Lanny

“ The bars of the cell had been twisted by the blast; Pendillo was badly hurt. His wounds seemed to be extensive, but Lanny was sure his father would heal himself quickly.
Lanny sprang at the guard. The Almost-man had enough courage to hold his ground, still sure of his impregnable machines. He was aiming his energy gun again when Lanny touched the opalescent capsule. That, too, was nothing now; Lanny had found his way into the new world. The field of force was simply energy in another form. Lanny could have reshaped the field, intensified it, or dissolved it as he chose. ”

“ Then the guard began to scream. He thrust the muzzle of the energy gun against his own chest and pressed the firing stud.
Lanny turned away from the smoldering heap of charred flesh and went back to his father's cell. He disorganized the energy units of the tormented knot of metal bars and knelt beside Pendillo. Lanny was amazed that his father had made no effort to heal his wounds. Juan was bleeding profusely; his eyes were glazed with pain. Lanny lifted Pendillo tenderly in his arms.
"Father! You must begin the healing—"
"I do not know how, Lanny."
"All men control their own body cells!" ”

“ It was Gordon who finally broke the stillness.
“Some moon,” he said dreamily.
“Great!” agreed Lanny. “You can see the man in it plainly to-night.”
“Supposing,” said Fudge thoughtfully, “supposing you were terribly big, miles and miles high, and you had a frightfully huge bat, couldn’t you get a d-d-dandy swipe at it!”
“You could make a home run, Fudge!” laughed Lanny. “Only you’d have to hit pretty quick. Why, if you were tall enough to reach the moon, it would be going past you faster than one of Tom’s straight ones, Fudge!” ”

“ What about old Lanny's chosen men of the air, without boasts or oaths, offering their lives in no wild charge, but coolly, hand on lever, concentratedly, scientifically, in sane, twentieth-century fashion, just to keep our positions secret! ”

“ Lanny's plan—mow them down! mow them down! mow them down!" she went on, more to herself than to him, as she dropped the chrysanthemums on the veranda table.
In a fire of resolution she hastened back down the terrace steps. The Grays and the Browns were fighting in their way for their causes; she must fight in her way for hers. Stopping before Feller, she seemed taller than her usual self and quivering with impatience.
"Have you connected the wire to the telephone yet?" ”

“ There was possibly no more cheerful boy in Clearfield than Richard Lovering, in spite of his infirmity. But Lanny, with his flaxen hair and dark eyes—a combination as odd as it was attractive—and his sun-browned skin and his slimly muscular figure, looked the athlete he was, every inch of him. Lanny was a “three-letter man” at the High School; had captained the football team, caught on the nine and was a sprinter of ability. And, which was no small attainment, he possessed more friends than any other fellow in school. Lanny couldn’t help [40] making friends ”

“ He knew too little about Lanny Welsh to condemn the young man in his own mind without further facts. Had he had the giving he would not have presented Alice to anyone like Lanny, for he would have chosen some youth he knew better—and that meant Mary Derling's boy Ben—but, having his innate desire to do justice to all men, and as Alice had already chosen Lanny, David felt he should learn more about Lanny before he made an absolute decision to oppose his daughter's choice. He knew enough of men and life to believe the tags the world put on young fellows were not always the proper tags. ”

“ Lanny told him he had done finely and assured him that in another fortnight he would be able to cut another fifth of a second from his time. “And if you do,” said Lanny, “you’ll stand as good a chance for second place as any of the fellows. ”

“ They made us—" Lanny's voice choked a little as he used his father's familiar phrase. "—a new breed. Gill, we're acting like fools; we're fighting for something we don't want or need."
"We have to have weapons, Lan."
"We need nothing but what we've been taught. The mind interprets and commands the chaos of the universe. Matter and energy are identical."
Lanny turned and walked, erect and unafraid, toward the arsenal. The energy fire from the guards' guns struck him and exploded. ”

“ Lanny continued to live at home.
He worked in Dan Reilly's saloon. All told he worked for Dan Reilly three weeks. Two weeks he swept out the place, polished brasses and glasses and did odd jobs. One week he stood behind the bar. One week was enough of it. The week was in August, and Dan Reilly's saloon was on the sunny side of the street; there was no hotter place in Riverbank on a sunny August afternoon, and Lanny simply threw up the job on account of the discomfort. The one week, however, was enough; he was tagged. He was “old crank Welsh's son, the bartender fellow.” ”

“ You can have that box, Lanny.”
“Hm; much obliged.” Lanny sucked at the tablet and scowled. “Maybe they’re good for your throat, but they’re mighty unpleasant to your taster, Kid. I guess they’ve got wild cherry in them, haven’t they?”
“That’s one of the things,” answered Kid. [134] “Wild cherry and—and paregoric, I think. Paregoric’s a very powerful drug, you know. Puts you to sleep if you take too much of it.”
“I know.” Lanny nodded wisely. “And wild cherry’s awfully good for throats. They don’t taste very nice, but you can tell they’re powerful. ”

“ Next time Dick may send someone else. I don’t like being a spy.”
“You’re not,” returned Lanny half-heartedly, “you’re a scout.”
“Same thing,” Chester growled. “And for goodness sake don’t say anything to let on, Lanny. Those fellows next to you have been staring and [139] whispering at a great rate. Bet you they suspect!”
“Let them!” said Lanny. “We’re not doing anything, I tell you. They do the same thing themselves. Didn’t they send scouts over to watch us last year when we played Corwin or Benton?” ”

“ Dick nodded to Lanny and swung himself toward the door, but paused there, for Lanny was talking.
“That’s good straight talk, fellows,” Lanny was saying earnestly, “and I second it. But Coach Lovering mustn’t think he can frighten us by talking hard work to us, for he can’t. We expect to work hard and we want to work hard. We want to get back at Springdale this year and wipe out what happened last, fellows, and we aren’t going to mind anything that happens so long as we can face Springdale in November with an even chance to win!” ”

“ Of course she liked me, but a dominie's daughter, and she's such a nice girl—”
“You felt she was not in your class, is that it?” said David.
“That's it,” said Lanny with relief. “You know I tended bar once.”
“So I have heard,” said David.
“That was a mistake,” said Lanny, “and I'm glad I got sick of it when I did. It's no business for a man in a town like this, or any town, if he wants to be anybody. If you can't be a preacher or a lawyer or a doctor you've got to be in business. I'm going to get into business as soon as I can. ”

“ Lanny replied, "and this is all you have left."
Lanny and his brother made an easy adjustment to the new community. The social stratification was an uncomplicated division of men into three types: the teachers, the old ones who had survived the invasion, and the children who had grown up since the war—by far the largest group. The classification was logical and unobtrusive; it produced no frustrating social pressures. Since the children had known no other form of society, they assumed that men had always organized their culture with such understandable simplicity. ”

“ Try again, George. Only keep them [114] simple. Plays that use only two men are a heap better than those requiring half a dozen to mess around and get in each other’s way. Now, here’s this No. 8. I like that, Lanny. Was that yours?”
Lanny shook his head regretfully. “No, that’s one that Corwin sprang on us last Fall. I changed it a bit, that’s all. They pulled it off from a forward-pass formation, but that seemed to me to limit it a good deal. I thought it would be a good play to work from regular formation.” ”

“ Crane returned to post Pierce and give the word.
“Oh, I do hope you’ll win, Bert!” said Nan.
“So do I,” agreed Lanny, “if only to beat Ben. You’d better let him make the pace for you as soon as he catches up with you.”
“Don’t let him catch up,” said Nan. “Skate just as hard and fast as ever you can, Bert! And please be careful at the island. You know Mr. Crane said you must keep above the snag because the ice is weak there.”
“He’s a regular old woman about thin ice,” said Lanny.
“But it’s so, Lanny, and I know it. The ice is [72] always weak at the end of Candle Island. ”

“ Lanny shrugged his shoulders.
“Pull our ears, probably. Cuff us a bit. I don’t know, and I don’t care. But Bryant’s right. If we stand together this shacking business has got to stop. And to-night there’s the slide to fix, too.”
“Bryant says he isn’t going to,” murmured Small awedly.
“I’m not,” said Bert. “I have a very delicate constitution and the night air is extremely bad for it.” Lanny grinned.
“Me, too. The doctor has told me to stay indoors after dark.”
“Do you fellows really mean it?” asked Small doubtfully.
“We do,” answered Lanny. “Are you with us?” ”

“ Then:
“Saved!” murmured Morris dramatically.
“Come on,” said Lanny. “We’ll have to get that old shebang going even if we have to push it! The moon will be up in a few minutes.”
When they got back there was an encouraging purring sound from the engine and, without disturbing the lantern, Lanny borrowed a match from Morris and read the gauge. “Forty-something,” he muttered as the light flickered out. “We’ll try [116] her, anyway. Sneak back there to the corner, Gordon, and see if you can hear or see anything of the cop. And hurry back. I’ll get her swung around, anyway.” ”

“ While the fellows were being rubbed and having their bruises attended to, Dick conferred with Lanny and Chester Cottrell. Lanny was pretty well keyed-up, Chester unusually grim and silent.
“We’ve got to have Tupper back, Dick,” declared the captain. “Hansard doesn’t get into it.”
“All right, Lanny. And look here, you’ve got to hump that line up on defense. Do you get me? They’re getting the jump on us every time. What’s the trouble?”
“I don’t know,” replied Lanny rather wildly. “They’ve been letting every blessed play through on [314] us. That’s a mean attack of theirs, Dick ”

“ Anything, that is, except the pole-vault. I don’t want to break my neck!”
“There are about ten fellows trying for the sprints,” said Lanny. “We don’t need more than half of them. Why can’t some of them be turned into hurdlers, Guy? Any fellow who can do the [183] hundred on the flat can do it over the sticks if he’s once shown how.”
“Sure he can,” agreed Harry. “Call a meeting of the candidates, Guy, and tell each one what’s expected of him. Don’t just say, ‘Will you do this?’ but tell ’em they’ve got to! Get Toby to talk to ’em and put some pep in ’em. ”

“ As far as I’m concerned, I’d like to win them all, but Dick seems to think we can’t do that, and I’m willing to stand back of Dick, Mr. Grayson.”
“Do you think he—well, knows his business, White?”
“Yes, sir, I do,” replied Lanny decidedly. “He may be a little—a little too cautious, but I think if the fellows will let him alone he will bring the team around in good shape for the big game.”
“I see. And the other members of the team, White? They think as you do about Lovering?” ”

“ And with Gordon for captain we ought to just everlastingly wipe up the county!”
Loud applause greeted this enthusiastic statement, and Fudge began his tattoo again, but was cautioned by a well-aimed pillow which, narrowly avoiding a vase on a side table, eclipsed his joyous countenance for an instant.
“I guess,” said Lanny, “that we can all get out and practice; can’t we, fellows? In fact, Gordie, it might be a good plan to have it understood that any fellow not turning up, without a real, genuine excuse, is to pay a fine.” ”

“ Why can I not go away from you? Yes, little girl, I love you, I love you.’
“‘Kiss me, Lannie. There, dear; yes, that is right, Lannie! Hold me in your arms. Now, dearest, we are happy.’
“Then, while tears of joy dimmed my eyes, in the madness of passion, my future was molded. As the poisonous little reptile stings the lion, who is king of the forest, and causes him to writhe in death’s agony, so did the lecherous fangs of passion fasten themselves into poor Lannie’s pure, white soul, sending the venomous poison into a heretofore healthful system. ”

“ But with all his bravery and fortitude, all his battles, all his years of duration, he had never been called upon to wage war upon a woman whose soul was starving for the loving caress, which is so dear to a lonely heart. He was as wax in my hands, as I clutched him fiercely yet fondly. ‘Oh, Lannie, Lannie! say that you love me,’ I cried, all the time raining kisses on his dear face, while he acquiesced in mute silence. ”

“ Lanyard laughed—"and in the same breath that I am 'dear' to you! It's no good, Liane: you can't be Morphew's friend and mine."
"I tell you nothing but what of a certainty and my own knowledge I know. Morphew is nothing to me, you are everything; notwithstanding, your suspicions do him an injustice—he would have saved you in New York had you permitted. But you wouldn't listen to me when I prayed you to accept his offer of intervention . . ."
"That at least one finds easy to believe." ”