There was a
chance that somebody had made up five special hand-loads for him, using
nitroglycerin instead of powder, but that didn't seem likely, as it would
not necessitate a switch of revolvers. There were four or five other
possibilities, all of them disquieting; he would have been a great deal
less alarmed if somebody had taken a shot at him.
Getting a box of cartridges out of his Gladstone, he filled the
cylinder with 158-grain loads. When he went to the bathroom, he took
the revolver in his dressing-gown pocket; when he dressed, he put on
the shoulder-holster, and pocketed a handful of spare rounds.
Anton Varcek was loitering in the hall when he came out; he gave Rand
good-morning, and fell into step with him as they went toward the
stairway.
"Colonel Rand, I wish you wouldn't mention this to anybody, but I would
like a private talk with you," the Czech said. "After Fred Dunmore has
left for the plant. Would that be possible?"
"Yes, Mr. Varcek; I'll be in the gunroom all morning, working." They
reached the bottom of the stairway, where Gladys was waiting.
"Understand," Rand continued, "I never really studied biology. I was
exposed to it, in school, but at that time I was preoccupied with the
so-called social sciences.
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