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Increasing speed, he swung outward to the ramped juncture between floor and smooth, circular walls. Then, moving still faster, he was riding around the vertical walls, themselves, held there by centrifugal force. He climbed his vehicle to the very rim of the great cask, body out sideways, grinning and balancing, hands free, the squirrel tails flapping from his gaudily repainted old scooter.
"Scooter killed a rat the other day, and it squealed dreadfully. I don't think he ought to do things like that, but of course he doesn't know any better." "He looks as if he knows a lot," said Bernard. "Yes, I wish he would learn to talk. He's awful clever. Do you think we could ever teach him?" asked Tessa. Bernard shook his head. "No. It would take a magician to do that.
"Oh, what?" gasped Tessa, trembling. Bernard's arm slipped round her, and Scooter with a sudden violent effort freed himself, and was gone. "Never mind! I can get him again," said Tessa. "Or Peter will. Tell me quick!" "She brought " Bernard was speaking softly into her ear "a little boy-baby. Think of that! A present straight from God!" "Oh, how lovely!" Tessa gazed at him with shining eyes.
"What's all this noise about?" he began, and stopped short. Behind him stood another figure, broad, powerful, not overtall. At sight of it, Tessa uttered a hard sob and scrambled to her feet. She still clasped poor Scooter's dead body to her breast, and his blood was on her face and on the white frock she wore. "Uncle St. Bernard! Look! Look!" she said. "She's killed my Scooter!"
Then the Lieutenant said, "I think we can make a landing now, Major." "Fine. Take a scooter down first, and carry a guy line." They unstrapped, and changed into pressure suits. In the airlock they waited until the Lieutenant had touched the scooter down. Then Major Briarton nodded, and they clamped their belts to the guy line. One by one they leaped down toward the rock.
"Oh, nawthin', nawthin'," hastily replied Samuel, who believed that he hated publicity, as he gave Abe's foot a sly kick. "We was jest a-gwine ter take a leetle scooter sail." He adjusted the skirt of his coat in an effort to hide Abe's carpet-bag, his own canvas satchel, and a huge market-basket of good things which Blossy had cooked for the life-savers. "Seen anythink of that air Eph Seaman?"
First, thumb, left hand, Abe had insisted on extending their scooter sail until he, Samuel, had felt his toes freezing in his boots.
She knew very little about it, for she scarcely awoke, only dimly realizing that her friend was at hand. Tommy went with them, carrying Scooter. He said he must show himself at the Club, though Bernard suspected this to be merely an excuse for escaping for a time from The Green Bungalow. For it was evident that Tommy had had a shock.
"Yes, I'm afraid there's trouble," the major said. He looked up at them, and spread his hands helplessly. "There isn't any easy way to tell you, but you've got to know. There's been an accident, out in the Belt." "Accident?" Greg said. "A very serious accident. A fuel tank exploded in the scooter your father was riding back to the Scavenger.
In the dreadful silence that hung like a poisonous vapour upon them, there came a small rustling close to them, and a wicked little head with red, peering eyes showed through the balustrade of the verandah. In a moment Scooter with an inexpressibly evil air of satisfaction slipped through and scuttled in a zigzag course over the matting in search of fresh prey.
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