cleaned that up, it stayed cleaned. This is like trying to bail out a
boat with a pitchfork."

"Yeah. I wish we'dda stayed in Pittsburgh, captain. I wish we'd never
seen this place!"

"So do I!" Prestonby agreed, heartily.

No, he didn't, either. If he'd never have come to Mineola High School,
he'd never have found Claire Pelton.

* * * * *

Sitting down again at the breakfast table with her father, Claire
levered another cigarette out of the Readilit and puffed at it with
exaggeratedly bored slowness. She was still frightened. Ray shouldn't
have done what he did, even if he had furnished a plausible
explanation. The trouble with plausible explanations was having to
make them. Sooner or later, you made too many, and then you made one
that wasn't so plausible, and then all the others were remembered, and
they all looked phony. And why had the Senator had to mention Ralph?
Was he beginning to suspect the truth about that, too?

I hope not! she thought desperately. If he ever found out about that,
it'd kill him. Just kill him, period!

Mrs. Harris must have turned off the video, after they had gone up to
the landing stage. To cover her nervousness, she reached up and
snapped it on again. The screen lit, and from it a young man with dark
eyes under bushy black brows was shouting angrily: