"Cedric Walker - The Guinea Pig" - читать интересную книгу автора (Walker Cedric)

"I'll try, sir," said the boy. "But they keep saying things--"
"What sort of things?"
"They joke about my mother and father. They say why don't they come and see me,
like theirs do." He looked up wide-eyed at Mostyn.....A strange wash of feeling
swept momentarily over Sellon. After all, he was only a child....."Why don't
they come and see me?" he urged.
For the first time Mostyn looked slightly uneasy.
Sellon stirred. Hallo? What was this?
"Listen, son," said the biologist, "maybe one day they'll come. At the moment,
I'm afraid......"
Of course, there were rules--everyone knew that. But surely they could stretch a
point. . . Sellon checked himself--Hey! Remember he wasn't in sympathy with the
thing from the beginning!
The boy asked about his mother.
"She's fine, son," Mostyn said, "fine. Last time I saw her."
The boy smiled happily. Then his face clouded. And my father--why am I never
allowed to see him? They keep asking about him."
Mostyn drew a deep breath before he spoke. He seemed to have trouble finding the
right words. "Don't bother your head about that for the moment. There's a lot of
things you'll find out as you grow older. When the time comes....." He patted
the boy's head. "Now don't forget what I've told you. You've got to make a
success of this, you know. We'll do it between us, won't we, eh?"
The boy's answering smile was like a burst of sunlight in the room. "All right,"
he said. But he didn't sound to Sellon as if he were really convinced.
SELLON sat down heavily in the chair. His face was ashen. My God! he thought. My
God! He collected himself and took a deep breath. After a moment he pressed the
switch and asked for long-distance.
The dark eyes of Mostyn looked at him from the screen. As he took in the
troubled face of the headmaster his eyebrows lifted.
"What is it, man?"
Sellon spoke haltingly: "I--I cannot tell you over this--Mostyn, you must come
at once! At once! It is.....most urgent!"
Mostyn's face loomed larger as he bent forward. "But what--?"
"At once, Mostyn!" Sellon blanked the screen. He sat staring into space. For the
moment there was nothing he could do. Maybe there was nothing anyone could do.
The body had been removed. The boys had returned--against their will--to the
classrooms. To all appearances the school had returned to normal. He had not yet
informed the boy's parents. No--better to wait until Mostyn arrived. It was his
responsibility. That and.....Don't think about that for the moment! Then
what?..........we regret to inform you that your son is dead. He was
killed.......A sudden wave of fury swept over Sellon. He'd told them! Why hadn't
they listened to him? What else could be expected? Created...soulless......
Suddenly Mostyn was before him. His face was gray, and he looked about a
thousand years old. "Where is he now?" he bit out, and each word seemed to cost
him an agony of effort.
Sellon said not a word. He walked across the room and took a mackinaw from the
cupboard. He buttoned it with painful deliberation. Mostyn watched him silently.
Outside a steady drizzle was falling. A few gray clouds trailed disconsolately
after each other across the darkling sky.
"It's not far," said Sellon. "On the hill yonder."