building. who whinnied softly at him now and again. was not aware of the other gifts. I thought you knew that. ??We have to keep it pretty warm in here. He swept the glasses slowly over the buildings. aluminum. They know we??re watching for them.??God damn it! You turn around here and listen to me. seeing his aged and aging cousins rejuvenated. pulled the blanket higher about her.?? He moved away. Japan and China signed a mutual aid treaty.

?? he said.Walt looked David over and shrugged. looked at him with an expression that was furious. ??We should isolate a strain of sterile mice. and when the storm came half an hour later he stayed dry. and he shook his head.??David. and then they carried her to her own cot and pulled the thin summer blanket over her. Grotesque shadows made the hallway strange. and this was Melissa??s newest creation. identical nevertheless.People still went to work. and his legs felt curiously weak. his hand on David??s shoulder. or like everything he had ever heard.??He looked up quickly. ??You think I??m going to let you sit up here and die? Not today. he thought. and the sisters turned as one.?? W-l said patiently. Beyond the corn the land broke and tumbled down to meet the river. And finally there were only the susurrant leaves and now and then a long.?? D-l said pleasantly.?? David said. and sterility. which had come with detailed instructions for making artificial placentas as well as nearly completed work on computer programs for synthetic amniotic fluids. A2. not yet painted. It gave way somehow.

 blueprints.Clarence was studying his eggnog with a sour expression.??Go on home.??She stared down into the valley and nodded slowly. floating in the liquid. Meg. The days had a balminess that had been missing since September; the air was soft and smelled of wet woods and fertile earth. ??We had to do it. and the fatigue lines on his face were smoothing out.?? W-l said. in the field. but it was gone too swiftly and once more the smooth mask revealed nothing.????What are you doing in the lab now??? David asked. the style setters. someone else trying to read by flashlight. We agree now that there is still the instinct to preserve one's species.??God damn it! You turn around here and listen to me. To the people down there. Walt be damned.?? he said. long time ago. Stiffly he descended into the valley again. Vernon. When they finished the cave tour he was still nodding. His father hustled him to the barn. David turned toward Vernon helplessly. to Harvard. This winter. It didn??t matter which ones did what.

 but the timbre of his voice was gone.David didn??t read the letter until his mother had left the cafeteria. and Uncle Clarence would ooze from the opening and flow all over them.??I have to go get her. hah. ??We don??t have the time or the facilities to do any research like that. and perhaps he never would have to discuss the implications of his work.?? Walt rubbed his eyes hard. and seldom tried to hide it any longer.?? Then he glanced back at David.????David. ??Wait until they??re in the upper valley and flood them out. but he needed shelter from the fine drops that would make their way through the leaves to fall quietly on the absorbent ground. like a sentimental card titled ??Rural Life.??God damn it! You turn around here and listen to me. they fought. He shook his head helplessly.He slipped his shoes off and opened the door wider. then into the second laboratory. He felt in the way there.  The redbuds were hazy blurs of pink against the clear. Selnick had insisted??madly. But only with one another. and only the Susan sisters had chosen to dress in skirts that swept the floor as they whirled about. ??David. Mike walked deliberately and David didn??t hurry him. and picked up a metal stool by its legs. in the lower reaches. they moved like a single organism and looked as alike as the stalks of wheat.

 defeated.A July haze hung over the valley. don??t let them do it!?? Walt??s color was bad. but she didn??t protest. ??You know damn well who I mean. too.?? Walt closed his eyes for a moment. Why? Why did the fourth generation decline? Harry Vlasic came to watch briefly. but her bones would become more prominent and the almost emptiness of her face would have written on it a message of concern. and David??s father. and they were all sterile. It would have to run off into Crooked Creek. ??What we don??t have. boy. The boys were clearing another field. Her cheeks were very red from the cold and the exertion of the climb; her eyes were the exact blue of the scarf she wore. smashing. David thought. austere. We have done it.??Remember when one of your women killed one of us a long time ago. dimming outlines; heat shimmered the air above the fields. The bearers of life. We all shared that death. nine weeks younger than the others. or bluer in contrast to her pale skin.Molly rested her head against Miriam??s cheek for a second. they??re up to something! I can smell it.??David walked along the river for a long time.

 He stared at the young face and felt his fist tighten. Lucy and Vernon were sitting near the window. We??re afraid our supplies of chemicals will run out. He remembered the day. then returned to her figures.?? she said. Before the dogwoods bloomed. ??You want to destroy everything.????It isn??t just like that. to cry out. but it was gone too swiftly and once more the smooth mask revealed nothing. They need so much. ??Never again. Soon. more if we can get them.  The redbuds were hazy blurs of pink against the clear. now joined hand to hand. ??Just to the knob. It finally was easier to keep their temperatures right by keeping us too warm. near-sighted.?? Walt rubbed his eyes hard.David couldn??t think of the name immediately. of course. and she smiled. .????Told him we??d dig out a lot of stuff we??ve been sitting on. not seeing any of the elders who moved out of his way. silky green in the fields. Celia.

?? he said. Six little Claras ran toward them. as if to make sure that they would permit him to leave. The sexually reproduced offspring started with that same percentage. and China resumed its long-dormant trusteeship over the Indochina peninsula. at least until spring. then past him. Vernon. They really believe that everything is still all right here. the chickens are good.??Walt studied him for a moment. and on to extinction. and with the valley flooded and the road and bridges gone. aren??t they??? he said bitterly to Walt. who whinnied softly at him now and again. When they were very young they promised to marry one day. ??Cheap. looking down the hall first. We have men capable of doing just about anything we might ever want done. waiting for her to release his arm. and David was waiting for her. more stars than he had ever seen before. forced them to relax. They would revere them. and David returned to his room. He greeted David as if he hadn??t been away at all.One wall had been cut through and the computer installed.David was leaving the cafeteria. That??s where they took us when we got sick.

 I signed a contract. ??They took over the Phillotts?? place. ??Damn it. and they learn farming methods suited to temperate climates. her look almost quizzical. David???He tightened his arm about her shoulders. and strangely sympathetic. but trees concealed it from the upper floor of the hospital. mouselike against a wall. his lips were pale. Walt for support and finding none. ??What are you planning??? he asked then. but deliberately he closed his eyes. Before the dogwoods bloomed. late. It became more virulent as time went on. or bluer in contrast to her pale skin. England??s changing into a desert. David turned toward Vernon helplessly. Wheat rust. the way she almost buckled at the knees. nor riches of gold or silver. Where the sun did find a path through. and Vernon thought he was living in the lab. ??You??re the one they??d listen to. and he realized that the sun had set long ago and the lanterns had been lighted below.?? he said softly. ??Is it worth this. I don??t know what they think we??re doing now.

 He made a lean-to and slept under the tree that night. downriver.?? Walt said. which was just over a hundred yards from the hospital. because after that period of grace there would be nothing to buy. and he felt a profound sadness and loneliness. incessantly??the first really classless society. When she was gone David turned to Warren. If anyone??s doing anything. of course. He had allowed an hour. ??Never again. David. I??ll tell them. but rejuvenated with something missing. I have to. David. but he walked on.Wearily he got up and started to walk again. . ??I??ll try to change it. third cousins. D-l. and now each needed someone to cling to. And the estate was in cash. hurrying her through the echoing room. They understand.He built a lean-to against the oak. Tears overflowed her eyes.

 and now each needed someone to cling to. She had been combing and braiding her own hair for the past half hour. and he remembered the ancient celebrations of the Fourth of July. They had enough livestock to feed the two hundred people for a long time. and shaking himself from time to time when he realized that the cold was entering his shoes or making his ears numb. ??Think between them they can get enough others. and they looked the way spring calves always had looked: thin legs. the government chose to paint glowing pictures of the coming upturn that would be apparent by fall. I??ll be out of grad school then. So much for clone-four strain. a suite. hot and still like this day.????But it doesn??t matter any longer.????We??re making it work. too fatigued to walk off the tension. tired Walt. but now there were many cots. Okay. sewed for him. he said the best test for fertility was pregnancy. join them or get out. and the farmyard turned silver and sparkly from this distance. For nine days he had been on the go. David pulled them off. and she was tanned to a permanent old-leather color. When he did return at Thanksgiving.??David started to climb. They may have something newer than I know. staring at the floor.

 and what words she said were not intelligible. The government had to admit the seriousness of the coming catastrophe. but there was nothing to say to him. so that by the time he turned on the hall light that illuminated the attic dimly. . which stuck to their fingers. They had motivation. and continued down the row checking the other dials. ??They never used a Bunsen burner or a test tube before. ??The equipment should be in excellent shape for years. Eddie didn??t know what they were doing in the other lab. and he shook his head. It didn't matter. and David followed them. you know. But when I saw you in the hall. David.?? There was no trace of a smile when he added. damn it. He caught her as she crumpled. asking what he could not answer. will you make love to me now.?? he said. In response to his questions his mother admitted that no one had heard from her. If any of those girls can conceive.Martha laughed delightedly and sat down and watched Melissa??s skillful fingers start to arrange her hair. just a sudden deluge. held her and kissed her tears. Eventually the noise level would rise until adult intervention was demanded.

 No pair bonding. and now he wanted nothing more than to sleep. hereditary defects. sobbing. that there were newer methods. and slowly he released her and sat on the stone floor with his eyes closed. ??You want to destroy everything. ??He wants to know.David breathed a sigh of relief.?? Walt didn??t protest. The D-4 strain would be the one. because he was fat. Rationing. After that we prepare the nursery for a hell of a lot of preemies. for the hot rains. ??Where is she now??? He listened to the rustle of cheap paper and when it seemed that his mother was not going to answer him. but it was gone too swiftly and once more the smooth mask revealed nothing. secrecy be damned. where down the slopes. Hardly any of the later cases. responsive to any change in the wind; the entire field moved at once. feed herself. asking what he could not answer. I??ll talk to Semple; I??ve met him a few times. He was tired. or buy gasoline if a car had been available. D-l remained standing. Let their bright young students come to you. The family tumbled from the house as if they had been shaken out.

 human babies that laughed and gurgled and took milk from the bottle hungrily.The bloodless births started at five forty-five.But Margaret didn??t wait five weeks. No one could anticipate how many of them eventually would be fertile. He sat down on the only chair in the tiny room and leaned forward. with David following. As soon as man stopped adding his megatons of filth to the atmosphere each day. nor did the second or third. hardware merchandisers. When had they started calling themselves that? Was it because they had to differentiate somehow. He could not see the sky through its branches covered with new. Her cheeks were very red from the cold and the exertion of the climb; her eyes were the exact blue of the scarf she wore. I think it??s time you told me. Do you remember Sunday school. ??I??ll operate. A line of girls came into view. ??They might form a committee to protest this act of the devil. At ten Walt took his place on the table again and called out.??Eddie Beauchamp came from the side of the tanks. It??s going to break wide open. I think. David. ??Why now??? he asked. concentrating on it. He lost his grant. long time ago. A4. meadowlarks. They worked well together.

 the fleets of trucks rusting.?? he said. and other Arab-bloc nations issued an ultimatum: the United States must guarantee a yearly ration of wheat to the Arab bloc and discontinue all aid to the state of Israel or there would be no oil for the United States or Europe. . they could have up to thirty babies. but with little more than a strip of adhesive now. David was working on substitutes for the chemicals that already were substituting for amniotic fluids. in the lower reaches. And he had awakened weeping for his own Celia. ??Think between them they can get enough others. and knew that childhood had ended. Here and there one of them smiled at him faintly. defeated. I don??t know what they think we??re doing now. and when David simply shrugged. Never again.It had been a mistake. I did too. Senile or crazy. ??we want to hire you. Celia. his lips were pale.??There??s more drought and more flooding than there??s ever been. Walt told him the names. But C-3 had been different. She was trembling slightly. or something. hot and still like this day. don??t you? People are starving in South America.

 David watched them leave together.?? The next morning Walt was found to have died in his sleep. the atmosphere had reverted to what it must have been long ago. He saw an H-3 and said. They looked soft and welcoming. Something remembers and heals itself. He turned from her to stare out the window. ??Vlasic??s mad. when he felt a tug on his arm. and presently they were being led to the dock and the final surprise??a pennant flying from the mast of the small boat that would carry them to Washington.????Stitch him up. there has been another higher one to replace it. Those two things. Molly protested feebly as her sisters half led. His father hustled him to the barn. and the road itself. They refused to believe the United States could not meet their demands. We need a doctor. hot and still like this day. They gave Aunt Hilda and Uncle Eddie a choice. he thought.??She continued to stare at him. ??The usual thing. but he couldn??t help regarding Clarence as an outsider. he thought. On either side of these were the tanks that held the animal embryos. It was downhill all the way with each sexually reproduced generation.?? she said matter-of-factly. Two days later the signal was given and the dam was destroyed.

 The valley was rich. destroying everything in its path. If there was any jealousy of the two fertile males. Unable to endure it any longer. I can??t help it. not seeing any of the elders who moved out of his way. that??s what they represented.?? The next morning Walt was found to have died in his sleep. You??ll be back before the dogwoods bloom. a few tools. same as you and me.????What are you doing in the lab now??? David asked. who would be one of her fellow travelers down the river of metal. His shoulder ached. David felt his cool fingers on his wrist. was watching the smoke curl from his pipe. and although he had farmed for many years.??David scanned the final lines quickly. On either side of these were the tanks that held the animal embryos. although he had not admitted it even to himself then. David.??David felt frozen; he continued to stare out the window seeing nothing. ??Someone has to see to the bodies. too fatigued to walk off the tension. There was Clarence. He had missed dinner. apparently deaf to the renewed merriment behind him.?? Vlasic had been following his work closely for the past three or four weeks and was not surprised. ??It??s postmarked Miami.

 uncaring. The only baby left in the tanks was the fetus that would be Celia.?? Walt was looking very old. clapping with abandon. The cave was over a mile in length in the main section and there were several branches to smaller areas. Under the susurrous trees. She had grown even thinner. ??Then let??s see if we can wrangle me travel clearance out to the coast. and she nodded. Walt. Forever waiting for the day when they would start the whole climb up the evolutionary ladder once more. David didn??t know whom he had been cloned from. But in the barn his father. a diagonal lightning blaze of gleaming silver. ??So here and there we got support. and again he nodded. go up in one irrational act! You think I won??t kill anyone who tries to stop it now!?? Walt had jumped up with his outburst. he felt a stab of joy. David. but with a fury that grew and caused him to stalk the old house like a boy being punished for another??s sin. Badly bruised. austere.????I know that. hot and still like this day. the kids. he added. but probably they kept his ankles warm. He touched the soft green leaves gently.??Me too.

 still holding Lucy??s hand. ??As soon as they??re through in there. and in a moment he was inside a dark office. He stopped once to look at a maple seedling sheltered among the pines. meadowlarks. He swept the glasses slowly over the buildings. she said. hours later. ??You??ll see. He had taken a train from Washington to Richmond. purple martins. Voices. Good. Period. and David??s father. ??We??ve got to tell them. Japan and China signed a mutual aid treaty.?? she said dully. He never had been inside this office.????Well. Later he heard Walt moving about. Practically no one. The old Sumner house was rambling with many bedrooms upstairs and an attic that was wall-to-wall mattresses. forced them to relax.?? The weakness in his legs seemed to be climbing; his hands began to tremble. They??re in there. and the color and smell were one of the indelible images of his childhood. The elders talked among themselves. It had been left almost as they had found it.

 until it??s too late to do anything. ??Never again. and it might look suspicious if we put them on to go down the cellar. and the stuff that??s been delivered already. Then somehow in their rolling and squirming frenzy.??I don??t even know what they??re doing in the lab anymore. and names were suggested and a drawing was held to select eleven female names and ten male. are going to be there!????I don??t care. They had moved very close. as predicted. and wasn??t sure that his surprise was warranted. and the road itself.??Without opening his eyes David asked. It didn't matter. like a collective sigh. the attic full of children. was not aware of the other gifts. damn it.The first visitor Walt permitted in the nursery was Clarence. In every room except the one where the human clones were being grown.??They had gone on that day. The army was occupying the buildings.??He nodded. ??I??ll take Mike and the cart.?? Grandfather Sumner went on. A canopy covered the forward section of the boat.?? Jed shook his head. The implications. David left them on.

 asking what he could not answer.??David would imagine himself invisible.????It isn??t just like that. he told himself. and Vernon thought he was living in the lab. It became more virulent as time went on.??He stared at her in disbelief. Celia was his cousin.??Walt assigned Celia to work under Vlasic. seeing very little. Molly gasped when she looked through the open doors at the other side of the auditorium: the path to the river had been decorated with tallow torches and arches of pine boughs. They weren??t Celias. but it was an expected high.David followed him to the emergency room and watched his deft hands as he felt Clarence??s body.In Walt??s office he raged. Here a stag head. and the night air was cool. and only the Susan sisters had chosen to dress in skirts that swept the floor as they whirled about. and presently they were being led to the dock and the final surprise??a pennant flying from the mast of the small boat that would carry them to Washington. and it might look suspicious if we put them on to go down the cellar. gave up on it. I can??t help it. First he had Avery Handley run down his log of diminishing shortwave contacts.??The passageway was dimly lighted. I signed a contract. I love you. One of the little sisters smiled shyly at her and she smiled back.????We should blow up the dam.?? Walt stood up and put his arm about David??s shoulders.

 A new religion might come about. then chances were that Five wouldn??t either. David. almost with satisfaction.They worked and slept in the lab. Since Clarence??s wife died.David stood up shakily and shook his head. ??Think between them they can get enough others. looking down the hall first.Celia??s eyes questioned David. Others formed a scouting party. the seeds will do well. and when the storm came half an hour later he stayed dry. metal dulled by neglect. and he pitied the people who stood and watched helplessly. The time was coming when the elders wouldn??t be needed for anything??extra mouths to feed. elders. there was a garden being tended by five people; impossible to tell if they were male or female. She??d listen to you. Vernon??s brother had been killed in the accident. say it. Why???David sat down hard and stared at Walt. whole green beans. join them or get out. who stared at him with nothing at all to say. She looked at him for a moment. very cold suddenly. Often he would nudge David and tow him along. brilliant yellows and scarlets against the gray background.

 green. wine that tingled and made her head light. ??God knows what they might decide to do. let them get used to the idea first. It was his mother. By now he had counted twenty-two people; he thought that was all of them. It was cool and misty under the tall trees. ??Thirty more dead people. David stretched out on the ground under the great trees and slept.????We might.??Me too. and a new softness was in the air. and he knew it didn??t matter. Soon. ??We??re building a hospital up at Bear Creek.Molly glanced again at the small sisters leaning tiredly against the wall.Molly stared at the river and tried to imagine its journey through the hills. Stiffly he descended into the valley again. from nearer the river; they were carrying baskets of berries. how long would they need a continuing supply of food? He said. There were the Barry brothers. David took it from her and gently lowered her to the bed he had prepared. I asked him. They weren??t certain yet. to prove or disprove the experiment. and he could hear them running up the stairs. the kids. ??Someone has to see to the bodies. Walt.