be held six hours under anesthesia anyhowalso for his own
protection,” Mudgett broke in. He was grinning back at
Carson like an idiot. “When he comes out from under, he’ll
assume that he’s been re-educated, and he’ll beat it back to
the enemy to report that he’s poisoned our machine, so that
they can be sure they’ll beat us to the surface. And he’ll go
the fastest way: overland.”
“He will,” Carson agreed. “Of course he’ll go overland,
and of course he’ll die. But where does that leave us? We
won’t be able to conceal that he was treated here, if there’s
any sort of inquiry at all. And his death will make everything
we do here look like a fraud. Instead of paying our Pied
Piperand great jumping Jehoshaphat, look at his name!
They were rubbing our noses in it all the time! Nevertheless,
we didn’t pay the piper; we killed him. And ‘platelets Rh
VI’ won’t be an adequate excuse for the press, or for
Hamelin’s following.”
“It doesn’t worry me,” Mudgett rumbled. “Who’ll know?
He won’t die in our labs. He’ll leave here hale and hearty.
He won’t die until he makes a break for the surface. After
that we can compose a fine obituary for the press. Heroic
government official, on the highest policy levelcouldn’t wait
to lead his followers to the surfacedied of being too much
in a hurryRe-Ed Project sorrowfully reminds everyone that
no technique is foolproof . . .”
Mudgett paused long enough to light a cigarette, which
was a most singular action for a man who never smoked. “As
a matter of fact, Carson,” he said, “it’s a natural.”