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Then, since lish, he will read selected verses froee"

Pitt turned and whispered to Tidi "I should have fortified myself with at least ten more cups of that punch"

He couldn't see Tidi's face He didn't have to-he felt her elbow jab him sharply in the ribs When he turned back to Kirsti, she had disappeared and Rondheim hid taken her place

It onies of the damned for the next hour and a half But he didn't Five a in a rolling monotone, Pitt was sound asleep, content in the fact that no one 64

would notice his lack of poetry appreciation in the darkened surroundings

No sooner had the first wave of unconsciousness swept over him than Pitt found hi Dr Hunnewell's head in his arms Over and over he watched helplessly as Hunnewell stared vacantly into Pitts eyes, trying to speak, fighting desperately to make himself understood

Then finally, barely uttering those three words that see, a cloud passed over his tired old features and he was dead

&nbs

p; The strange phenomenon of the dream wasn't its actual recurrence, but rather the fact that no two sequences were exactly the sa was different In one dream the children would be present on the beach as they had been in reality In the next, they would be ht' Once the black jet circled overhead, dipping its wings in an unexpected salute Even Sandecker appeared in one scene, standing over Pitt and Hunnewell and sadly shaking his head The weather, the layout of the beach, the color of the sea-they all differed from fantasy to fantasy Only one small detail always remained faithfully-Hunnewell's last words

The audience's applause woke Pitt up He stared at nothing in particular, stupidly gathering his thoughts

The lights had co his eyes accustolare

Rondheienerous acclaim He held up his hands for silence

"Asverse With all due e is quite formidable I would, at this time, like to put my reputation on the block and invite any of you in the audience to begin a line of any verse that comes to your mind If I cannot finish the stanza that follows or, complete the poem to your total satisfaction, I shall personally donate fifty thousand dollars to your favorite charity" He waited until the murmur of excited voices tapered to silence once more

"Shall we begin? Who will be first to challenge my memory?"

Sir Eric Marks stood" 'Should the guardian friend or mother-' Try that one for an introduction, Oskar"