Атлант расправил плечи

           "Say—"sheasked,"what’sthatbeacon,abouthalfamilefromhere?"

           "Fromwhereyouare?Oh,thatmustbetheemergencylandingfieldoftheFlagshipAirlines."

           "Isee...Well,that’sall.Getyourmenstartedatonce.TellthemtopickupMr.KelloggbytrackphoneNumber83."

           "Yes,ma’am."

           Shehungup.Kelloggwasgrinning.

           "Anairfield,isn’tit?"heasked.

           "Yes."Shestoodlookingatthebeacon,herhandstillclutchingthecigarettesinherpocket.

           "Sothey’regoingtopickupMr.Kellogg,arethey?"

           Shewhirledtohim,realizingwhatdecisionhermindhadbeenreachingwithoutherconsciousknowledge."No,"shesaid,"no,Ididn’tmeantoabandonyouhere.It’sonlythatI,too,haveacrucialpurposeoutWest,whereIoughttohurry,soIwasthinkingoftryingtocatchaplane,butIcan’tdoitandit’snotnecessary."

           "Comeon,"hesaid,startinginthedirectionoftheairfield.

           "ButI—"

           "Ifthere’sanythingyouwanttodomoreurgentlythantonursethosemorons—gorightahead."

           "Moreurgentlythananythingintheworld,"shewhispered.

           "I’llundertaketoremaininchargeforyouandtodelivertheComettoyourmanatLaurel."

           "Thankyou...Butifyou’rehoping...I’mnotdeserting,youknow.