206.Chapter Eighteen（7）

“ford！”whisperedthedriver。andhistwinswereofthesameopinion。

“fordey！”theysaid。

threedayslater，liketurkeybuzzardssetthugonacorpse，thereporterscame。

driedandhardenedoveraslowfireofgreenwood，thebowwasready。thesavagewasbusyonhisarrows。thirtyhazelstickshadbeenwhittledanddried，tippedwithsharpnails，carefullynocked。hehadmadearaidonenightontheputtenhampoultryfarm，andnowhadfeathersenoughtoequipawholearmoury。itwasatworkuponthefeatheringofhisshaftsthatthefirstofthereportersfoundhim。noiselessonhispneumaticshoes，themancameupbehindhim。

“good-morning，mr。savage，”hesaid。“iamtherepresentativeofthehourlyradio。”

startledasthoughbythebiteofasnake，thesavagesprangtohisfeet，scatteringarrows，feathers，glue-potandbrushinalldirections。

“ibegyourpardon，”saidthereporter，withgenuinecompunction。“ihadnointention…”hetouchedhishat–thealuminumstove-pipehatinwhichhecarriedhiswirelessreceiverandtransmitter。“excusemynottakingitoff，”hesaid。“it’sabitheavy。well，asiwassaying，iamtherepresentativeofthehourly…”

“whatdoyouwant？”askedthesavage，scowling。thereporterreturnedhismostingratiatingsmile。

“well，ofcourse，ourreaderswouldbeprofoundlyinterested…”heputhisheadononeside，hissmilebecamealmostcoquettish。“justafewwordsfromyou，mr。savage。”andrapidly，withaseriesofritualgestures，heuncoiledtwowiresconnectedtotheportablebatterybuckledroundhiswaist；pluggedthemsimultaneouslyintothesidesofhisaluminumhat；touchedaspringonthecrown–andantennaeshotupintotheair；touchedanotherspringonthepeakofthebrim–and，likeajack-in-the-box，outjumpedamicrophoneandhungthere，quivering，sixinchesinfrontofhisnose；pulleddownapairofreceiversoverhisears；pressedaswitchontheleftsideofthehat-andfromwithincameafaintwaspybuzzing；turnedaknobontheright–andthebuzzingwasinterruptedbyastethoscopicwheezeandcackle，byhiccoughsandsuddensqueaks。“hullo，”hesaidtothemicrophone，“hullo，hullo…”abellsuddenlyranginsidehishat。“isthatyou，edzel？primomellonspeaking。yes，i’vegotholdofhim。mr。savagewillnowtakethemicrophoneandsayafewwords。won’tyou，mr。savage？”helookedupatthesavagewithanotherofthosewinningsmilesofhis。“justtellourreaderswhyyoucamehere。whatmadeyouleavelondon（holdon，edzel！）soverysuddenly。and，ofcourse，thatwhip。”（thesavagestarted。howdidtheyknowaboutthewhip？）“we’reallcrazytoknowaboutthewhip。andthensomethingaboutcivilization。youknowthesortofstuff。‘whatithinkofthecivilizedgirl。’justafewwords，averyfew…”