to you I'm telling the
truth except to say I am."

"Right," I said and then I threw the next one at him real fast. "What's
more, Pop, weren't you traveling in this plane to begin with? That cuts
a happenstance. Didn't you hop out while we were too busy with the Pilot
to notice and just _pretend_ to be coming from the cracking plant?
Weren't the buttons locked because you were the Pilot's prisoner?"

* * * * *

Pop creased his brow thoughtfully. "It could have been that way," he
said at last. "Could have been--according to the evidence as you saw it.
It's quite a bright idea, Ray. I can almost see myself skulking in this
cabin, while you and Alice--"

"You were skulking somewhere," I said. I finished screwing in the knife
and gave Alice back her hand. "I'll repeat it, Pop," I said. "We're two
to one. You'd better talk."

"Yes," Alice added, disregarding my previous hint. "You may have given
up fighting, Pop, but I haven't. Not fighting, nor killing, nor anything
in between those two. Any least thing." My girl was being her most
pantherish.

"Now who says I've given up _fighting_?" Pop demanded, rearing a little
again. "You people assume too much, it's a dangerous habit. Before we
have any trouble and somebody squawks about me cheating, let's get one
thing straight. If anybody jumps me I'll try to disable them, I'll try
to hurt them in any way short of killing, and that means hamstringing
and rabbit-punching and everything else. Every least thing, Alice. And
if they happen to die while I'm honestly just trying to hurt them in a
way short of killing, then I won't grieve too much. My conscience will
be reasonably clear. Is that understood?"

I had to admit that it was. Pop might be lying about a lot of things,
but I just didn't believe he was lying about this. And I already knew
Pop was quick for his age and strong enough. If Alice and me jumped him
now there'd be blood let six different ways. You can't jump a man who
has a dozen knives easy to hand and not expect that to happen, two to
one or not. We'd get him in the end but it would be gory.

* * * * *

"And now," Pop said quietly, "I _will_ talk a little if you don't mind.
Look here, Ray ... Alice ... the two of you are confirmed murderers, I
know you wouldn't tell me nothing different, and being such you both
know that there's nothing in murder in the long run. It satisfies a
hunger and maybe gets