День триффидов
Rendezvous
ThenOh,doeseitherofyouknowanythingaboutdoctoring?"hebrokeofftoask.
Weshookourheads.
Hefrownedalittle."That’sapity.Sofarwe’vegotnoone
whodoes.It’llsurprisemeifwe’renotneedingadoctorbe-
forelong—and,anyway,weoughtallofustohaveinoculations...Still,it’snotmuchgoodsendingyoutwooffonamedicalsuppliesscrounge.Whataboutfoodandgeneralstores?Suityou?"
Heflippedthroughsomepagesonaclip,detachedoneofthemandhandedittome.ItwasheadedNo.15,andbelowwasatypedlistofcannedgoods,potsandpans,andsomebedding.
"Notrigid,"hesaid,"butkeepreasonablyclosetoitandwe’llavoidtoomanyduplications.Sticktobestquality.Withthefood,concentrateonvalueforbulk—Imean,evenifcornflakesareyourleadingpassioninlife,forget‘em.Isuggestyoukeeptowarehousesandbigwholesalers."Hetookhackthelistandscribbledtwoorthreeaddressesonit.
"Cansandpacketsareyourfoodline—don’tgetledawaybysacksofflour,forinstance;there’sanotherpartonthatsortofstuff."HelookedthoughtfullyatJosella.Heavyishwork,I’mafraid,butit’sthemostusefuljobwecangiveyouatpresent.Doasmuchasyoucanbeforedark.There’llbeageneralmeetinganddiscussionhereaboutnine-thirtythisevening."
Asweturnedtogo:
"Gotapistol?"heasked.
"Ididn’tthinkofit,"Iadmitted.
"Better—justincase.Quiteeffectivesimplyfiredintotheair,"hesaid.
