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that much interest in me.
Uncle Jake, Amanda said inside his head, don t you understand yet? That card that man gave you
proves it. Consolidated Chemical and Mining. That s a big corporation, Uncle Jake. And you showed
one of their representatives how you can make things slipt. A man who probably has a good background
in science and engineering. A man who d know right away that you just don t make things slipt.
It wasn t much of a trick, Jake murmured innocently. All I did was-
I know what you did. Bottle caps and road dirt. It was obviously enough. I ve warned you about this
before, Uncle Jake. You should ve known better.
I m sorry, Mandy, but what s done is done. Still, it seems like a lot of fuss over some dirty hubcaps and
beer. I wish I knew more about how I make things slipt. I know you ve tried to explain what you think it
is. He rolled over in the bed. I just don t
Don t apologize, Uncle Jake. I don t really understand it. I m just making guesses. Medical exam, huh?
These people aren t interested in how your heart s doing. They want to look at your head.
Well, would that really be all that bad, Mandy? said Jake a little belligerently. What if I went ahead
and took their exam? Maybe they could tell me how I make things slipt.
Uncle Jake, I vetold you, people like this, if they get interested in you, they re going to want to make
use of you and your ability. For money.
But how can they do that? he whispered into the darkness. I don t know how I do it. Besides, there
are easier ways to open bottles and clean cars.
How do you know that s all you can do, Uncle Jake? You ve never tried anything else. These people
are going to make you try, whether you want to or not. How do you know you can t make something
else slipt?
I don t, but....
It s something you should think about, she murmured to him. He could see that she was sitting by the
window again, because he could see the light on Lavaca Bay in his own thoughts. The exam doesn t
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worry me that much, Uncle Jake. What does worry me is that big corporations rarely care much for the
well-being of the people they use. These people only care about your ability. They re going to push you
as far as they can in their tests, and with your heart....
That got to him. Jake Pickett was a strong man, tall and full of compact, wiry strength, but that damn
bad engine he carried around inside his chest made him vulnerable.
I told you, he said, this fella Huddy seems like a nice sort. He could hear her sigh mentally.
Uncle Jake, in some ways you re an awfully smart man, but you haven t had to deal with people much.
I ve spent a lot of time in hospitals. There are good doctors and bad doctors. There are medical people
who want to help you and those who look at you like you re something to be cut and sliced and put
under a microscope. I haven t met this Mr. Huddy, but from what you ve told me he sure sounds like the
microscope type.
Well, I told him already that I m not going with him or his people for any exam.
His people?
He brought a couple of others with him last time. I think they were his assistants. I guess they were.
Two of them, Amanda muttered.
Yeah. Come to think of it, they were pretty husky fellas. Neither of them said much.
That settles it, Uncle Jake, she said decisively. I want you to leave. You get out of that house. You
get out right now.
But I told them I wouldn t take the exam.
Oh, you ll take it if you stay there, Uncle Jake. That nice sort will see to that. I know it. I can feel it.
You get out of there right now before they come back for you.
Get out? But. ... This was not at all how he d expected the conversation to go. He sat up in the bed,
seeing nothing in the dark room. Get out where? This is my home. Maybe I can talk to these people.
You ve already talked to them, Uncle Jake. That s part of the problem.
You really think they d try to hurt me if I didn t cooperate with them?
No. No, they won ttry to hurt you, Uncle Jake. Not that that makes much of a difference when they
do. They ll smile and apologize as they run their tests. This man Huddy won t try to hurt you. He just
won t care if he does.
Then I won t do a damn thing for him and his friends. I won t take their tests no matter what they do to
me.
You ll take the tests whether you like it or not, Uncle Jake, if they get their hands on you. You can t
talk to these people. You must get away from them. Leave. Run away.
Jake could not have said at what point he became the child listening to the adult Amanda. But you don t
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understand, Mandy. Running away s not as easy as just saying it.
Uncle Jake, even I can see you doing it, and I can t even run. We ll figure out a way to keep these
people off your back. But you have to get out of there now, before they come back for you. I need time
to think about what to do. You said they gave you some time to think over the exam?
Two days, he told her.
Then you ll have a full day s head start. I know, she said, delight momentarily overcoming concern,
why don t you come to Port Lavaca? You haven t visited us in years and years. I ve been trying all this
time to get you to come. Now you have a good excuse.
Mandy, if you feel that strongly about it, then I ll do it. I m still not convinced you re right about Mr.
Huddy or his company, but if it s going to worry you that much....
It would, she assured him.
. . . . Then I ll come visit. Mighty sneaky way to talk me into coming down, though. He tried to turn
the situation into a joke. You ought to send Mr. Huddy a thank-you note for giving you the means for
talking me into this.
I don t think I ever want to meet your Mr. Huddy, she replied humorlessly. Get yourself together fast,
Uncle Jake. I know you won t need to bring much. Once you re here we can figure something out to
discourage Huddy from bothering you. He won t try anything around a busy household. Mom and dad
will be here to help, too.
I ll leave first thing in the morning, he promised her.
Can t you leave right now?
No, I can t. He slipped back down under the light covers. He was tired these days, so tired. He
hadn t always tired so quickly or easily, he remembered. Getting old was no fun. He didn tfeel old. He
just didn t work as well as he used to. Not tonight, Mandy.
Please, Uncle Jake? Please?
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