ty face, cleared of fright, was swept by pride.
"You're as brave as the next man, Calvin, and as clever. You'll get us
home."

"I hope so, dear. But Mr. Summersby must be a great deal more used to
problems of this sort."

They all gaped up at him expectantly. Because of his size, of course; he
was the big born leader! "Sir" in trouble, "High-pockets" when things
were clear again. The hell with them. He kept his mouth shut.

The blond man said, "I'm Tom Watkins."

"Adam Pierce," said the Negro.

"What do you do, Adam?"

The boy pushed his glasses up on his nose again, frowning. "I go to
C.C.N.Y. Summers, I'm the Wild Man from Zululand in the sideshow, and I
shill for the coaster when I'm not on duty. It helps out my family some,
for me to be making money in the summers."

"Are you taking subjects that might help us?" asked Full.

"I major in English. I'm going to teach it when I graduate. Then I take
psych, biology, the usual courses."

"Hmm," said Watkins, looking at the end of the room through which the
Mexican had been taken. "Psych and biology. Could be some use here."

"What we need is a locksmith," said Summersby. He felt himself
unwillingly drawn into the group, sharing their problems that were not
his, and it angered him. He fished out a bent pack of cigarettes, lit
one and was about to put the rest away.

"Nothing but a torch would help. I know a little about locks myself."
Watkins grinned genially. "I'm out of smokes," he said, and Summersby
gave him the pack. He took one and passed it to Full, who declined. Adam
took one. The boy reached up and pushed at his glasses again; a look of
irritation appeared on his face. "Say," he muttered, "is this room a
little wobbly, or is it my eyes?"

"Wobbly?"

"Wavy. See how those tree trunks are blurred?"

"You need your glasses changed, Adam," said Watkins.

"No, sir." Adam took them off and started to polish them on a
handkerchief; then his brown eyes opened wide. "I can see!" he said. The
others stared at him. "My astigmatism's gone! My glasses make everything
blur, but I can see plain as noon without 'em. Look, I've had
astigmatism since I was a kid!"

"What happened?" asked the woman, addressing her husband. "How could
that be, Calvin?"

"Don't know, dear."

"My headache is gone," she said. "I never realized it till this boy
mentioned his eyes."

"Mrs. Full has suffered from an almost constant headache for years,"
said Calvin, and sniffed twic