День триффидов

           Ithasafarmwhichshouldnottakealotofputtinginorder;itispracticallyself-contained,butcouldbeextendedifnecessary.Thisplacewouldcostalotmorelabortostartandtowork.

           "Moreimportant,itisbigenoughtoaffordtimeforteach-mg—teachingboththepresentblindthereandthesightedchildrenthey’llhavelateron.Ibelieveitcanbedone,andI’lldomybesttodoit—andifthehaughtyMissDurrantcan’ttakeit,shecangojumpintheriver.

           "Nowthepointisthis.IthinkIcoulddoitasitstands—butIknowthatifthelotofusweretogowecouldgettheplacereorganizedandrunninginafewweeks.Thenwe’dbelivinginacommunitythat’sgoingtogrowandmakeadamnedgoodattempttoholditsown.Thealternativeistostayinasmallpartywhichisgoingtodeclineandgetmoredesperatelylonelyastimegoeson.So,howaboutit?"

           Therewassomedebateandinquiryfordetails,butnotmuchdoubt.Thoseofuswhohadbeenoutanthesearchhadhadaglimpseoftheawfullonelinessthatmightcome.Noonewasattachedtothepresenthouse.Ithadbeenchosenfordefensiblequalities,andhadlittlemoretocommendit.Mostofthemcouldfeeltheoppressionofisolationgrowingroundthemalready.Thethoughtofwiderandmorevariedcompanywasinitselfattractive.Theendofanhourfoundthediscussiondealingwithquestionsoftransportanddetailsoftheremoval,andthedecisiontoadoptCoker’ssuggestionhadmoreorlessmadeitself.OnlyStephen’sgirlfriendwasdoubtful.