THE ARM
OF THE
STARFISH
MADELEINE L

ENGLE
laurel-leap books
bring together under a single imprint outstanding works of
fiction and nonfiction particularly suitable
for young adult readers, both in and out of the
classroom.
Charles F. Reasoner, Professor Emeritus
of Children's Literature and Reading, New York University, is
consultant to this
series.
Published by Dell Publishing
a division of The Bantam Doubleday Dell
Publishing Group, Inc.
666 Fifth Avenue
New York, New York 10103
FOR
EDWARD NASON WEST
KA-LIKE
OZOI TO KANONI
TOYTQ 2TOIXHZOY21N,
EIPHNH EH
%
AYTOYZ
The verse quoted on page 124 is from
"Two Tramps in Mud Time"
from COMPLETE POEMS OF ROBERT FROST.
Copyright 1936 by Robert Frost.
Copyright renewed 1964 by Lesley Frost
Ballantine.
Reprinted by permission of Holt, Rinehart and
Winston, Inc.
Copyright [*copygg'1965 by Madeleine
L8Engle Franklin
All rights reserved. For information address
Farrar, Straus, and Oiroux, Inc.,
New York, New York.
The trademark Laurel-Leaf
Library[*reggg'is registered in the U S.
Patent
and Trademark Office.
ISBN: 0-440-90183-9
RL: 5.9
Reprinted by arrangement with Farrar, Straus and
Giroux, Inc.
Printed in the United States of America
January 1980
20 19 18 17 16 15
KRI
A heavy summer fog enveloped Kennedy
International. The roar of the great planes was silenced
but in the air
port there was noise and confusion. Adam wandered
about, trying not to look lost, keeping one ear open to the
blaring of the loudspeaker in case his flight to Lisbon
should be called or canceled. His bags had long since
disappeared on the perpetually moving conveyor belt,
and he
was too excited to sit anywhere with a book. All he
could
do was walk about, looking and listening, caught
up hi the
general feeling of tension.
An extra load of business was being conducted over
the
insurance counters and at the insurance machines. Adam
debated between a machine which would give him insurance and
one which would give him coffee, and chose the
coffee. Holding the paper cup hi one hand, and his
bat
tered school briefcase in the other, he walked through
a crowd of agitated people who had come to meet planes
which were now being deflected to Boston and Philadel
phia.
The hot, sweet coffee finished and the carton disposed
of in a trash can, Adam headed for a row of phone
booths, but they were all occupied by frustrated people
whose plans had been changed by the July fog, so he
de
cided against trying to call any of his friends.
Probably no
one would be home, anyhow; they were either away for
the summer or busy with summer jobs.
So there was no point in trying to impress anyone with
his
job which had come up suddenly and gloriously
after
he and his parents had moved to Woods Hole for the
sum
mer and he was already set hi the familiar routine of
sort
ing and filing for Old Doc Didymus.
Doc might be ninety and doddering, but it was he who
I/Englb
had said, the second day Adam reported for work,
"Adam, I'm letting myself get dependent on you
in the summer and this isn't good for either of us. My young
friend, O'Keefe, is doing some rather extraordinary
experiments with starfish on an island off the south
coast of Por
tugal, and I'm sending you over to work for him this
summer."
Strangely enough it was almost as easy as it sounded,
parental permission, passport, inoculations, and a
ticket to
Lisbon.
Adam, like every biology major, had heard of Dr.
O'Keefe, but the scientist was only a name in the
boy's
mind. To work for him, to see him as a person, was some
thing else again. He was full of questions.
'Young" to Old
Doc meant anywhere between eight and eighty, but Adam
had early learned that one did not ask Old Doc
anything
that did not pertain directly to marine biology.
Adam's fa
ther, who had also worked for Old Doc in his day,
knew this, too. He said only, "If Doc thinks
you're ready to work for Dr. O'Keefe then it's the
thing for you to do, and I'd be the last person to hold you
back. O'Keefe has one of the extraordinary
minds of our day. Your mother
and I will miss you, but it's time you got off and
away."
Over the loudspeaker Adam's flight was postponed
for
the third time. He started for an emptying phone
booth,
but a woman with three small children beat him to it. The
children huddled together outside the booth; the eldest,
bravely holding on to the hands of the two
little
ones, be
gan to cry, and Adam, to his own indignation and
shame,
felt a strong surge of fellow-feeling with the child.
He turned quickly away and walked up and down the
large, noisy main hall of the air terminal, trying
not to be
disturbed by the loudspeaker calling, people rising from
couches and trying to listen, annoyed men heading for the
bar, mothers trying to coax babies into sleep with
bottles
of milk or juice. The main thing, he finally
acknowledged to himself with a feeling of deep shame, was that
he'd al
ways had someone's hand (figuratively, of
course) to hold:
his family's, or Old Doc's, or the teachers',
or the kids' at school, and now for the first time (for
shame, Adam, at
such an age), he was on his own," and just because his
flight kept being postponed was no reason for him
to start
feeling homesick and to look around for another hand to
hold.
Adam Eddington, sixteen, going on seventeen, out
of
high school and set for Berkeley in the winter, had
better
be ashamed of himself if a crowded airport, heavy with
fog and tension, could put him on edge now.
It was after his flight had been delayed again (but not
yet canceled) that he became aware of one person in
the
enormous, milling crowd, a girl about his own age.
He was aware of her not only because she was
spectacularly beau
tiful in a sophisticated way that made him
nervous, but
because she was aware of him. She looked at him, not
coyly, not in any way inviting him to come speak
to her,
but coolly, deliberately, as though looking for
something.
Twice Adam thought she was going to come over to him; it
was almost as though she had some kind of message for
him. But each time she turned in another direction and
Adam decided that he was being imaginative again.
He started to go for another cup of coffee, then
looked
back across the echoing hall, and now not only was the
spectacular and enticing girl looking at him, she
was walk
ing toward him, and as she came closer she
smiled directly
at him, and held up one hand in greeting. His palm
was
slightly moist against the handle of his briefcase.
"Hi," she said. "I know you."
Adam gave what he felt must be a rather silly
grin and
shook his head. "No. But I wish you did."
She frowned. "I
know I
know you. Where?"
Adam was aware that this was a rather outworn opening
gambit. However, he felt that this girl really
meant it;
she wasn't just casting around for someone to amuse her
until her plane should be called or canceled. With
her
looks in any case she could have had any man in the
air
port with the lift of an eyebrow; Adam saw
several men
looking admiringly at the naturally fair hair, that
particu
lar shining gold that can never be acquired in a beauty
parlor, and which shimmered softly down to slender
shoul
ders. She wore a flame-colored linen dress and
spike-

MADELEINE I/Engle
heeled pumps. A leather bag was slung casually
over one
shoulder, and Adam no longer felt even the
smallest need
to hold anyone's hand, except perhaps the girl's, and
that would be a different matter entirely. He was
overwelhm
ingly
proud that out of this vast conglomeration of people she had singled
him out for her attentions.
"I'm Adam Eddington," he said, "and having met
you now I'm not likely to forget it."
The girl laughed, with no coyness. "I admit
I'm not used to being forgotten. I'm Carolyn
Cutter, called Kali. Where are you off to? That
is, of course, if we ever
get
off."
"Lisbon first."
"Oh, sharp! Me too. Where next?"
"Well, I'm going to be working on an island
called
Gaea. It's somewhere off the south coast of
Portugal."
As he said 'Gaea" she frowned slightly-perhaps
she
was thinking of Goa-but she said, "What on earth kind
of
work could you possibly find to do in Gaea?"
"There's a marine biologist working there, Dr.
O'Keefe.
I'm going to be assisting him."
Now the girl definitely frowned. "Oh, so you know
O'Keefe."
"No, I don't know him. I've never met him."
Kali seemed to relax. "Well, still know him, and
if you'd
like the lowdown I'll give it to you. How about going
into
the coffee shop and having a sandwich and a Coke or
something? I was counting on eating on the plane and
heaven knows when we'll get on
that.
I'm starved."
"Me, too. Great idea," Adam said.
He put his hand against the firm tan skin of her bare
arm and they started
across the hall to the coffee shop. Suddenly Kali
stiffened
and veered away.
"What's the matter?" Adam asked.
"I don't want him to see me."
"Who?" Adam looked around stupidly and saw a
mid
dle-aged clergyman holding on to the hand of a
gangly,
redheaded girl about twelve years old.
"Him. Canon Tallis. Don't look.
Hurry."
As Adam ran to catch up with her, she said, under her
breath, but with great intensity, "Listen, Adam,
please take
this seriously. I'm warning you about him. Watch out for
him. I mean it. Truly."
Adam, startled, looked at her. Her lovely
face was pale
with emotion, her pansy eyes clouded. "What-what
do
you mean? Warning me? For Pete's sake why?"
She tucked her arm through his and started again
toward the coffee shop "Maybe the simplest thing
to tell you is that he's a phony."
"You mean he isn't a-a-was
"Oh, he's a canon all right, you know, a kind of
priest who floats around a cathedral. He's from the
diocese of Gibraltar. But I didn't really
mean that." She turned her
limpid eyes toward him, and her hand pressed against
his
arm. "Adam, please don't think I'm mad."
"Of course I don't think you're mad," Adam
said. "I'm just-well, for crying out loud what
is
all this? I don't know you, I don't know your
canon or whatever he is, I
think you've got me mixed up with someone else."
"No," Kali said, leaning rather wearily against the
wall. "Let me tell you about myself, and then maybe
you'll understand. But first I want to know something: how do
you
happen to be working for O'Keefe?"
"I'm majoring in marine biology," Adam said.
"My fa
ther's a physicist, teaches at Columbia, but
we've always gone to Woods Hole for the
summer and I've worked for
Old Doc Didymus there ever since I was a
kid."
"Didymus?"
"You've probably read about him in the papers and
stuff," Adam said with some pride. "He's one of the
most
famous marine biologists in the country, and he's still
go
ing strong, even if he is ninety. Anyhow, he
got me this
job. It's a marvelous opportunity for me."
Four people at the head of the line were beckoned to a table
and Adam and Kali moved up. Kali looked around
at the people ahead of them and behind them, then said in
almost a whisper, "Oh, Adam, it's terribly
lucky I met
you! I've absolutely
got
to talk to you. But there's no point here-you never know who
might be listening. Maybe on the plane-.
Anyhow, I'll tell you something about myself

MADELEINE I/Engle
now, because at this point if you thought I was a
kook I
certainly wouldn't blame you."
Looking at Kali standing beside him, at the pale
radi
ance of her hair, at her hand resting lightly on
his arm,
Adam did not think her a kook. As a matter of
fact, it didn't make the slightest difference
whether she was a
kook or not She was a gorgeous girl who for some
un
known and delightful reason had chosen him out of all
this crowd, and what she was saying was only a soprano
twittering in his ears. Most girls" conversation
was, in his
opinion. She chattered away, looking up at him
confi
dently, and he sighed and tried to give a small,
courteous
amount of attention to her words.
He had always, with a degree of arrogance, considered
himself sophisticated because he had grown up in New
York, because his friendships cut across racial and
economic barriers, because he could cope with subway

shuttle at rush hours, because the island of
Manhattan (he thought) held no surprises for
him. But, trying to listen to
Kali, he saw that his life, in its own way, had
been as pro
tected and innocent as that of his summer friends who
lived year round at Woods Hole, and with whom he
had
always felt faintly worldly. Kali, it seemed,
crossed the
ocean as casually as Adam took a crosstown
bus. She
knew important people in all the capitals of
Europe, and
yet she talked about them with an open candor that kept
it
from being name-dropping. Her father had extensive
business interests in Lisbon and on the west coast
of Por
tugal; they had in apartment in Lisbon and were
intimate
with everybody in the American and British
embassies. Be
cause Kali had no mother she acted as her father's
hostess-
for all his entertaining. "And we do lots and lots of
it,"
she said. "Daddy's a sort of unofficial
cultural attache",
only lots more so. I mean he's ever so much more
impor
tant. Good public relations and stuff. Fine for
business,
and fun, too."
As Adam listened, his mouth opened a little in admira
tion and awe. Her light, rather high voice, fine as
a silver
thread, spun a fine web about him. He felt that
at last,
here in the international atmosphere of the great
airport,

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
he was truly entering the adult world- in which Kali
already trod with beauty and assurance. She gave him
a
sideways glance, and her fingers pressed lightly
against his arm. "I do love being daddy's hostess,"
she said, "and I re
ally do very well by him. I mean I have a
flair for it. I'm
not bragging or anything; it's just what I'm good at."
Adam could easily picture her being gracious and
charming and radiant and having every man in the room
at her feet.
There was a group of six young people ahead of them, three
boys and three girls. Adam felt that the boys were
conscious of Kali's exotic beauty and envious because
it
was his arm she held, and that the girls were conscious of the
boys' consciousness, and annoyed by it-Those jerks,
he thought. I wonder what they're doing here anyhow?
The harassed coffee shop hostess moved through the
crowded room toward the line and held up her fingers.
"Two?"
"Oh, good, that's us," Kali said. "Come on,
Adam."
They were taken to a dark table in the corner. A wait
ress wiped off the wet rings and crumbs and stuck
menus
at them. Kali ignored the menus. "I just want a
cheesebur
ger and a Coke. That okay by you, Adam?"
"Sure. Fine."
Kali waved the menus and the waitress away
with an
airy command that just barely missed rudeness. She
leaned over the table toward Adam. "This was luck,
getting a cor
ner table like this. I guess we can talk a little if
we keep
our voices low. This-what's his name?-Diddy-was
"Didymus."
"You're sure he's all right? You can trust him?"
"Of course! We've always known Old Doc.
He's-he's
like my grandfather."
She pressed the tips of her long, lovely fingers
together
thoughtfully. "I wonder."
"What?"
"I wonder how well
he
knows O'Keefe. If he's
ninety-was
"There are no fleas on Old Doc. You'd never
take him
for over sixty."

MADELEINE I/Engle
"O'Keefe has a reputation all right," Kali
said. "I mean,
he's a scientist. That's no front."
"Why should there be a front?"
"Oh, Adam, it's so complicated! We
are
on the same
flight, aren't we?"
They were not.
Adam was going to Swissair and Kali,
Alitalia. She looked at him blankly. "How
long are you going to be hi
Lisbon?"
"I don't think at all. I'm being met there and
flown right
on to Gaea."
The waitress plunked then* orders in front of
them, slop
ping then- Cokes. Kali looked at her
sweetly. "I'm so sorry
to trouble you, but would you mind wiping the table,
please? Thank you
so
much," Then she looked somberly at
Adam. "This is bad. I've got to see
you somehow. Do you
think you'll be coming to Lisbon at all?"
"I don't know. I rather doubt it."
"Then I'll get to Gaea. I'll manage. Because
I can't-was She held up her hand for silence as the
loudspeaker
blared. "That's my flight, Adam! The fog must be
lifting.
Come with me quickly, and 111 tell you what I can."
They left then- untouched food and Adam picked
up the
check. Kali waited impatiently while he paid
and got
change.
They hurried along the echoing corridor. "Listen
quickly," she said. "I can't really tell you anything
now, but just watch out for O'Keefe, Adam. He's
hi thick with
Canon Tallis. That's O'Keefe's kid with
Tallis now."
"Dr. O'Keefe's!"
"Yes. I
told
you they were in cahoots. He has dozens of
kids. O'Keefe, I mean. O'Keefe
and Tallis are against us, Adam. Don't let them
rope you in. I'll try to get you to meet daddy
somehow or other as soon as I can. I'm not being an
alarmist, Adam. I know what I'm talking about.
Believe me."
Adam almost believed. In spite of the wildness of
Kali's
words there was something about her that carried conviction. And
Kali, with her sophistication and beauty, did not
need to invent stories to get attention.

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
They reached the Alitalia gate and" through the window
Adam could see the big jet waiting in the rain that
had driven away the fog. Kali took her
ticket out of her bag, turned anxiously, and,
to Adam's surprise, kissed him
quickly on the cheek, saying again, "Believe me."
Adam stood watching as she hurried through the door.
People brushed rapidly past him. He looked
vaguely for the canon and the redheaded child, but did not
see them.
Oddly enough he felt excited and elated as well as
bewil
dered. He did not have the faintest idea what
Kali had been talking about, or what she was warning
him about, but this was adventure, adventure in the
adult world. He
had graduated, all right!
He stood watching, bemused, as Kali's plane
wheeled
around and moved like a cumbersome bird down the run
way. He could hear the blast of the jet as it slid out
of sight into the rain. Slowly he walked from the
Alitalia gates to the Swissair waiting room.
There he saw Canon Tallis and the tall,
gangly child, Dr. O'Keefe's child,
standing with silent concentration licking ice cream cones,
side by side, each bowed seriously over the ice
cream.
Adam studied the clergyman and the child
surreptitiously.
The only extraordinary thing about Canon Tallis
was the fact that he was completely bald, even to having
no eye
brows, and had the look, somehow, of an extremely
intel
ligent teddy bear. The girl seemed to Adam no
different
from most children who have suddenly shot up in
height
and not caught up with themselves hi any other way.
Only
the flame of her hair and the open clarity of her blue
eyes
hinted that there was something for her to grow up to.
She looked at him over her ice cream cone and
Adam
shifted his gaze, for he wanted neither the canon nor
the
child to know that he was observing them. He took a book
out of his briefcase and pretended to read it until his
flight
was called.
He started to the gate, and saw out of the corner of his
eye that they were following him.
Because it was the height of the tourist season the plane
was crowded. Adam had been assigned a seat by the
win
dow hi the tourist section, and though the wing partly ob
scured his view he would still be able to see a good deal.
Across the aisle, next to the window, sat the child, the
canon beside her, and a lady with lavender hair in the
third seat The places next to Adam were occupied
by two
businessmen with attache" cases.
It was ten o'clock at night by Adam's watch when they
took off. He had flown in from the Cape in the
morning,
but this was his first trip in a jet, and the pull of the
gravities took him by surprise as momentarily
he seemed to be
pinned back in his seat. Then, with a smoothness he had
never felt on a prop plane, they were airborne,
rani
drenching against the windows. And suddenly there was a
star, and then another and another. Adam tried to watch

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
as the plane flew high and clear of the clouds, but the
lights in the cabin turned the windows into mirrors so
that
he saw his own reflection thrown back at him.
He looked warily about the plane, trying not to let
his
gaze linger on the dark figure of the canon, who was
talk
ing to the child, his face quick with interest and intelligence.
But was it a malevolent or a benevolent face?
Adam could not tell. The child laughed,
openly, spontane
ously: Dr. O'Keefe's child. Adam gave a
shiver of excite
ment. Already, and before he had even met Dr.
O'Keefe,
the job promised to be far more than a summer job
with a well-known scientist. Adam, crossing the
Atlantic for the
first time, dazzled by the international atmosphere of the
great jet, felt ready for anything.
There was the click and buzz of the loudspeaker, and,
while an attractive stewardess demonstrated,
a voice ex
plained in English, French, and German, the
emergency
use of oxygen and how to put on the life belts just
in case
the plane should have to be ditched in the middle of the
Atlantic. The captain, also using the three
languages, intro
duced himself, and described the flight route and the
alti
tude at which they would be flying. All of this and Adam
hadn't even noticed that the
no smoking
and
fasten seat
belts
signs had blinked off. Feeling a little foolish,
he un
did his belt, noting that his companions had already un
fastened theirs, and tried to relax and look
world-traveled.
But he was too keyed up for the tautness to leave his
body.
Dinner was served, a full and delicious meal in
spite of
the hour, and Adam, having had none of his
cheeseburger
in the coffee shop with Kali, ate ravenously. After
the trays were cleared the stewardess came around with
pillows and blankets, and Adam, like the older men
beside
him, leaned back in his seat, loosening his tie and
belt. He
knew it was important to try to sleep as soon as
he could
because the difference in time would make it a short night.
When they landed in Lisbon at eight-thirty in the
morning
it would still be only three-thirty in New York.
But his mind would not shut off. He found himself
remembering a trip to the Hayden Planetarium.
He loved
the Planetarium and went there often to see the dome

MADELEINE
I/Engle
come alive with star?. He thought now of a lecturer who
had said, "Of course you never see stars like this in
New
York. If you want to see stars you must go out into the
country where there are no lights to dim them. But if you
really
want to see stars then you must be out in the middle
of the ocean. Then you can see them as the sailors and
navigators saw them in the days when stars were known
as very few people know them now."
Adam, wakeful, remembering these words, glanced at
his seat companions. Both had their eyes closed, so
very
gently he drew back the curtains at the window.
The lights
in the cabin had been dimmed; the window was no longer
a mirror, and he saw that the Planetarium
lecturer had spoken the truth. Never had there been
stars as he saw
them now, not at Woods Hole on the beach, nor
even out
in a sailboat at night. The stars-how many miles
out over
the Atlantic?-were clearer and more brilliant than
any
thing he could have imagined, glorious myriads pulsing
and throbbing about the plane. With his face turned
toward the window he dozed, never sleeping soundly, but
over and over again opening his eyes to the stars.
Then, very slowly, in the east, straight ahead of him,
the
sky began to lighten faintly, the stars to seem just a
little
less clear. A pale red warmed the horizon, but
what made it different from sunrise seen from the land,
or even from
a ship, was the plane's great altitude, and the most
ex
traordinary sight came surprisingly from behind the
plane,
in the west They were flying east into sunlight, but the
western sky was a strange, deep blue,
with a haze of rose
spreading out below and pulsing slowly upward.
By now he was completely awake, looking out the win
dow before him, behind him, below him. The plane was
so high that he did not see the ocean as ocean, but as
great patches of purply-grey darkness among the
scattered
whiteness of clouds. As the light brightened, so that he
was afraid his seat companions would ask him to draw
the
curtains, the clouds thickened beneath the plane, though
it
was flying in dazzling sunshine.
He leaned back in his seat, saturated for the moment
with beauty, and looked around the cabin. Most of the

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
passengers were still asleep. A portly gentleman
moved
stiffly up the aisle past Adam to the washroom.
Across the aisle the canon and the O'Keefe child were
eagerly peering
out the window, the priest leaning over the child, his arm
around her. He seemed very avuncular and not in the least
sinister, and for a moment Adam wondered if he
could
have dreamed Kali and her warnings. In the aisle seat
next
to the canon the lavender-haired lady snored
delicately.
Then, at three o'clock in the morning New York
time,
all the lights were turned on in the plane cabin, and
break
fast was served, which, Adam felt, must have been a little
hard on those passengers going on to Geneva and
Zurich,
though he himself was more than ready for food, and the
hot, fragrant coffee made him forget his lack
of sleep.
He was starting to wonder why they were not beginning
the descent for Lisbon when he heard the buzz of the
loudspeaker: "Ladies and gentlemen, this is your
captain.
We have just passed over Lisbon. Because of weather
con
ditions we are unable to land and will proceed
to Madrid."
The same message was repeated in French and
German.
The man next to Adam rang for the stewardess and
asked about visas in Madrid; if they were being forced
into Madrid he wanted to do some sightseeing; he
wanted
to go to the Prado.
It would be perfectly all right, the stewardess
assured
him; if the plane was held in Madrid for any
length of
time those passengers wanting visas would be issued
them.
This struck Adam as an unlooked-for piece of
luck; a
glimpse of Lisbon and then the island of Gaea were
all he
had expected to see. A day hi Madrid was a
wonderful
and added adventure. The Prado, he knew, was a
museum; if that was the place to go, go to it he would.
Within a few minutes the clouds dispersed as they
started their slow descent, and he could see the country
side of Spain beneath him. It was all he could have
hoped
for in his most romantic dreams: it was as though the
plane had taken them centuries instead of
miles out of
their way. In the distance were snow-capped mountains.
Below him were fields of all shapes and patterns and
in all
shades of green and brown. He thought he
recognized ol-

MADELEINE I/Engle
ive trees, but the plane was still too high up for him
to be
sure. There were hills with ancient forts built around
a
square; there were hills with turreted castles. He
had heard
of castles in Spain; now he was seeing them.
Suddenly he
saw great bare circles of some kind of modern
military emplacements; he was not sure what they
were; perhaps Nike sites. Strange, bleak
pockmarks on an ancient rural
landscape, they jerked him out of the middle ages and
into
the present.
fasten seat belts
flicked on. Across from Adam the
canon and the child slowly sat back in their seats.
The landing was effortless and the great plane taxied
down and around long runways until in the distance
Adam
could see a large, cold-looking modern airport;
there were many men in military uniforms moving about. As
soon as
the plane had stopped, the rolling steps were pushed up
and the passengers herded out and into a waiting bus, al
though the jet was only a few yards from the terminal.
Probably, Adam thought, they're taking us to some
other
entrance where they can fix up our visas and tell us
when
we can get to Lisbon.
The bus was all part of the adventure, it was so defi
nitely not an American bus. There was something almost
institutional about it, as though it were not a bus for which one
ever voluntarily paid a fare to take a ride; it was
like a bus in a dream into which people were thrust,
as the jet passengers were now, like it or not, and taken
to
some impersonal destination, probably unknown.
About half the passengers were able to sit on the seats
which ran the length of the bus; the rest of them,
includ
ing Canon Tallis and the O'Keefe child, and, of
course, Adam, stood as the bus jounced the few
yards to the air terminal: no more. They were as drenched
by the rain
that had suddenly started as they would have been if they had
been allowed to run the short distance between plane
and port, and why they hadn't been Adam could not
fathom; but since nobody else was remarking on this
he
kept his mouth shut.
From the bus they were urged into the terminal where

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
one of the stewardesses smiled with professional cheer
and
confidence and said, "Wait."
This must be tough, he realized, throwing the whole
flight out of schedule; for the plane personnel it was
not
the adventure it was to Adam and to some of the passen
gers who were already making sightseeing plans; others
were yawning openly and talking about getting to a hotel
and catching some sleep. There was also some speculation
as to what kind of hotel they were being taken
to, and one
of the more traveled passengers said that probably it
would be the Plaza, since the Swissair offices were
in the same building, and that, though there was nothing wrong
with the Plaza, it bore no resemblance whatsoever
to the
Plaza in New York and no one had better
expect any
such luxury.
The interior of the terminal was as modern and cold
and bleak as the exterior, and as filled with men in
uniform, though these at least were keeping dry. As
Adam
looked at their dark, stern faces he felt some of
his op
timistic sense of well-being and grownupness beginning
to
fade, but shook himself, remembering that he had not had
much sleep for two nights now, and lack of sleep
always tended to make him edgy and apprehensive-one
reason
he never sat up late studying for exams. If he
didn't know
it he didn't know it.
In the big, chill room some of the passengers
sat wearily
on wooden benches, others chatted desultorily,
making
tentative plans. Canon Tallis stood
holding the hand of the
child, who was beginning to look white with fatigue, but
neither of them spoke. It seemed a long time before one
of the stewardesses reappeared and said that they would now
be given visas and would then be driven to a hotel hi
Madrid. She herded them into two lines, telling
them to
have their passports ready for inspection and stamping.
Adam asked her anxiously, "I'm being met in
Lisbon.
Will they be notified there?"
"Certainly, sir, but we'll be glad to send a
telegram for
you. To whom?"
"I'm not sure who's meeting me. Could you just
notify
Dr. O'Keefe on Gaea? My name's Adam
Eddington."

MADELEINE L'ENGLE
"Of course." She made a note, smiled
again, and ex
cused herself charmingly.
In the other line, with his passport already being inspect
ed, stood the canon, and Adam realized that the older
man had overheard him and was now looking at him in
an
intent and curious way. As the priest took his
passport and
the child's and walked off toward the exit he turned and
looked back at Adam.
The lines moved quickly. The passport was given
to one
man, who checked it. Then the passenger was moved
along to another man who stamped the passport with the
required visa and returned it. It was all brisk
and uncom
plicated.
Until it was Adam's turn.
The officer at the window took Adam's passport
and
flipped casually through it, then turned back to the begin
ning and began to go slowly over each page. Finally,
in
heavily accented English, he said, "Your name,
please."
"Adam Eddington." Then the boy spoke in
Spanish, since he had had four years of it in
school, and Juan, one
of his closest friends was a Puerto Rican, school
track star
and prize chemistry student, whose family spoke
no English. "Aqui tiene usted todo escrito
en el pasaporte."-
It's all there, right in the passport.
The officer looked at him sharply. "You have been in
Spam before?"
"No, sir," Adam said.
"Then why do you speak Spanish?"
"I learned it in school."
The officer had looked at him unbelievingly.
"Americans
do not make a study of languages."
"Oh, yes, sir. Some of us do." Adam made the
mistake
of smiling as he remembered Juan's initial
struggles with
English.
The officer stared darkly at Adam with hard black
eyes;
his hair, too, was black, wavy, and
highly polished. His chin had a dark shadow on it that
would never disappear no matter how recently he had
shaved. Looking at him
Adam began to feel distinctly uncomfortable.
Maybe

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
speaking Spanish had been the wrong thing to do, but he
had only intended to be polite.
After giving Adam the silent treatment for almost a
full
minute the inspector returned to the passport, his
eyes
flicking from Adam's photo to his face to the
photo again.
Finally he said, in deliberate English, "Your
destination?"
Adam did not try Spanish again. "Well,
Lisbon."
"And from there?"
"Gaea."
A cold flicker seemed to come into the man's eye.
"Why
Gaea?"
"I have a job there for the summer with a Dr.
O'Keefe."
"O'Keefe," the inspector said thoughtfully,
tapping
Adam's passport against his teeth. Then he
slapped the
passport sharply on the palm of his hand and stood
up. He
spoke to two other officials who were behind him, but in
Spanish so swift and low that Adam could not catch
it. He
turned to the boy: "Be so kind as to come with me."
"Now, look here," Adam said indignantly,
"what
business is all this of yours? I was supposed to land
in Lis
bon, not Madrid. The only reason I'm here is
the fog, and
I didn't have anything to do with that. If you don't
want to give me a visa to go into Madrid, that's
your business. But I'm not trying to get a job or
anything in Spain and I
don't see why any of this has anything to do with you."
The inspector listened impassively. Then he
jerked his
head. "Come," he repeated.
Adam opened his mouth to protest again, but something
in the inspector's visage made him keep
quiet. Stomach
churning, he followed the inspector past the line of
passen
gers, through the airport hall, down a corridor.
Until the
corridor turned he could feel the eyes of the other
passen
gers on him. He had a moment's impulse to shout
at them not to let him be taken away like this, but he
con
trolled himself. It was probably something not quite right
about his vaccination certificate, at which the
inspector
had glared for several seconds, or something silly and
simple like that.
The inspector led him into a bare room painted a
dark,

MADELEINE I/Engle
oppressive grey. There was an unshaded light
glaring from
the ceiling, a desk with a chair before and behind. The
one small, high window was barred. Adam,
his knees sud
denly feeling weak, went to one of the chairs and sat
down.
"Stand," the inspector snapped.
Adam stood. "What is this-was he started to protest
again, but the inspector cut him off.
"Silence."
Adam shut his mouth.
The inspector went with deliberate pace across the
room, behind the desk, sat down. He looked at
Adam again from head to foot, as though he did not like
at all
what he saw. With a gesture of his dark chin he
indicated
that Adam might sit.
This time Adam decided that he was happier standing
on his own two feet.
"SIT," the inspector barked.
Adam sat.
For a full minute the inspector looked at him in
silence.
Then he said, "Why are you working for Dr.
O'Keefe?"
"Well-it's-it's just a summer job," Adam said.
"I've just graduated from school and I'm
going to Berkeley-
that's in California-in the winter."
"So why a summer job? Why is this necessary?"
"Most of us kids have to work in the summer to help
out some with our education. Besides this was a big oppor
tunity for me."
"Opportunity? How?"
Adam tried not to let his eyes falter as the
inspector pinned him with his stare. He thought of saying
that one
does not treat law-abiding American citizens in
this way,
but decided that it might just get him into more
difficulty,
so he said nothing.
Because of the placement of the chairs the sharp light fell
directly on Adam, but the inspector did not
entirely escape the glare which glinted against a gold
tooth in his
stern mouth and threw back a tiny gleam of light.
"Oppor
tunity,
how?"
he asked again.
THE ARM OF THE STARFISH

"Well-to work with Dr. O'Keefe-and I've
never been
in Europe before-was
"And now that you are here you intend to do what?"
"Well-just work for Dr. O'Keefe."
"What kind of work?"
"I don't know exactly. Just whatever I can
to help out, I
suppose."
"Such as?"
"Well-there may be experiments with starfish or some
thing I could check on."
The inspector looked at him sharply, as though the
boy
had said something unexpected. He opened his mouth to
speak but was stopped by a knock on the door. He
snapped, "Come in."
The door opened and in came one of the uniformed
men, followed by Canon Tallis, looking grim.
Adam suddenly remembered with horror all of
Kali's
warnings. He realized that they had seemed part of an
ad
venture that was somehow make-believe, he had
not taken
them very seriously.
He took them seriously now.
The canon did not look at Adam, but went
straight to the inspector, bowing and saying, "Good
morning." Then, in
precise British accent, he said,
"But yield who will to their
separation
..."
There was a pause as the inspector looked at the
canon.
His visage, too, was grim. Finally he replied,
"My object in living is to unite ..."
The two men remained looking at each other, not
speaking, until the inspector got up from the desk,
nodded
at the canon, came around to Adam, and handed him his
passport. "I find your papers are quite in order
after all,"
he said. "You may go. I believe the bus is still
waiting."
The official who had escorted the canon opened the
door, making a respectful obeisance. The canon
looked at
the inspector, bowed slightly, turned to Adam,
saying,
"Come."
Adam followed him. The priest moved with the ease of
familiarity through the maze of passages until they
were at
the glass doors. Outside the bus was sitting
greyly at the curb. The driver opened the doors.
The canon got in.
Adam climbed in after him. Someone had given the red
headed child a seat and she was asleep, her head down
on
the shoulder of a middle-aged, motherly-looking woman,
who looked at the canon, saying, "She's all
tuckered out.
Let her sleep."
The priest smiled at her. "Thank you, Martha."
Adam knew that he, too, ought to say, "thank
you,"
since in some way the canon had been responsible
for the
escape from the inspector's inquisition, but the
boy's mind
was in such a turmoil that he could not speak.
It was obvious that the passengers, who had
been kept waiting in the dark bus all this time, were
intensely curi-

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
ous. A young man turned to Adam. "What on earth
hap
pened? Why did they drag you away like that?"
The canon answered quickly for him. "Just the usual
passport confusion. There's one in every busload.
You'll
get used to it."
Now at last Adam said, "Thank you very much,
sir." But he was not sure just how grateful he
was. Although
the canon had an easy and relaxed expression,
reminding
Adam once again of the intelligent teddy bear, there
was still the memory of the grim look with which Tallis had
greeted him in the inspector's office.
The bus started with a grinding of gears and a series of
jolts. Adam felt surprisingly weak in the
knees and would
have liked to be able to sit down, but he clutched the
aluminum pole firmly and braced himself so that without
bending down too far he could look out the
window. The
trip into Madrid somehow surprised him. Spain
seen from the air had been, except for the
emplacements, everything
that he had pictured it hi his imagination; the
outskirts of
Madrid were a strange and unexpected conglomeration
of
old and new. There were many bleak housing developments
like the projects in New York or those pictured
in
articles about Russia. Ugly apartments crowded
upon
beautiful old houses with walled gardens. Some new
build
ings were finished as far as the scaffolding, but seemed
abandoned. Outside both the old buildings and the
new,
laundry was flapping in the breeze. There were many
bill
boards, well over half of them advertising
American prod
ucts, Pepsi-Cola, Coca-Cola,
toothpaste. Singer sewing
machines. The city itself was modern,
commercial-buses,
trolley cars, taxis, booths advertising the
National Lottery,
priests, nuns, young people on bicycles, old women
with long black skirts and black shawls over their
heads, girls
with bright skirts high above their knees, newsboys
calling,
lottery boys calling-Adam's mind whirled. The
im
pressions were coming too thick, too fast, events had
been
too confusing from the moment he had reached the fog
bound airport in New York for him
to assimilate and sort
out any of it.

MADELEINE I/Engle
Canon Tallis reached down and wakened the child.
"Poly. We're here."
She opened her eyes and yawned as the bus drew up
in
front of the Hotel Plaza with another sickening
jerk that almost threw Adam and all the standing
passengers off their feet. As they surged
toward the exit Canon Tallis
said to the boy, "I'll see you."
A pleasant Swissair representative was
waiting for them
and herded them quickly out of the bus and through the revolving
doors into the hotel. The Hotel Plaza, at
least, seemed to hold no startling surprises for
Adam; it was
very much what he had imagined a middle-class
European
hotel would be like.
The passengers were lined up at the desk, where their
passports were collected. Adam's was given no
more, no less attention than anybody else's.
They were assigned
rooms. The man from Swissair explained that, because
of
the fog that gripped Lisbon now as it had New
York the day before, they would not be able to leave
Madrid until
five in the afternoon, when weather conditions were sup
posed to improve. Precisely at five they were
all to be in
the lobby of the hotel and would be driven back to the air
port where a plane would be waiting for them.
Meanwhile
they were free to sleep or to do some sightseeing around
Madrid.
Adam went up in the elevator to his room not
knowing exactly what he was going to do. He was wavery
with the
desire to sleep, but he was determined not to waste the
day. He decided that a shower and some food would
refresh him, and then he would find a bus or
trolley to take
him to the Prado and maybe some other places of
interest
His room, a small one with an enormous
bathroom,
faced the back. If the view from the front of the
hotel was
definitely twentieth century, the view from the rear
flung him into the Middle Ages. He looked down
into a courtyard filled with strutting black geese.
In the center was a
stone fountain. The rooftops, in a confused jumble of
lev
els, were warm red tile. The houses were oyster
white, with crooked, unmatched windows. The geese
strutted about, their heads jerking awkwardly in
and out of the

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
downpour. An old woman, almost completely
covered by
an enormous black shawl, came out of a door and
threw the geese some grain, toward which they scurried,
gabbling. The woman stood, one hand holding the shawl
about her face, watching them; then she disappeared into
the house.
Adam felt his eyes gritty with sleep. If he
didn't take that shower and get some more coffee and some
food he
would succumb to the temptation to lie down on the brass
bed, and that he was determined not to do. Who knew
when he would ever have another day in Madrid?
The water was hot and he steamed happily, then
turned
on the cold; he was shivering under its stinging needles
when he became aware of a tapping on his door. He
turned off the shower and called out, "Just a moment,
please."
The hotel towels were fluffy and white and voluminous
enough to wrap around him as a kind of bathrobe. Some
instinct-or was it Kali's warnings?-made
him call, be
fore he opened the door, "Who is it?"
A pleasant British voice replied, "Canon
Tallis."
Adam fought down a desire to say, "Go away.
You're
dangerous. Kali warned me." But after all the
canon
had,
by no matter what devious means, rescued him. So
he said, "If you'd wait a minute, please,
sir, I'm just out of
the shower. I'll throw on some clothes."
He dried and dressed as quickly as he could, then cau
tiously opened the door. Canon Tallis was
standing, hands
behind his back, staring upward through the ceiling at some
inner vision. He smiled, the faint ridges where he
should have had eyebrows rising slightly, followed
Adam into the small room and sat on the one chair.
Adam sat on
the bed. The canon looked at him for a moment;
Adam
was getting distinctly tired of being looked at.
"So you're the young man who's going to be working
for Dr. O'Keefe this summer." It was a
statement, not a
question.
Adam responded with a terse "yes." He was giving
out
no information. He began to wonder if Old Doc
might not
be getting senile after all, letting him in for this kind
of

MADELEINE I/Englb
thing. And as for his parents, they had no right to allow
him to go off into the unknown like this. Of course there
had been correspondence between his father and Dr.
O'Keefe, and a couple of transatlantic phone
calls, but
Adam felt that none of the disagreeable things that had
happened should have been allowed by parents who took a
proper concern for their offspring. He forgot that he had
been elated at first by Kali and her warnings.
"Tired?" Canon Taffis asked.
"No." He bit the word off and did not add
sir
or
father
or whatever it was one was supposed to call an
English
canon.
"Not much sleep last night."
Adam could not help adding, "Nor the night before."
"Planning to catch up on it today?"
"No," Adam said briefly. "I'm going to the
Prado."
Then, because his training in courtesy had been thorough,
he added in a more reasonable voice, "I've never
been hi
Spain before and I don't know when I'll get
another
chance. I didn't think I ought to waste it."
Canon Tallis nodded. "Poly's taking a bit
of a nap, but
then we're going to the Prado ourselves. Meanwhile I
need
a cup of coffee and a bite to eat. How about you?
Dr.
O'Keefe's a friend of mine, and maybe I can
brief you a
bit. Also I want to ask you a favor. I find
I am going to
have to stay in Madrid for a few days on
business that
would be very dull for Poly. She's the O'Keefes'
daughter
and a bright child, and perfectly capable at this point of
traveling alone, but I'm responsible for her, and
I feel rather badly about cutting her little vacation
short, so I
thought, since we've happened to run into each other, that
I'd ask you to be kind enough to let her travel back
to Lis
bon with you."
What was there to say? There were no possible grounds
for refusal of this perfectly reasonable request, so
Adam
nodded with a mumbled, "Yes, sir."
The canon stood up and yawned amply. "Two
sleepless
nights haven't given you the best preparation in the world
for seeing the Prado. Nevertheless you may find it rather
impressive in its own modest way."

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
When they reached the lobby the priest, instead of head
ing for the revolving doors, went to the desk.
"Passports
for Canon Tallis and Adam Eddington,
please," he said in
fluent Spanish. There was a brief wait, during
which
Adam felt himself getting nervous again. But the
passports
were handed to them without question.
"Be careful of it," the canon said. Adam did not
mention that the advice was unnecessary. "Let's just go into
the dining room here, shall we? No point in getting
soaked
again before we have to."
They went into an almost empty dining room with
whitenaped tables, and the canon ordered cafe au
lait and
an omelette.
Adam told the waitress, "Esta bien para mi,
tambien."
As she left the canon said, "You speak excellent
Span
ish."
"I had it in school," Adam found himself explaining
again.
"Any other languages?"
"A bit of French and German."
"Portuguese?"
"No."
"Too bad. Russian?"
"No. I'd have liked to, but they stretched a few
points
for me with the ones I took."
"Poly's our linguist," the canon said. "She
speaks all of
those, plus Gaean. Now she wants to tackle
Chinese.
Sometimes it's a bit hard to hold Poly down."
He seemed
to be looking at Adam as though searching for something.
"Poly's the oldest of the O'Keefe children, and she
helps
her mother a great deal. This is the first real vacation
she's
had. I had to give a couple of lectures in
Boston and it
seemed a good chance for her to get away. Then I was
to
have gone to Geneva for a few days and I'd planned
to
take her with me there, too. Too bad this fog had
to come up and spoil her little treat for her. I
must ask you, Adam, please to stay close to her.
It is not that Poly isn't capable
of taking care of herself. But there are some-shall we
call them undesirable characters?-who are far too inter
ested in Dr. O'Keefe's experiments. I will
see to it that you

MADELEINE I/Engle
both get on the plane, and Dr. O'Keefe will be
at the airport to meet you. But please do not let
Poly out of your
sight. Will you promise me that?"
"Well-yes, of course," Adam said. "But I
don't under
stand."
The priest looked at him thoughtfully. Adam
looked back. -I'm going to do some of the staring, too,
he decided. Grey eyes looked steadily
into grey. Finally the canon said, "Adam, I wish
I could tell you the things that
would make you understand. When you start working for
Dr. O'Keefe you'll realize for yourself the
importance of
his work, and its implications. But for now I must
simply
ask you to trust me, as I must, in my turn, trust
you." His face again looked grim, though it was a
different kind of grimness from that in the stark and frightening
room in
the airport.
-But I don't trust you, Adam thought. Not after
Kali. Not after you seemed to be so in cahoots with a
fink like the inspector. People you can trust simply
aren't
in
with
secret police kind of people.
The waitress brought their coffee and omelette, and
crisp, crunchy rolls each wrapped separately
in tissue-like
paper. The omelette was delicious, though the
coffee was
bitter, and stronger than any Adam had tasted before.
He watched the canon take the hot milk pitcher
in one hand,
coffee pot in the other, and pour simultaneously,
and so he
did the same for his second cup and found it
considerably
improved.
Finally, leaning back and lighting a cigarette, the
canon
said, "There. That's better. I hear that you have the mak
ings of a fine scientist."
"Well-it's what I'm interested in," Adam
said. "Marine
biology."
"Yes. I saw the letter Dr. Didymus wrote
Dr. O'Keefe. You will, I trust, like working with
Dr. O'Keefe, Adam. He's a very great
man, far greater than Dr. Didymus, fine
though he is-was
"Old Doc-was Adam started indignantly.
"Old Doc would be the first to acknowledge it," the
canon said sternly. "If he didn't think you had
the mak-

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
ings of-somebody worthwhile, he would never have sent
you over here."
Adam flushed with pleasure, then remembered
Kali's
warnings, superimposed on a few Grade B
movies. -Flat
tery, he thought. -He's trying to get around
me with flat
tery. And just because he looks like Winnie the Pooh.
. ..
Yukh: I've got to watch it.
Canon Tallis pushed back his chair. "Let's
go wake
poor Poly up, and then we'll be off to the
Prado. You'll
come with us, of course." This, again, was a statement, not
a question.
Adam's first instinct was to say, "Of course I
won't."
But then he thought, -If I go with him I can keep
an eye on him. And if I have to drag this kid
to Lisbon with me I
might as well see what she's like, too.
So all he said was, "That will be fine, sir."
They went up in the elevator together to the top
floor.
As he reached for his keys the canon whistled the first
few measures of a melody. Behind the closed door
the melody
was returned. Adam recognized the tune, but in the
fa
tigue and confusion of the moment he could not
place it.
Canon Tallis unlocked the door.
Poly was sitting on the edge of the bed, reading. She
looked up, indignantly. "You locked me in."
"No, Poly darling," the canon said. "Just others
out."
"Oh. Oh, okay, then."
"Adam, this is Poly O'Keefe. Poly, this
is Adam Ed-
dington, your father's new laboratory assistant."
Poly stuck out a lean brown hand and shook
Adam's.
Her grip was firm and confident. "Hello,
Adam. Actually
my name's Polyhymnia. Isn't that an awful name
to give
anybody? And it's all Father Tallis' fault.
He's my godfa
ther and he christened me. It's surprising that I still
love
him, isn't it? I tell you all this so that you'll know
that if you ever call me anything but Poly I'll
jump at you and
kick and scratch like a wildcat."
"All right: Poly it will be," Adam said.
Canon Tallis said, "Get your coat and hat,
Pol."
Poly looked out her window, which faced front on the
modern street. "Nasty, stinking, foul old rain,"
she said,
crossly, wheeled and took a navy blue
burberry and a
beret out of the closet.
They stopped off on Adam's floor while he
picked up
his trenchcoat, then went out into the street where the
canon hailed a taxi with his furled umbrella.
"A lot of good it does us
that
way," Poly remarked.
They got in the taxi and the canon began pointing out
places of interest. "If we have time this afternoon we'll
go
to the Plaza Mayor and you can walk around a bit."
"That's where the Spanish Inquisition started,"
Poly
said, "and bullfights, and all kinds of icky
stuff. It always
gives me the shivers. Do we have to go there, Father?"
"Don't you think Adam ought to see it?"
"Oh, I suppose so. But I always seem to hear
screams
still quivering in the air. And smell blood." She
looked
defiantly at Adam. "I am
not
morbid."

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
"It's
all
right," Adam assured her. "I think that places
hold atmospheres, too."
"You're nice," Poly said. "I shan't mind
flying to Lisbon
with you after all. At least Father said that that's what
I'd
be doing if it's all right with you."
"It's fine with me," Adam said. She was a queer
kid and
he couldn't very well hurt her feelings. Something in
the
tone of his voice, though, seemed to make her
dubious, so
he added, "Now I won't have to worry about
recognizing
your father."
Poly laughed, a warm, deep chuckle. "I
look
exactly
like daddy. Stringbean aspect and all. Some of
daddy's as
sistants have called him a long drink of water.
That's me."
"The red hair and blue eyes, too," Canon
Tallis said,
"andwitha little bit of luck the looks of your mother and
maternal grandmother."
"Oh, I don't really care about being beautiful,"
Poly
stated. "At least not yet."
As they neared the Prado, which was a longer drive
than Adam had anticipated, Canon Tallis
explained that
although the museum was now in the city of Madrid, it
was not too very long ago that it had been out in the
country in the middle of fields.
It was not at all what Adam had expected of one
of the most famous museums in Europe. Not only
was it utterly
unlike the Guggenheim or even the Frick, which was
only
natural, it also bore no resemblance whatsoever
to the
Metropolitan, either in the building itself, or in the
display
of pictures. He was amazed to find it an
enormous, dirty,
badly lighted place, the light even worse than
usual now
because of skies dark with rain. In room after room there
was a great jumble of masterpieces, El Grecos,
Murillos
(many of these looking like cheap religious Christmas
cards), Velasquezes, Goyas, Raphaels,
lesser known paint
ers, unknown painters, early work, middle work,
later
work, good painting, middling painting, bad painting, fin
ished and unfinished painting, all thrown at the wanderer
in one great saturating splash. Canon Tallis
was obviously
familiar with every inch of the place, separating, sorting,
explaining, ostensibly to Poly, but also for Adam.
34
MADELEINE I/Engle
Poly stood in a roomful of El Grecos and
turned round
and round, slowly. Then she stopped in front of a
large painting of St. Andrew and St. Francis, the
two of them
standing together in obvious and direct communion. "I'm
staggered," she said, "absolutely staggered, Father.
Why haven't I seen it before?" She contemplated the
picture again for a time in silence, assuming a
junior version of Canon Tallis' stance, her
legs braced slightly apart, her hands behind her
back. "Of course it's impossible," she
said.
"What?" Adam asked.
"That they should be there, like that, standing, talking
together when they lived eleven hundred years apart. But
I'm so glad they are. It does make the time
seem unimpor
tant, doesn't it?" She turned to Canon
Tallis and smiled. "I'm sorry I was horrid
about not going to Geneva with
you. But we'll do it another time, won't we?"
"Yes," he said gently. "Yes, we'll do that,
Poly."
Just as Adam felt super-saturated, they paused
for lunch
in the museum cafeteria. This, at least, Adam
found not
unlike the cafeterias in the Met or the Museum
of Natural
History, except that it was much smaller, and most people
automatically ordered a bottle of wine with lunch.
Here, for some reason, the canon and Poly switched
into Spanish, so Adam joined them. Poly smiled
at him warmly, "Oh, good, I'm so glad you
aren't one of these
Americans who refuses to speak anybody
else's language.
You speak awfully well."
"Thank you."
"Adam, do have a hamburger. Spanish
hamburgers are
the funniest things. The meat even is different. People
who
want some good American food order them and then go
into a state of shock. Then they say it's bad meat
cooked in rancid oil." She grinned at the
canon and slapped her own hand lightly. "I'm being
judgmental again, aren't I? I'm sorry.
But do try one, Adam. I find them absolutely
cordon bleu."
The hamburger was indeed unlike an American
hamburger; Poly's milkshake, too, bore little
resemblance to anything Adam had had at home.
He and the canon had

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
coffee; without it Adam by now could not have stayed
awake, and fatigue multiplied the already existing
confu
sion in his mind. Poly, like the hamburger and the
milk-
shake, was unlike any American child Adam had
ever
met, but she had evidently spent most of her life
abroad.
It was obvious that she adored Canon Tallis, and
he, in his
turn, seemed to love her deeply, but Adam was still
very
unsure of the canon. After all, a man in
ecclesiastical garb
could get away with murder-well, perhaps not murder,
exactly-a lot more easily than anybody
else.
After lunch they wandered around the museum for a
while longer. Adam's legs were beginning to ache with
fa
tigue. He now felt only irritation at some of the
pictures
which were so badly hung that they could hardly be seen
for the glare; at others Adam found he was squinting,
one
eye closed, his nose almost touching the canvas. In
many
of the rooms were smocked art students copying
paintings.
The canon stopped by a young girl who was copying a
baroque Annunciation. She turned around and smiled
at
him, brilliantly and warmly, in recognition.
He pressed
one hand briefly against her shoulder, but neither of them
spoke, nor did he seem to consider introducing
her to
Adam or Poly. They moved on into a large
rotunda full of
statues watched over by a uniformed guard. As
Adam and Poly followed the canon in, the
guard moved over to them
quietly, saying in English,
"My avocation and my vocation-
his
"com
As my two eyes make one in sight,"
the canon re
plied. The exchange was so swift, the voices were so
low,
that no one but Adam, and perhaps Poly, was aware that
anything had been said.
Adam's retentive memory, the envy of his friends
at
school, came to his rescue now. For a moment he
seemed to be back in the secret police room in
the airport with the
grim-faced canon speaking to the inspector.
-They rhyme! Adam thought suddenly. -What he
said with the inspector then, andwiththe guard now. I
don't remember the words, but I'm sure if I
could get
them and put them together and make four lines of them,
they'd rhyme. An
abab
rhyme scheme.

MADELEINE L'ENGLE
He looked at the canon. The canon looked at
him. nei
ther of them spoke.
-It's familiar, Adam thought. -It's vaguely
familiar.
Maybe something I had at school. If I could
only figure
out what it was I'd know more what I think about him.
The canon pulled out a very plain gold watch with a
Phi Beta Kappa key on the chain. Something
clicked in
Adam's mind. -But he's English. He shouldn't
have a Phi
Beta Kappa key. Not unless he went to an
American uni
versity as an undergraduate. Not likely. So then
he
must
be a phony, the way Kali said. Unless-well, it
could
be
honorary, like Churchill's. I don't know.
His eyes flickered back over the canon.
For the first time Adam noticed that the plain black of the
priest's
clothing was broken by the tiny red sliver of the French
Legion d'Honneur ribbon in his lapel. This was
possible.
Old Doc had one, too.
"Time to go," Canon Tallis said briskly.
Perhaps because of Poly's words Adam was not too
happy with the Plaza Mayor. Then again it may have
been
simply the rain which dripped down the collar of his
trenchcoat, though Canon Tallis tried to shield
the three of
them with his big black umbrella as they walked
slowly
about. The Plaza Mayor was a great, beautiful
square,
cobblestoned, with magnificent buildings, horses
sadly pull
ing wagons, arches leading to narrow, winding streets
with
shops and restaurants and laundry hanging out even
in the
downpour; perhaps it was the sullen stream of rain which
was responsible for the dark aura that Adam
felt as he
looked across the vast, echoing space of the square.
It was almost five when they got back to the hotel, and
Adam went up to his room to collect his things.
When he
opened his briefcase, which he had not taken to the
Prado,
he was quite sure that someone had gone through it while
he was out, that his books were not as he had left them.
His first thought was to rush to Canon Tallis with this dis
turbing news. Then he realized, with a sudden jerk
of the
stomach, that the trip to the Prado might have been en
gineered by the canon simply to get him out of the room.
Adam went through the briefcase again, carefully.

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
Nothing had been taken, but he was quite certain that its
contents had been examined and then replaced as
accurately as possible. -When I get
to Lisbon, he thought,
-I'll make some excuse at least to telephone
Kali. If I see
her again now maybe I'll be able to sort things out.
Downstairs the Swissair man and almost
all the other
passengers were already assembled. Those who had been
going on to Geneva and Zurich, with the exception of
Canon Tallis and Poly, had left, so it was a
smaller group
gathered together in the lobby. The perpetually pleasant
Swissair man told them that the bus was waiting, that
they
would be taken to the airport and Sown to Lisbon, and
would be there in time for dinner.
Since the canon was staying in Madrid instead of
going
on to Geneva, as originally planned, or even
to Lisbon,
there seemed to be some question about his being allowed
to go in the bus with them to the airport. Adam felt like
saying that he could take care of Poly perfectly
well by himself, but at this poult he thought it wiser not
to cross
the older man who was talking in a quiet but most
deter
mined way to the Swissair man, who finally smiled
and
nodded, shook hands with the canon, and then ushered the
passengers out into the rain and onto the bus.
At the airport the Swissair man, still smiling,
but begin
ning to look tirad and harassed from all the questions
being thrust at him, took them into the dining room where
he told them to order refreshments, compliments of
Swiss-
air. Adam sat at a large, round table with
Poly and
Canon Tallis and five other passengers, so that
conversa
tion was perforce general, and mostly about the weather.
Bits of gossip flitted from table to table as the
Swissair man would appear, speak to one group,
then hurry off:
the airport in Lisbon was still closed; the airport
in Lisbon
was open; the airport in Lisbon was open but might
close
at any moment; the airport in Lisbon was closed
but might
open at any moment. Strangely enough the downpour in
Madrid never seemed to be any concern.
After a little over an hour had gone by the Swissair
man came hurrying in and told the entire group, in

voice now slightly hoarse, that they would be served
din-

MADELEINE
I/Engle
ner since the airport in Lisbon was definitely
still closed
down.
There was a small, smug, middle-aged couple at
Adam's
table who decided that they would like to stay on in
Madrid and were furious when the Swissair man
wouldn't
pay for their hotel or passage to Lisbon unless
they traveled with the rest of the group. Adam was
embarrassed by their rudeness, and ashamed that they were
American. Poly leaned sleepily against Canon
Tallis who
sipped at a small glass of Tio Pepe.
The Swissair man disappeared again and the table was
quickly set and a full dinner served, soup,
omelette,
chicken, fruit, cheese. Adam discovered that he was
starved. They were finishing their coffee when the
Swissair
man appeared again, beaming like the Cheshire cat. A
Spanish plane would take them to Lisbon where the
air
port was at last open. He hurried off; in a
few minutes the
plane was called and everyone trooped to the gate where
they were completely unexpected. Canon Tallis
was trying
to sort out the situation with the Iberian Airlines
official When the Swissair man came panting
up. Wait! A plane
was being flown in from Geneva for them.
It was well after ten when they were finally herded through the
gate. Canon Tallis stood watching after Poly
and Adam as they paddled out into the rain and onto the
bus, stood watching until the bus was driven off.
This time
it was more than a few yards to the plane. The bus
began
to gather speed and although the rain was letting up and
the atmosphere was lighter it was not long before the dark
figure of the canon had disappeared.
Poly turned anxiously to Adam. "You
will
stay right
with me, won't you?"
"Yes, if you want me to. Why? Are you
nervous?"
Adam asked, hoping to get some information out of her.
Poly contemplated him as the bus jolted along
over the
wet ground. Finally she said calmly, "I have never
traveled alone before, and, after all, I am still a
child."
Adam felt like crying, -Okay, child, why are
you
hold
ing out on me, too?
But if he ever wanted to get anything out of Poly it

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
would not do to antagonize her now. Granted she was
an odd kid, but she was obviously a bright one, and
he liked
her, and he knew that she liked him, despite the
deliberate
evasiveness of her last answer. Sooner or later
she would
talk to him, as long as he didn't push her. Most
people did
seem to talk to Adam, which may have been one reason
he wasn't more surprised at Kali's confidences
or at any
thing else that had happened.
Giving him a wary look Poly put her hand in his
as
they left the bus, and held it firmly until they
were safely in the plane. "A caravelle," Poly
said. "You don't mind if
I sit next to the window, with you on the aisle, do
you,
Adam? It's just because I like to look out."
"Is that the only reason?" he asked her, stowing her
small blue case and his briefcase under their
seats.
"Isn't it reason enough?" she asked as he sat
down
beside her.
It was to be a short flight, they were told, about
forty-
five minutes. After they had been hi the air less
than half
an hour Poly said, "I have to go to the washroom,
Adam."
He moved his knees to let her go by. At
the aisle she
stopped, started to say something, walked on for a couple
of rows, then came back. "Watch after me,
Adam,
please," she said tensely, then hurried up the
aisle and dis
appeared into the washroom.
Adam had looked over the passengers and a more nor
mal lot, he felt, could not have been found. The
original
group was all American, vocal, and eager to be
on the
way. Only a handful of new passengers had been
added,
and none of these looked in the least sinister or even
curi
ous. The only figure-who was even faintly
colorful was a
rabbi with a long, luxuriant growth of brown beard.
He
had a look of quiet dignity, and sat, isolated
in contempla
tion, until he turned to a book which Adam could
see, by
straining, was something by Martin Buber.
Poly's small voice as she had turned back
toward him
made him a little tense, but after all she was only a
kid,
and a girl, and girls are apt to be hysterical, and
that dog-
goned canon had evidently frightened her about some
thing. He shook himself and settled back to read an
article

MADELEINE L'ENGLE
on starfish which Old Doc had stuck into his hand that
last day in Woods Hole. Adam could usually
concentrate
but his eyes now kept flickering to the face of his
wrist-watch. After Poly had been gone a couple
of minutes he
began to look back toward the washroom door every
few
seconds. After the hands showed that five minutes had
passed he put the starfish article aside and did
nothing but
look at the washroom. After another minute he
felt a distinct queasiness in the pit of his stomach,
and went to the
back of the plane.
The steward looked at him, saying courteously,
"The
other washroom is empty,
sir."
"Yes," Adam said. "I'm traveling with a little
girl and
she's been in there several minutes and I'm afraid
she may
not be well."
The steward tapped lightly on the door. Nothing
happened. Adam knocked, rather more loudly.
"Poly!" he
called.
Nothing.
"Not so loud, please, sir," the steward said. "We
don't want to disturb the other passengers. Just a
minute and I
will unlock the door from this side."
He took out a key and after a certain amount of
manip
ulation the door swung open.
The washroom was empty.
"You must have been mistaken, sir," the steward said.
"I saw her go in."
"Then she must have left without your noticing it"
Wildly Adam looked round the plane, but his
hope of seeing Poly safely in her seat
vanished. "Find her for me,
then," he said, angrily.
"What does she look like?"
"A tall, thin child, about twelve. Red hair and
blue
eyes."
The steward went methodically up and down the
aisles, even looking into the pilot's cabin. When
he came back to Adam he spoke soothingly.
"Are you absolutely certain,
sir, that any such child came onto the plane?"
"Get the stewardess to check the records," Adam
sug
gested.
The steward summoned the stewardess, speaking in
Spanish. "This young idiot," he said, "seems
to think he brought some kid on the plane with him, and
now he's lost her. He had a wild idea she's
been flushed down the toilet or something. Just another
American crackpot. But check your records."
Turning to Adam he said, in English, "Her
name, please."
"Polyhymnia O'Keefe."
Adam stood, seething, until the stewardess
looked up from her papers. "No O'Keefe got
on the plane."
Adam burst into Spanish. He had learned a good
deal of picturesque language from Juan and his
family and he let it all out now. Up and down the
cabin passengers
roused from snoozing and turned their heads in
curiosity.
Adam thought he saw the steward press some kind of
signal. In any case the
fasten seat belts
light flashed on
and the stewardess moved briskly through the cabin,

MADELEINE L'ENGLE
seeing that the passengers, many of whom had risen at
Adam's flow of invective, were seated and their seat
belts
snapped on.
The steward turned to Adam. "We are going through
some turbulence, sir," he said, though this time in
Spanish,
seeming not at all abashed that Adam must have
under
stood his words to the stewardess. "You will have to go to
your seat"
Adam did not move.
'Tomorrow
going through turbulence all right. I was put in charge
of the child and I am responsible for her. I saw her go
into the washroom."
"Sir." The steward sighed in resignation at
Adam's idiocy. "No child came onto the plane
with you. You saw us
check the passenger list. I must insist that you sit
down,
and in Lisbon-are you being met, sir?"
"Yes," Adam snapped.
"Then perhaps you should see a doctor." The steward's
hands shot out with unexpected suddenness and strength,
grasped Adam's arms, and forcibly propelled him
down
the aisle. He was put into his seat with a quick shove,
and
the belt tightened around him.
The loudspeaker coughed. "This is your captain. We
are
now beginning the descent to Lisbon."
The stewardess walked up and down the aisle,
adjusting
a pillow here, asking a passenger to put out a
cigarette
there. The steward stood lounging by Adam's seat.
"Listen," Adam said, "if you don't believe
me, the blue
case under the seat belongs to Poly. How did it
get there if
she didn't come onto the plane?"
The steward spoke gently. "There is no blue
case under
the seat"
Adam looked down. His briefcase was there, but not
Poly's little blue bag. "Hey!" he called
wildly, looking up
and down the plane. "I
did
get on with a redheaded kid,
didn't I?"
The steward's hand pressed against the boy's mouth as
he explained apologetically to the passengers that
Adam
wasn't well, that a doctor would be found as soon
as they
had landed in Lisbon, that there was no cause for
alarm.
No one need worry. Over the steward's hand
Adam looked

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
frantically at the passengers, but nobody said
anything or
moved to rescue him. He heard one woman say,
"I thought I saw a child, but maybe it was at the
hotel with that priest. I'm so tired I just don't
remember which way
is up."
The steward removed his hand. If Adam had thought it
would do any good he would have started a physical
battle
with the man. But that course would, at this point, seem
to
lead into worse trouble than already surrounded him.
"If you will stay quietly where you are until we
land,"
the steward said, "everything will be all right." He
walked
back the length of the plane to his post.
Again Adam looked up and down the cabin,
though he
did not move in his seat or turn his head more than
neces
sary. Surely they must have heard him; surely
someone
must have noticed Poly and would come to tell him so.
The rabbi was sitting with his hands in his lap, his book
evidently put away in his briefcase. His head
was back
against the seat rest and he appeared to be contemplating
the ceiling. To Adam's surprise he began
to whistle
thoughtfully.
Adam almost jumped out of his seat.
It was the melody Canon Tallis had whistled for
Poly at
the Hotel Plaza.
He kept his eyes fixed on the rabbi, but the rabbi
con
tinued to look upward. Although Adam still could not
place the melody it was familiar enough to him (had he
sung it in school? in choir? was it something his parents
knew?) so that he in his turn could whistle a
measure. The
rabbi stopped. His eyes moved slowly from the
ceiling. He
turned, looked at Adam, nodded almost
imperceptibly,
then turned away and studied the ceiling again.
Adam was too upset and confused to look out the win
dow as the plane descended toward Lisbon. He
kept look
ing up and down the cabin, with his gaze coming to pause
again and again on the rabbi. But the rabbi did not move.
Adam felt, after a while, that he should not stare, that
he should not let the other passengers, and certainly not
the steward, know that he had had any kind of communica
tion with anybody in the plane since Poly's
disappearance.

MADELEINE I/Engle
He was startled to feel the touch of wheels upon run
way, to know that they were earthbound again. The loud
speaker buzzed and the passengers were told the
disembarking procedure. It would all be very simple.
Ex
cept, of course, for Adam.
The
fasten seat belts
sign blinked out, though the
no
smoking
sign remained lit. The passengers rose and took
coats and bags and began moving to the door. Adam
pushed forward as quickly as he could, almost knocking
into the rabbi who was just ahead of him. As they waited
to get out Adam touched the dark sleeve gently and the
rabbi moved his head just enough to let Adam know that
he was listening.
"I
did
have the child with me, didn't I?"
The rabbi gave an almost imperceptible nod.
At this quiet confirmation Adam was again able to
think coherently. By the time he reached the exit he
knew what he was going to say and do. He spoke to the
steward
with cold control. "I will have to report this to the
authori
ties. I have taken your name and that of the stewardess."
The steward shrugged indifferently. "As you like, sir.
You will be yourself again soon, I am sure."
The stewardess simply smiled blandly at him as
she had
at the other passengers, saying, as though there
had been
no trouble, "I hope you enjoyed your trip."
Adam brushed by her and down the steps after the
rabbi.
At the passport counter, despite, or perhaps because
of
his hurry, Adam found a number of passengers
ahead of
him; he was in the middle of the line. He looked
ahead
and saw the rabbi collecting his passport and
disappearing.
Adam was shocked and disappointed at this complete
abandonment For a moment he had felt that the situation
was under control, that everything would be all right as
soon as the proper authorities were spoken to.
Now he felt
blind panic.
The line here in Lisbon moved more slowly than it
had
hi Madrid. When Adam's turn came he handed
his pass
port across the counter saying, "I want to report a
miss-
45
THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
ing chfld. I got onto the plane with a
twelve-year-old girl
and she went to the washroom and never came out."
The official looked at him incredulously. "But
sir, that is
impossible."
"Yes," Adam said. "Nevertheless it happened."
"Why didn't you speak immediately to the steward or
the stewardess?"
"I did. They were not very helpful."
"Oh, but sir, the personnel is always-was
Adam interrupted. "They said the child had not come onto
the plane with me."
The official relaxed. "Well, then, sir-was
"But she
did
get on the plane with me. If you will get in
touch with Canon Tallis in Madrid-was
"Yes?" the official asked helpfully. "His
address, please?
Or perhaps you know his phone number?"
Adam realized that he had no way of knowing where in
that enormous city the canon might be. He thought
quickly, then said, "I don't know where he
is staying, but if you call the English church they would
be able to tell
you there."
"Sir," the official said, shaking his head sadly.
"I'm afraid I cannot possibly help you. I will
see that you are conducted to my superior, and you can
tell your story to
him." He summoned a young boy in a page's
uniform, and
spoke to him in rapid Portuguese. Adam had
hoped that
Spanish and Portuguese would be close enough so that
he
would be able to understand, but they were not.
The page said, "Kindly follow me, sir."
Adam started to
move away from the window when a voice said,
"Don't
forget your passport."
Startled, and furious with himself for having almost done
exactly that, Adam wheeled around and there was
the rabbi, together with a tall, blue-eyed, redheaded
man.
The resemblance to Poly was plain; it could be none
other
than Dr. O'Keefe who came up to the window and
spoke
in slow, clear English. "Mr. Eddington's
passport, please.
He has had an unfortunate experience and is a
little-up
set. I will take care of everything."
Adam started to turn on Dr. O'Keefe in
indignation,

MADELEINE I/Engle
but something in the older man's expression stopped him.
The official at the window handed Adam the
passport, saying, "Certainly, and my sincere
thanks, Dr. O'Keefe."
Adam found himself hustled out of the airport and into
a waiting taxi. As the door was slammed and the taxi
pulled off he realized that he was alone with Dr.
O'Keefe;
the rabbi had again disappeared. "But Poly-was he
started.
"Not now," Dr. O'Keefe said. Adam looked
at him and could see that the older man's face was
white with strain. His complete quiet and control was
costing him an enor
mous effort. After a moment, as though to break the
silence, he said, "We managed to get your bags.
Fortu
nately you had them well labeled. They're in the
trunk of
the taxi."
"Where are we going?" Adam asked.
"The Hotel Avenida Palace. We will have to stay
there
until-was
"Sir," Adam started, "sir . . ." and then
stopped be
cause he found that he could not go on.
Dr. O'Keefe said quietly, "You are not
to blame your
self for this in any way. It was nothing you could have
prevented. We thought getting Poly away would be the
best thing. But-was again he broke off.
Adam saw little of Lisbon as they drove in,
though, in
order to gather himself together, he turned his face toward
the window as though he were looking out. Lisbon was,
even to his confused eyes, completely different from
Madrid. Madrid was a cold city, Lisbon a
warm one, full
of buildings painted sun yellow, deep blue.
There were
squares with fountains, statues, gardens, a sense of
space
and color everywhere.
The Avenida Palace was an old hotel, a
beautiful build
ing which at any other time would have delighted Adam;
but he was now so tired with the events of the past hours
as well as with lack of sleep that he followed Dr.
O'Keefe
like a small child. A porter took his bags out of the
taxi's
trunk, and Adam went with Dr. O'Keefe into the
hotel.
"Your passport, please, Adam," Dr.
O'Keefe said, and
registered for him. The passport, as hi Madrid,
was re
tained, but Dr. O'Keefe explained that this was
routine

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
procedure, and, unless there were trouble with the police
they would get it back shortly.
They were taken to a great square corner room with four
shuttered and curtained windows. There were twin beds,
an octagonal table with easy chairs, a desk, a
crystal
chandelier. The bathroom was large and all of marble.
"We look out on the Place dos
Restauradores and the Rue Jardim do Regedor,"
Dr. O'Keefe told Adam as the page put
down the suitcases. "There's a rather interesting view
of the Fort up on the crest of the hill." He gestured
to one of the curtained windows, but made no move
to pull back the draperies. He locked the door
carefully, checked the cupboards.
"Poly-was Adam started desperately.
Although Dr. O'Keefe's rigid control had not
lessened, he dropped, now that he and Adam were
done, the public manner, answering with the one word,
"Kidnapped."
"But-was
"But why? Old Doc may have told you something of
my research."
"Just that it was interesting, and-unusual."
"I've stumbled onto something; Something that
is
unusual, desirable to many people, and
important. It was wise of Old Doc not to tell
you anything about it. What you don't know, you can tell
no one. Therefore, if you will forgive me, I will not
tell you yet. But Poly knows too much for her own
good. Therefore, Adam, I will have to ask you to stay here
in this room until I return. Are you
hungry?"
"No, sir."
"But tired, I imagine."
"Yes."
"Then this will be a good opportunity for you to sleep.
You should answer the telephone if it rings. But under
no circumstances open the door, and when I go
please double-lock it from the inside. The best thing you
can possibly do now is to catch up on your sleep.
When I find Poly and we get to Gaea I will be
able to explain things more fully to you."
Adam said, "But, sir, what are you going to do?"

MADELEINE
I/Engle
"There are only certain things I
can
do. First ni go to
Interpol-the International Police. But
there is only so
much, at this point, that
they
can do. Then the Embassy.
Then to a man I know and trust in the police here.
But
for Poly's sake nothing must be done wildly or
without
thought. Don't be worried if I'm not back
immediately."
Adam nodded numbly, taking courage from the fact
that there was not a hint of a suggestion that Poly might
not
be found.
When the older man had left he undressed and
took a long, hot bath, followed by a shower, as
though to wash off the evil aura of the steward and
stewardess who had
tried to make him believe that Poly didn't
exist. He put on
his pajamas, turned down one of the twin beds, and
got in.
The telephone, a rather old-fashioned instrument,
stood, silent, on the table between the beds. Adam
looked at it,
felt his eyelids sag. He had thought, while
bathing, that he
was much too upset to be able to sleep, but the moment
his head touched the pillow his exhausted body took
over and he blanked out
He did not know how long he had been lost in
sleep,
sleep so deep that it was dreamless, when he became
aware at the edges of his consciousness of a soft but per
sistent tapping on the door. He had no idea where
he was,
his sleep-drugged body feeling that he was back hi
Woods
Hole and that his mother was trying to rouse him to get
him to Old Doc's on time, "All right, Mother,
all
right,
I'm
up,"
he mumbled irritably.
The tapping continued.
Finally it penetrated into Adam's mind enough so that
he knew that he must drag himself out of his stupor and
do something about it He pulled open his eyes
to absolute darkness. His room at
Woods Hole, many-windowed and
curtainless, had always been full of light He could
not be
there. Where was he? Slowly his tired mind began
dredg
ing up the events of the hours since he had first gone
into
the airport in New York, though it was several
moments
before he was able to waken sufficiently to remember that
he was in Lisbon, in a hotel called the
Avenida Palace,
that the windows were heavily shuttered and curtained,

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
and that this accounted for the sultry darkness. He
fumbled around until he found the bedlamp and turned
it
on, a bulb of wattage that would be thoroughly
inadequate
for reading but did suffice to show him the face of his
watch. It was almost four o'clock. In the morning or in
the afternoon? He looked across to the other twin bed and
it was empty. In this closed-in room there was no
telling
the hour of day or night
The tapping on the door persisted, never getting
louder,
just going on and on, like a branch in a light breeze
knocking constantly against a window.
It should have made him afraid. Alone in this dark,
timeless place with someone-who?-softly trying to pene
trate his consciousness and then his room, he should have
been weak with terror. But he was too tired to feel
any
thing but regret for his lost sleep.
"Wait!" he called, shoving back the sheet,
getting out of
bed, crossing to the nearest window, dragging back
heavy
folds of curtain, opening creaking white shutters.
A wel
come breath of cool, damp air came in. Street
lamps
shone waveringly onto dark, rain-wet pavement.
Four in the morning, then.
He went warily to the door, put his hand on the
knob,
then drew back as if the door were hot, and called
softly,
"Who is it?"
He half expected to hear the voice of the steward from
the plane, or even Canon Tallis; but it was a
girl's light
voice. "Adam, it's Kali. Let me in."
Adam felt weak with relief, but just as he started
to un
lock the door his hand drew back again. "Just a
minute."
He stood there in the dimly lit room, trying
to marshal his
thoughts. He was still not all the way out of sleep; his
mind circled and would not focus.
"Adam, what's the matter?" Kali's voice
came softly,
urgently.
"Just a minute," Adam said again. If he could have
slept a little longer he would know better what to do.
In spite of the urgency of the moment he could not control
an enormous yawn. Finally a question that seemed
reason
able came to him. "How did you know I was here?"

MADELEINE I/Engle
"O'Keefe always stays at the Avenida
Palace. Adam, let
me in. I have to talk to you. We have work to do."
"Just a minute," Adam said for the third time. He
went
into the bathroom and splashed cold water on his
face,
over and over again, until his thoughts began to clear.
If Kali was right, then Canon Tallis was
wrong.
This was the primary fact he had to work with.
It was not difficult for him to believe that Canon
Tallis
was wrong. But if Canon Tallis was wrong, then
so was Dr. O'Keefe. This, too, was perfectly
possible to believe. Hadn't Dr. O'Keefe
acted in a rather strange way at the Lisbon
airport? Wasn't this whole setup at the
Avenida
Palace peculiar? But then: if Canon
Tallis and Dr.
O'Keefe were wrong, then so was Polyhymnia, and
right
or wrong, Adam was responsible for
Polyhymnia.
He went back to the door. "Kali."
"I'm
waiting,
Adam."
"Why are you here, and at such an hour? It's the
middle
of the night."
"I'm here because of
you,
of course. And I had to come
while O'Keefe was out."
"How did you know he was out?"
"I was at a party at the Embassy with daddy, and
he
came in."
"To the
party?"
Adam's voice soared and cracked as though he were
an eighth grader again. If Dr. O'Keefe,
with Poly vanished, could go to parties, then there was no
doubt on whose side Adam had to align himself.
But Kali said, "To
see
someone, silly. I don't suppose he'd even
been invited to the party. Adam, I can't help
you if you keep me out here in the hall.
Someone's bound
to come along."
"How are you planning to help me?" Adam asked.
"Don't you want to find the redheaded kid?"
"Why should I need to find her?"
"Because you know as well as I do that she's been kid
napped. Adam, I'm not going to stand out here any
longer. Either you open the door and let me in, or
I go and
you can just get out of this mess on your own."
You should answer the telephone if it rings,
Dr.

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
O'Keefe had said.
But under no circumstances open the
door.
"Wait," Adam said sharply to Kali. Never had
his mind
functioned at such a snail's pace. He usually
made deci
sions quickly; sometimes too quickly. At school he
had
been president of Student Council and often
decisions had
been forced on him, and occasionally decisions that
seemed on first sight to go counter to the rules.
"Rules are made for people, not people for rules," he had
once said in defending one of his actions. "If you
accept any position of authority you have to know when
to break or circumvent a rule. It's the knowing
when
that's
important"
But now he was in no position of authority.
No. But one of responsibility. He was still
responsible
for Poly. She had been hi his care when she
disappeared.
He pounded one fist into the palm of his other hand.
Then he unlocked the door.
Kali came in. She was dressed for evening, and
Adam drew in his breath sharply because he had
forgotten how
beautiful she was. Her shimmering hair was drawn
softly
back with a filigreed gold tiara. Her dress,
of a material
that Adam, being a boy, could not place, was the color

champagne. Her feet were in gold sandals. She
gave him a scowl which managed not to wrinkle her
brow. "And about time, too," she said, going over to the
octagonal table and sitting in one of the easy
chairs. "Now tell me
everything."
Adam sat on the side of his rumpled bed. "You
seem to
know everything already."
Kali sighed with resignation. "I know your plane was
rerouted to Madrid. I know you didn't get
to Lisbon till
tonight. I saw O'Keefe come into the Embassy and go
off
with the Ambassador. I happened to walk by the door
of the library, looking for the ladies" room, when
O'Keefe
mentioned his child. That was a lucky break, hearing that;
it gave me some ideas of what we're up against and
how I
can help you. Get dressed and I'll take you
to daddy."
"To help me find Polyhymnia?"
"Of course."
"But why me? Why didn't you go right
to Dr.
O'Keefe?"
Kali sighed again. "Adam, you are really very slow.
It's in O'Keefe's own interest that the child be gone.
Don't you
see he's in on the whole thing? What we have to do is
get
her to daddy. Then he'll take care of everything."
"Okay, I'm slow," Adam said, "but even on not
enough sleep that's logic nohow contrariwise. Why under
the sun
would Dr. O'Keefe be in on the kidnapping of his
own
daughter?"

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
Kali got up and went to the one uncurtained,
unshut
tered window, and stood looking out. "Adam, my
sweet, you aren't in your little backwash of a Woods
Hole now,
or your ivory tower of school. This is Lisbon.
Lisbon."
"Yes," Adam said. "Td figured it might
be."
"Has it never occurred to you that we do
not
live hi one world? That there are certain nations
interested in the pri
vate businesses of certain other nations? If this
primary
fact has never occurred to you, living in New
York-and
for heaven's sake, kid, haven't you ever even taken
a tour through the UN?-IT can hardly escape you in
any of the
capitals of Europe. Don't you know we're in
a war,
Adam? Aren't you aware of it?"
Adam had taken College Boards in Modern
European
History. But that was history.
Kali continued: "Of course his going to the Embassy
was a front, and a rather clever one. I must admit that
But
never make the mistake of thinking O'Keefe's a
fool. He
isn't What he wants to do is keep the child out of the
way
until. . . . And he's ruthless,
Adam. If something happens
to her then something happens to her. When I think of
daddy and me-Well, O'Keefe gives me the
shudders.
Now come on, Adam. Get dressed and let's go.
I hope I
have made myself clear."
"As mud," Adam said. "But I'll get
dressed. Let me take a quick shower. It'll
help me wake up a bit." It
seemed he had been doing nothing but take showers to
wake up since the bus had taken him to the Plaza
Hotel in
Madrid.
When Adam and Kali emerged onto the sidewalk
dawn was beginning to lighten the sky; the dim street
lamps be
came even dimmer. The rain had stopped but the air
was
wet and heavy. A dark limousine was waiting in the
court
yard of the hotel and Kali walked quickly toward it.
A
uniformed chauffeur climbed out and opened the door for
them.
'Take us home, Molec, please," Kali said.
She sat back
in the upholstered seat as though she were very tired. "I
don't know why I'm taking so much trouble about you,
Adam, I really don't"
MADELEINE L/Engle
"Well, why are you, then?" Adam demanded.
"Not for your own sake, I assure you. At least not
to start out with, I wasn't. But you're like a
half-grown puppy. There's something endearing about your
clumsiness. I have to admit that I
am
doing it for you, too. But that's wrong, of course."
"Wrong?"
"Adam, we simply
cannot
let people matter to us or we won't get anywhere.
Letting people matter is nothing but
sentimentality."
-Then I have become rather quickly sentimental about
Polyhymnia, Adam thought. -Only there's something
wrong here. 'Sentimental" is not the right word. If
only I
could have slept a few hours longer.
He tried unsuccessfully to stifle a
yawn.
Kali put a hand on his arm. "I'm sorry I
had to wake you up. But you do see, don't you, how
desperately urgent
it is?"
Yes, he saw, though there was something wrong with
this, too.
The limousine drove a narrow and winding way. Some
streets were barely wide enough for the car. Others were as
steep as San Francisco. They went under arches,
into streets wide enough for buses, under more arches
into alleys, finally drawing up before a whitewashed
wall. The chauffeur, Molec, got out and opened the
door, and Adam climbed out after Kali. She
opened a gate in the wall and went down a steep
flight of steps to a pale pink house with a deeper
pink door which she unlocked. As she shut the door
behind them she held her finger to her lips and took
Adam down a softly carpeted hall.
The room into which she led him was already beginning to fill with
light which flooded in from a great sweep of windows
overlooking the harbor and the dawn. The view was so
enormous that at first Adam did not notice the
room itself, a room striking in stark blacks and
whites. The long wall of windows was
curtainless, but the opposite wall was hung with
black velvet. Against the background of velvet was
only one thing, a picture, an unframed
portrait (for the great sweep of velvet was the
frame) of the

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
most handsome young man Adam had ever seen. It was a
young man with the bearing of an angel, hair the same
pale gold as Kali's, heavily fringed eyes, the
mouth slightly
opened as though in eagerness to meet life.
"Adam," Kali said, and he turned from the
portrait to
follow her across the black marble floor.
Silhouetted against the dawn was the dark figure of a
man who stood, motionless, staring out across the bay, a
man big hi both height and bulk.
"Daddy," Kali said, and the man turned around.
Because he stood between Adam and the light he was
still only a silhouette as he stretched out his hand in
greet
ing. "Adam, you're safely here." He took the
boy's hand
in a grip of steel. His voice was high,
and light for the
bulk of his body, but it, too, had the quality of
steel, the
steel of a spool of fine wire. He dropped
Adam's hand and
crossed to a desk made of a great slab of
black-and-white
marble, and sat hi a black leather chair, leaning
back so
that at last the light struck his face. It was a
powerful
face: there were pouches of fatigue under the dark
eyes,
and the thin lips were closed in tight control. He
impatiently pushed back a strand of thinning, pale
gold hair.
Involuntarily Adam glanced at the portrait.
"That's daddy," Kali said, with pride. "Wasn't
he beau
tiful?"
The man laughed. "Yes. Nothing of Dorian
Gray about
Typhon Cutter, is there, Adam? I am marked
by the in
roads of time. Time and experience. And this
is something
you lack, is it not?"
"I'm getting it," Adam said, warily.
"And learning from it?"
"I hope so."
Typhon Cutter looked thoughtfully at the
portrait. "The
years make their marks on ordinary, hardworking
mortals,
and I can assure you that my work is hard. And now you
have become part of it." He looked from the portrait
to
Adam, and Adam looked back, saying nothing,
swaying
slightly with fatigue.
Typhon Cutter picked up a black marble
paperweight
and appeared to study it. He crossed his legs, and as
he

MADELEINE I/Engle
did this Adam realized that although the great body was
ponderous with weight, the arms and legs were thin and
bony, but again giving the effect of steel. Typhon
Cutter,
sitting at his desk in a black satin dressing
gown, was one
of the most extraordinary men Adam had ever seen.
"Tired?" Cutter asked in his surprising tenor
voice.
"Yes, sir. I haven't had much sleep."
Typhon Cutter motioned to a stiff ebony chair
on the
opposite side of the desk. "You may sit there as
long as
you stay awake. I'm sorry not to be able to let you
sleep,
but there's no time now for anything but business. And we
do
have business, you and I."
In a daze of fatigue Adam staggered to the chair.
Typhon Cutter leaned across the desk and snapped
his f*in
gers in the boy's face. "Wake up."
"I'm sorry," Adam mumbled.
"Kali, see about coffee."
"Yes, daddy." In quick and loving obedience Kali
slipped from the room.
"Now, Adam."
"Sir?"
"How much has Kali told you?"
"That you'll help me to find Poly-Dr.
O'Keefe's
daughter."
Typhon Cutter nodded, for a moment speaking almost
absently. "Yes. We'll cope with that." Then,
sharply,
"Wake up. What else?"
"About what, sir?"
"How much has Kali told you? Perhaps you may have
thought that she seemed a little wild, or even a little
hys
terical, but she never does so without cause."
"I didn't think she seemed hysterical, sir."
"Good boy. I assume she warned you about Tallis
and
O'Keefe?"
"Yes, sir."
"Did you take her warning seriously?"
"Mr. Cutter, I'm too confused to know what
to think.
I'm too tired."
Again the fingers were snapped in Adam's face.
"Wake
up. Why did you come with Kali now, then?"

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
"Because I have to find Polyhymn-
"Yes. All right, Adam, try to stay awake
while we get
down to business. You are to be working as laboratory
as
sistant to O'Keefe this summer."
"Yes, sir."
"O'Keefe is a great scientist. In that
respect you are
very privileged."
"Yes, sir," Adam responded automatically,
knowing that
each time Typhon Cutter paused he was expected
to make
a response to prove that he was awake, that he was
listen
ing.
"Do you know what your work will be? I mean by that,
do you know the experiment O'Keefe is involved
in?"
"I believe it's the regenerative process of the
arm of the
starfish, sir."
"Explain yourself."
"Well, if a starfish loses an arm it can
simply grow one
back."
"How?"
"That's the point. No one knows. I mean, the
starfish is
still pretty much a mystery even to the people who know
most about it."
"That is true. I, for instance, know as much about the
starfish as any layman, and I am the first to admit
that this is not much. But I fancy you'll find that the
starfish is less
of an enigma to O'Keefe than to anybody else
in the
world."
The door opened and Kali came in followed by a
white-jacketed servant bearing a silver tray which
he set down on the desk. Typhon Cutter
waited until the door was closed again, then picked
up a silver coffeepot and poured. He handed a
cup across the desk to Adam. "I don't know how you
usually drink it, but this time it will
have to be black. You
must
wake up."
"Sorry, sir."
"All right, Adam. Now tell me something. If
O'Keefe is
learning new things about the regenerative process of the
arm of the starfish, why is this of such importance?"
"Well, sir, in the evolutionary scale man comes
pretty
directly from the starfish."

MADELEINE L ENGLB
"Go on."
"Well, man is a member of phylum
Chordata, and we
developed directly from the phylum
Echinodermata, or the
starfish. We both had an interior spinal column
and the
same kind of body cavities."
Typhon Cutter pressed his thin, strong fingertips
together, nodding in satisfaction. "Good. Good. Of
course one goes on the assumption that if
O'Keefe is willing to employ you, you must have a
certain amount of intelli
gence. Let us proceed to the next step.
What is the impli
cation of O'Keefe's experiments?"
"Well, sir, that anything he finds out about starfish
might also apply to people."
Kali perched on the arm of her father's chair. "Why?
Just because we have the same great great great grand-pappy?
I should think you'd need more than that."
"You do," Adam told her. "We have the same kind
of complex nervous system, and we're the only ones
who
do-echinoderms and chordates-people and starfish."
"So?" Typhon Cutter asked.
"So if someone could find out how the starfish regener
ates then maybe this knowledge could be used for man.
But-was
"No buts," Typhon Cutter said. "Don't
try to evade what you've said. The implications are
so staggering that
most people will tend to turn away from them or refuse to
face them. You're a bright boy, Adam, and a
brave one,
or you wouldn't be here in this room, now. You can be of
great help to mankind if you will."
Adam's mind was gritty with fatigue, but he said,
"I
think I have to know how I am to help."
"A perfectly reasonable attitude. Kali has
perhaps told
you something about me?"
"That you have business concerns in Portugal-was
"And-was Typhon Cutter reached across the desk and
poured more coffee into Adam's cup.
"That you know a great many people at the Embassy."
"There's the key, boy. My business is-business.
And a
very lucrative one, I might add. But it is also
more than
business. Just as you are in a position to be useful
to me, I

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
am in a position to be useful to the Embassy. More
than that, I have been asked by Washington to assist the
Em
bassy and to keep my eye on a group there whose
loyalty
is not entirely unquestioned. There is nothing I care
about
more than my country and I hope I am not wrong in

suming that you feel the same way."
"Well, of course, sir-was Adam started, and
stopped.
Abruptly. Listening.
From somewhere deep in the house he thought he heard
a faint, thin wail. A child's wail.
Typhon Cutter held up his hand. "It's all
right, Adam.
She's here. We have her, safe and sound."
"But-was
"Wait." The word lashed at Adam like the flick
of a whip. "You will see her in a few minutes. But
there are certain things you must know first. Drink your
coffee. Wake up."
The wailing continued.
"She is all right," Typhon Cutter said. "She
has only had a frightening experience. She is
caught in a web of events that she is too young
to understand, and she is being used as a pawn. You will
take her back to her fa
ther, but you will not say from where."
"But-was
"Be quiet. Listen. I have told you that
O'Keefe is a
great scientist."
"Yes."
"But, like many other great scientists, his wisdom
does not extend beyond his work. You yourself know of
scientists who have been spies, who have sold their
country
down the river."
"Well, yes, but-was Abruptly the crying stopped.
"Please,"
Adam was determined this time not to be cut
off. "Why is Poly here? How did you get her?"
Typhon Cutter held up his hand, speaking
tolerantly.
"Hold it, boy. One thing at a time."
"But how did you get her? Did you get her from the
plane?"
"Not very likely, is it? Has it occurred to you that you
may not be the only one interested in her safety?"
"Her father is! He must be out of his mind with worry."
"Oh?" Typhon Cutter gave a thin laugh.
"I hardly think

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
so. It was her father and his inconsistencies we were talk
ing about when you interrupted me." He paused, as
though to give the boy a chance to say,
'Sony," but, as
Adam was silent, he continued, "Let us simply
say that we
managed-and with no little difficulty, I might
add-to
rescue her."
"From whom?"
"Don't you know?"
"No, sir. I don't."
"Then you'll have to find out, won't you? I can hardly
spell it out for you more clearly."
"But-was
"This is not, at the moment, the point. The point is
what it means-what
all
of it means- to the United
States. To do O'Keefe justice, I do not think
that he would
betray his country deliberately. But I have been
instructed
to see that he does not do it even inadvertently. I
am
asking you to help me."
Adam nodded, and took another swallow of coffee.
Typhon Cutter looked at him and
smiled tightly. "It has
come to my attention that I am sometimes compared to a
spider. I do not find the comparison entirely
invidious. It
is my intention to spin a net and to pull it tight
around
anyone who does not put the interests of our country
first
As for you, my boy, the moment you were chosen to work
for O'Keefe you became important. You were
important enough to be watched by both sides-our own,
and the enemy's-from the moment you entered the airport in
New York. I sent Kali as my personal
emissary. I have every faith in my daughter; she has
never let me down.
I hope that I will be able to say the same thing about you.
You
do
care for your country, don't you, Adam?"
"Of course, sir."
"Then you must do as I say." The thin cry came
again,
and ceased. "I have told you that O'Keefe's child is
being used as a pawn. For the moment she is safe.
She does not
know where she is, and she is being blindfolded. This is for
her own protection as well as ours. And yours. You
are far more useful to us alive than dead, my boy,
and I think perhaps you are not quite aware of how many

MADELEINE I/Englb
people are aware of
you,
and the fact that you are going to Gaea. If you will do as
I say I think that I can protect
you. If not-was Typhon Cutter shrugged.
-I am half dead with sleep, Adam thought. -I
don't
understand anything. I don't want to understand. I want
to
sleep.
Typhon Cutter's high voice probed like a
needle into his
fatigue. "Are you going to help us, Adam?"
his
T...
his

"Think. Think about the child."
"I am."
"If you could not trust me, do you think I could trust
you with the child?"
"But she's not your child."
"No, she's a pawn of dangerous, ruthless men.
As I
have said, I do not think that O'Keefe is fully
cognizant of
what he is doing. But there are others. Men like the
egre
gious canon."
"Well, what about him, sir?"
"Do you think highly of someone who would deliber
ately send a child onto that plane?"
"But if she hadn't gone into the washroom-was
"Don't be naive, boy. That simply made it a
little
easier."
Adam looked at Typhon Cutter. Yes, there
was indeed
the resemblance to a spider. Then he thought of
Canon
Tallis, the body portly but firm, the piercing
grey eyes, the
bald head....
-But you can't go by people's looks, he thought
grog-
gily. Just because I prefer teddy bears
to spiders....
"Why does Canon Tallis have no eyebrows?"
he asked
without thinking.
"I believe he does what he can to broadcast some
story
of losing all his hair after some extraordinary
physical
bravery in Korea; this kind of thing does happen
occasion
ally, I believe. However, I am inclined
to doubt it. Tallis,
you will find, likes to take the easy way and to receive
credit for daydreams. If he has done anything
braver than
kowtow to the bishop of Gibraltar I have yet to hear
of it. Now Adam: I know that you are tired and so for the

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
moment my instructions will be simple. You are to take
Poly back to her father at the Avenida Palace.
You will be driven to a central point from which you will be able
to find your way to the hotel without trouble. I
cannot risk taking you directly there, since my
chauffeur, Molec, who
is one of my key men, would be recognized. You will
tell
O'Keefe that you were half asleep when you opened the
door to loud knocking, that you were grabbed and blindfolded,
that you were taken you know not where, and in
terrogated. Since you knew nothing-and what you know
is
nothing, I assure you-there was very little you could tell.
You were not in any way abused. You were put into a car,
and when you were ungagged and unblindfolded
you stood on the street with Polyhymnia
O'Keefe. Under
stand?"
"Yes, sir."
"Take her immediately to the Avenida Palace. From
there I presume you wiUs proceed to Gaea.
Kali or I-
probably Kali-will get in touch with you there and give
you further instructions. In the meantime you are to learn
as much about O'Keefe and what he is doing as
possible.
Since you will be working with him directly on the starfish
experiments this ought to be a good deal.
Don't be afraid.
The Embassy knows where you are. If you do as you are
told you will be perfectly safe. If you do
not
do as you are
told I cannot answer for the consequences."
Swaying, Adam finished the bitter dregs of his
coffee. -But I have
not
done as I was told, he thought. -I opened the
door. I let Kali in. And whether I did right
or
wrong I don't know. Whether this man is right or
wrong I
don't know.
His eyelids started to droop.
Typhon Cutter rose. 'Take him to the car,
Kali. The
child is already there."
"Am I to go with them, daddy?"
"No. Molec will take care of it. Goodbye,
Adam.
Remember what I have told you. We will be in touch
with
you soon."
"Yes, sir," Adam said. "Goodbye."
As he and Kali reached the front door she stopped
and

MADELEINE l/Englb
turned to him, putting one hand lightly on his arm.
"Adam-was Then her arms were around him, her face
tilted upward, her lips against his.
Kali was not the first girl he had kissed, but now he
was
no longer a schoolboy; he was a man. His arms
tightened
around Kali's slender body.
She turned her face away. "We have to go now,
Adam."
Holding his hand, she took him out of the house, and up
the steps to where the limousine was waiting for them. The
chauffeur murmured something to Kali, who turned
to Adam, saying, "You are to sit in front with
Molec. The
O'Keefe child mustn't know you're in the car until
you're let out." She paused, and then whispered,
"Adam, oh,
Adam darling, you must

move or speak or in any way
let her know you're in the car. Molec will silence you
if
you do, and Adam, you wouldn't like it."
The chauffeur opened the front door of the car and shut
it on Adams with efficient quietness, climbed in
behind the
wheel, looked darkly at the boy, and put his finger
in
warning against his lips.
Kali echoed the gesture, then turned her hand and
put
the tips of her fingers against her lips.
There was a grinding of gears and the car moved off.
Molec drove swiftly, skillfully, turning,
winding, so that
Adam was convinced that no matter how complex the pat
tern of Lisbon's streets might be Molec was
deliberately
making them more confusing, so that the boy would never
be able to retrace his steps.
As they moved deeper into the awakening city there
were more people abroad and Adam heard the hawking of
lottery tickets. Molec swerved around a
cumbersome, dou
ble-decker bus, down a dark alley lightened
only by high-
flapping laundry. As Adam turned to make
sure that Poly
was truly in the back seat the side of Molec's
hand came down with a sharp thwack on his knee. The
pain took him by surprise but he managed not to cry
out, though tears rushed uncontrollably to his
eyes and he
blinked in fury, gritting his teeth. He tried
to listen for any
sound from behind him, but could hear nothing. He became
certain that Poly was not in the car. Out of the cor-

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
ner of his eye he glanced at Molec. The face
under the visored chauffeur's cap was set and sullen;
the hands on
the steering wheel were enormous and covered with curl
ing black hah-. Perhaps Molec was a useful
person to have working for one, but he gave Adam no
sense of confidence
hi the present situation. He had a feeling that it
would not
displease Molec to bring that massive hand
down in a clip
on the back of his neck, that causing pain would incite
rather than deter the chauffeur. Adam determined not to
move or make a sound no matter what happened.
"Ritz," Molec grunted suddenly, and pulled the
car over
to the curb in a quick stop. As Adam saw the great
mod
ern bulk of a luxury hotel ahead of him the
chauffeur
leaped from the front seat with the powerful swiftness of a
Doberman Pinscher and opened the door to the back.
Adam turned to see him snatching a blindfold and
gag from Poly and thrusting her out of the car and onto the
street, where she gave a strange, strangled
moan.
"Go," Molec said between his teeth.
Adam did not need urging. He pushed the handle of the
door down and out, and, as he slammed it, Molec
shot off
down the street Adam caught Poly as she started
to fall.
"Adam," she cried hi a choked gasp.
"Adam."
He held her firmly, disregarding the
stares of people
walking down the narrow mosaic sidewalk and having
to
step around them into the street in order to pass. "Are
you
all right? Poly, are you all right?"
The child gave a great, shuddering sob and managed to stand
on her own feet, though Adam continued to support
her with his arm. "It's all right, Poly, you're all
right
now," he kept saying.
Poly continued the great, choking sobbing breaths, and
her hand clutched Adam's frantically, although he
could
see that she was making a great effort at
self-control. Her
set, white face was disturbingly reminiscent of her
father's.
"Poly," he said, "I'll get a taxi and
we'll go to the Aven-
ida Palace."
Poly shook her head, and managed to say through shud
ders, "Not a taxi, it isn't safe. We're right
at the Ritz.
Take me in. I know the concierge."

MADELEINE I/Englb
"But your father's at the Avenida Palace."
"We can't go there alone. They might . . .
Please,
Adam, take me into the Ritz."
In order to calm her Adam nodded in assent and, with
his arm still holding her, for he was not at all certain that
she was able to walk alone, led her down the hill the
short
distance to the hotel.
"Good, it's Joaquim," Poly said, as they came
up to the
doorman. Her voice came stronger, and she said,
sounding
almost cheerful, what Adam recognized as "Good
morn
ing" in Portuguese. In the great lobby she
turned left to
the concierge's desk. Behind it sat a man reading a
news
paper.
"Arcangelo!" Poly cried, her voice rising in
a note of
hysteria.
The man looked at her, said something in
Portuguese,
said "Wait," in English, and picked up his phone,
breaking
into Portuguese again. In a moment another uniformed
man came into the concierge's booth, and Arcangelo
left,
without a word, to join Adam and Poly.
"Upstairs," he said, and walked ahead of them to one
of the elevators.
"But we shouldn't-was Adam started, as the elevator
doors shut on them.
"Wait," the concierge said again.
There was no point now in telling Poly that they should
be going, whether by taxi or on foot, to the Avenida
Palace. There was no point in telling Poly that
they might
be walking into some kind of trap. There was no point in
doing anything but keeping his mouth closed and seeing
what happened next Never before in Adam's life
had situ
ations constantly been taken out of his hands as they had
ever since he had left the known safety of Woods
Hole.
Never had his personal decision seemed
to mean less, his
intelligence and his will shoved so to one side. Indeed the
only decision he seemed to have made hi this entire
adven
ture was to open the door of the hotel room at the
Aven
ida Palace to Kali, and whether this was the best or
the
worst thing he had done he still had no way of knowing.
The concierge led them down a wide hall and
unlocked
the door to one of the rooms, holding it open for them.

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
Poly entered, taking Adam perforce along with her.
They were hi one of the most luxurious and beautiful
rooms he
had ever seen, but very different from the ancient gran
deur of the Avenida Palace. Here everything was
modern
and costly; a great window wall of glass looked
over the park, but the concierge quickly swept the gold
brocade
curtains across, then turned on the lights, which, again

contrast to the Avenida Palace, were soft but powerful.
Arcangelo shut out the light of day at the Ritz with
gold
brocade. In the Avenida Palace Dr.
O'Keefe was barricaded with white shutters and dark
green damask. Only Typhon Cutter, standing
at the window that overlooked
the harbor, seemed to have no fear of being seen. Or was
that the entire explanation?
The beds were covered with the same rich material as the
curtains; there was a chaise longue padded with pale
green velvet, and pale green velvet easy
chairs at the round
table in a small alcove. The floor was carpeted
in what
seemed to Adam to be gold velvet; modern
paintings hung on the walls; the telephones, one
for each bed, were lemon
yellow.
Poly let go of his hand, flung herself at the
concierge, shouting, "Arcangelo!" and burst into loud
sobbing. He
held her closely, not speaking, rubbing gently between
her
shoulder blades, kissing the top of her
head, waiting until
the sobs had spent themselves. At last she looked up
at him, saying, "We must speak English because of
Adam.
Or Spanish, if you like. He's fine with
Spanish."
"Not Spanish," Arcangelo said absently, still
soothing
her.
"French might do," Poly babbled. "I think
Adam's all
right with French."
"English will do,
meu hem,"
Arcangelo said gently.
"Hush, now, Polyzinha, hush." He cupped her
chin in his
hand and looked at her, at the red marks showing where
the blindfold and the gag had been. "What have they done
to you? What has happened?"
"Hold me, Arcangelo," Poly said. "Tell
him, Adam."
Arcangelo sat down on one of the pale green
velvet chairs and pulled Poly up onto his
lap; her long legs

MADELEINE
I/Engle
dangled to the floor but she leaned against Mm as though
she were a very small child. He looked inquiringly at
Adam, and now Adam was able to look back at the
con
cierge, at a dark, powerful man, perhaps in his
fifties,
though it was difficult to tell, with a nose that looked
as
though it had been broken.
The story Typbon Cutter had prepared was for
Dr.
O'Keefe; it did not work here in this luxurious
room at the
Ritz for a Portuguese concierge whom Poly
treated as
though he were a beloved uncle.
"Tell him, Adam," she said again.
"It was on the plane from Madrid to Lisbon.
Poly went
into the washroom and didn't come out, and when the
steward opened the door she wasn't there." He
looked at
Poly. "What happened?"
She shuddered again, and reached frantically for Arcan-
gelo's hand.
"Not if you don't want to," he said gently.
She shook her head against the blue of his uniform.
"No. It's all right He came in and grabbed me.
The stew
ard. He put his hand over my mouth before I could
yell.
He had some kind of canvas sack with air holes
in it, and
he put me into it The washroom was so small that I
couldn't fight or kick and he was strong, and he
stuck
something sweet and
sicky-smell
ing
on my nose and it
made me all sleepy. He gagged me, too,
did I ten you?
And it was all dark and horrible and I was too much
asleep to try to wriggle or anything and I think I
was just
dumped on top of the luggage. And then I was hi a
car
and then in somebody's house, I don't know where, be
cause the curtains were drawn. They took off the
gag and
gave me something to drink and it put me all the way
to
sleep and then I woke up and I tried to get out but
the
door was locked and I started to cry. And then that
man, the one who drove us, Adam, came in and
told me to be
quiet and I wouldn't get hurt and I knew he
meant
business so I was quiet, and he just sat there and
watched
me, and I sat there and watched him, and I had a
headache, and he wouldn't talk or tell me where I
was or
anything, and then he put the gag back on, and blind-

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
folded me, and told me not to move or I'd get
hurt, so I didn't move even when I felt the
car start. Arcangelo,
please call the Embassy for me." She climbed
down off the
concierge's lap and went and sat on one of the beds
near
the phone. "Get them, 'Gelo and ask for Joshua
Archier. I
don't want the switchboard people here to hear my
voice."
Adam felt that he ought to assert himself, now that
Poly's tears were spent and her hysteria gone.
"Polyhym
nia," he started firmly, but she interrupted him.
"You promised
never
to call me that."
Adam sighed. "Poly. I don't know why you
want to call
the Embassy, but I think the thing for us to do is to get
back to the Avenida Palace to your father. Or, if
you want to use the telephone, call the hotel and
ask to speak
to him."
Poly looked at him as though she were a teacher trying
to explain something to an unexpectedly stupid student
who fails to understand a very simple problem. "Adam,
daddy won't go back to the Avenida Palace without
me. He might be at the Embassy. If
he isn't, Josh will know how to get hold of him and
what to do. We can't go back
to the Avenida Palace alone anyhow, and
Arcangelo can't
get away to take us. Please call, 'Gelo."
Sighing again, Adam waited while the concierge asked
for the American Embassy, then for Mr. Archer,
then, several times over, evidently to different people, for
Mr.
Joshua Archer. Finally he held the phone out
to Poly.
"Josh," she said. "Yes, it's me. I'm at the
Ritz. . . . Yes, he's here . . . well,
he was in the car with me when we were dumped here.
...
I was blindfolded, I don't know. . . ." She
looked accusingly at Adam. "Were you
at the Avenida Palace with daddy?"
"Yes," Adam said.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"You've hardly let me finish a sentence, you know,"
Adam reproved her.
Poly scowled at him. "If you were at the Avenida
Palace with daddy why did you leave?"
"I can't tell you now," Adam said.
"Poly, I'm half dead
with sleep." This was not only clever evasion. It was
hot

MADELEINE
I/Englb
now that the sun was higher in the sky, and the air-condi
tioning unit in the room was not turned on; the heat
pressing down on Adam seemed to be pulling on his
eye
lids. "I haven't had any sleep for three
nights," he said.
Poly turned back to the phone. "Where's daddy? .
. .
Can you get to him to tell him I'm all right? . . .
Okay. . . . Okay, Josh. .. . Yes,
Arcangeloll answer. . .. Okay, Josh,
"bye." She hung up, turned back to Adam,
demanding.
"Why
haven't you had any sleep?"
Adams spoke with heavy patience. "The last night
I was
in Woods Hole there was a party that lasted until the
kids
put me on the plane for New York. Then we
didn't sleep
much on the plane to Madrid. That's two nights.
Then last
night I'd just gone to sleep when I was waked up."
"How were you waked up? How did you get in that
car with me?"
Adam looked around the luxurious room. "I can't
talk
to you now. I have to sleep. I have to think."
"Do you want some coffee?"
"I've had coffee. Coffee can't keep me
awake any longer."
"Do you want a shower or something?"
"I've had a shower. All I want to do is go
to sleep."
"Are you hungry?"
"Polyhymn--Poly-all I want to do is
sleep"
Poly looked at Arcangelo. "Can he sleep
here?"
Arcangelo nodded.
"We have to wait until Josh calls back. He
could sleep
for a while, anyhow."
Arcangelo rose and pulled the golden coverlet
down off
one of the beds. In a fog of sleep, Adam
flopped down,
not feeling the sofness of the mattress, not even aware of
his cheek touching the fine linen of the pillow. Through a
haze of sleep he seemed to hear the phone ringing,
to hear
voices, but he could not rouse enough to listen. He was
engulfed in a black sea of slumber.
He woke up slowly, not because anybody was knocking
at
the door or in any way trying to disturb his rest but
be
cause he had at last, finally, had enough sleep.
For a mo
ment, remembering nothing, he stretched, his eyes
closed, his body languid, his mind soothed by his
body's comfort.
Then the events of the past three days came sliding
back into his relaxed and unsuspecting brain, so that
his body
stiffened with the shock of recollection, and his eyes
flew
open.
He was still in the golden room at the Ritz. Poly
and
Arcangelo were nowhere to be seen, but a fair young
man
was sitting on a green velvet chair, reading. As
Adam moved, the young man's gaze flicked
alertly toward the
bed.
"So you're awake," he said.
Adam sat up, every muscle tense and wary. "Who
are
you?"
"Joshua Archer, of the American Embassy, at
your ser
vice."
"Are you the Ambassador?"
The young man laughed, easy, spontaneous
laughter. "I'm not sure the Ambassador would
appreciate that
Hardly. I'm the lowest of the low."
Still lulled with sleep Adam thought that Joshua Archer
must be a friend of Kali's and Mr. Cutter's, one
of their Embassy crowd. Then he remembered the
call Poly had
made Arcangelo put through to the
Embassy. How was it
possible that both Kali and Poly should assume the
protec
tion of the Embassy? He looked warily at the
young man.
"You're the one Poly called?"
"Yes."
"Where is she?"

MADELEINE
I/Englb
"On Oaea with her parents. They phoned the
Embassy
when they reached the island, and the Embassy in turn
was kind enough to call me here."
"It seems to me," Adam said slowly, "that I
heard the
phone ring several times."
"You might have." The young man leaned back in his
chair and smiled pleasantly at Adam. Adam
stared back
and waited. Joshua Archer was a nicely made young
man with a lean face, but with nothing in any way
conspicuous
about him. All Adam saw was light brown
hair, greyish
eyes, a Brooks Brothers-style suit, a young
man who
looked like any nice, normal American.
Adam's scowl and
stare deepened; the only thing he felt might single
Joshua
out from anyone just through college and starting to make his own
way in the world was a look of sadness lurking in
the eyes, and this Adam did not consciously
identify; all
he knew was that there was something about the young man's steady
gaze that invited confidence, and this very
face put him on his guard.
his
Well
the young man said, still smiling.
his
Well his
Adam asked back.
"Would you like something to eat?"
"Yes. I suppose so. Thank you."
The young man came over to the lemon-yellow phone
by the second bed, and called, speaking hi
Portuguese, so
that Adam did not have any idea what was being ordered,
or even, indeed if the young man were really calling
room
service. Perhaps he was reporting that the dumb kid,
Adam Eddington, was finally awake; perhaps he was
get
ting something else awful lined up for Adam's further
confusion. If the boy had not had such a full and
uninterrupted sleep he would probably have felt very
sorry
for himself. As it was, he simply tensed up so that
he
would be ready for whatever happened next
Joshua Archer went back to his chair and continued
to
smile questioningly at Adam. Adam became more and
more uncomfortable. Finally he said, "What time is
it?"
Joshua Archer looked around the room. The golden
draperies were still pulled across the windows and no light
filtered through. "Around nine in the evening. You went

THE ARM
OF THE STARFISH
to sleep yesterday morning, so you've had about
thirty-six
hours. Feeling better?"
"Yes, thanks."
"The bathroom is there," Joshua said. When Adam
returned he continued, "Now the problem is what to do
with
you. You
are
rather a problem, Adam."
"Sorry."
The Ambassador was all for sending you back to
Woods Hole immediately."
Without stopping to think Adam responded bitterly,
"You mean I should crawl right back into the Hole I
crawled out of?"
Joshua laughed again. "Is it as bad as all that?"
"It might help if someone would tell me just what
is going on."
Joshua's voice was smooth as silk, his face as
ex
pressionless. "Didn't Typhon Cutter?"
"What about him?"
Joshua shrugged. "Oh, nothing much. Or is there?"
Adam was silent. "The last time I saw him was at
a party
at the Embassy the evening Poly was kidnapped."
"Oh?" Adam asked politely.
There was a knock. Joshua shot a sharp glance at
Adam, then unlocked the door. Arcangelo came
in rolling a dinner cart. He looked at Adam but
he did not smile and he did not speak. He
wheeled the cart over to the table and spread a
tablecloth, put out silver and plates.
From covered dishes a delicious smell rose.
When the din
ner was set out he looked over at Joshua, who
simply
nodded. Arcangelo glanced again at Adam, then
left, clos
ing the door quietly behind bun. Joshua locked the
door from the inside, came back to the table and sat
down, beckoning to Adam. "Come on. You'll feel
better after
you've had some food."
"I'd feel lots better if I knew more about
what was go
ing on."
Joshua looked at bun thoughtfully. "Yes, we
all would. But I can't be open with you unless you'll be
open with
me."
Adam was sitting on the side of the bed still in his

MADELEINE I/Engle
travelling suit, which was by now thoroughly wrinkled.
He
leaned down and reached for his shoes, put them on. As
he walked, rather stiffly, to the table, he said, "I'm
sorry, but I'm so confused that I don't think I
can be very open with anybody." He pulled out his
chair, deliberately trying to curb his instinctive
liking for Joshua. "I'm just a dumb American
kid and the things that have been happening are
beyond me."
Joshua ladled some interesting-smelling soup into
Adam's dish. "Fair enough. We'll try
to clear up what we can. Mind if I ask you a
few questions? You don't have to answer if you don't
want to, but I'd appreciate it if you'd try.
Then I'll know better what to do next. Do you
want
to go back to America?"
Oddly enough Adam wasn't even tempted. He was in
the middle of this thing, and it was a mess, and he hated
it, but he knew that he could not
deliberately walk out on
it until he knew what it was all about. "No."
"Then what do you think you should do?"
Adam swallowed some of the soup; it was delicious and
delicate, with a faintly sour, sorrel taste.
"I think I should go to Gaea to work for Dr.
O'Keefe the way Dr. Didymus
wanted me to do."
"And Dr. O'Keefe?"
"What about him?"
"Do you think he wants you?"
'That was the understanding when I left Woods
Hole."
"But things have happened since then. Do you think he
can trust you?"
"Why not?" Adam asked warily.
"He told you not to open the door of your room at the
Avenida Palace, didn't he?"
"Yes."
"Yet you opened it."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"It seemed to me that it was the right thing to do."
"Why?"
"I was alone, and Poly was kidnapped, and
I was re
sponsible for her."

THE ARM OF THE
STARFISH
"Did you think opening the door would help you find
her?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"I just did."
Sighing rather absently Joshua removed the soup
plates-Adam had not quite finished his soup-and put them
on the serving cart Raising the metal dome from a
platter of fish Joshua asked, "Did you just open
the door of your own accord and go blundering off in the
dark in the middle of the night to look for Poly? Or
was someone on the other side of the door? Did you let
someone into
the room?"
Adam did not answer and Joshua deftly placed
a sauce-covered fish on his plate, then handed him
a bowl of little, wrinkled olives.
Adam took an olive and it was ten der and
delicious.
With the pit still in his mouth he said, "I
don't think I can tell you." He looked at
Joshua and fought down the temptation to spill everything
out to him. Putting the olive pit hi his plate he
said, "I'd like to tell you. It's just that I have to know more
about whafs
what."
Joshua nodded. "Yes. I see that. From your point
of view this is perfectly reasonable. But under the
circumstances this entire situation is too
potentially explosive for me to be able to do anything
until I know more about what happened from the moment you
opened the door. I am going on the assumption that you
opened it to someone. Unless I can find out where you went
and who you were with I shall have no alternative to sending you
back to the States." With an expert stroke of his
knife he re
moved the backbone of his fish.
Adam asked, "Do you know what happened up to the
tune I opened the door?"
"Yes. I have talked at length with Poly, with her
father,
and, on a closed Embassy line, with Canon
Tallis in
Madrid. I completely understand how confusing all of

must be for you. And Father Tallis is inclined to trust
you, and he's a perceptive old boy. I have a
lot of faith in his judgment. He's never blinded
by sentimentality. If I'd

MADELEINE I/Engle
put Poly in your charge and you'd let her disappear
I'd have you on the next jet to New York.
Sorry, Adam. I know it wasn't your fault.
All I mean is that I'd have blamed you, fault
or no, out of my own guilt, and Canon
Tallis didn't."
Adam said excitedly. "But then you see why I
had
to open the door, why I
had
to try to find Poly. It was the
only way I knew."
"Yes," Joshua said thoughtfully. "I see that.
Okay. After we've finished dinner we'll go to my
flat; your luggage has
been taken there. You can change into fresh clothes, and
then maybe it might be a good idea if we go to the
Embassy. If there's anyone you'd like to talk to it
can be ar
ranged from there."
"Who would I want to talk to?"
"Canon Tallis?"
Adam shook his head.
"Your parents?"
"I don't want them upset."
"Dr. Didymus? I think it might help if you
talked to
him."
"I don't know," Adam said. "I just don't
know."
"Eat your fish," Joshua told him. "Brain
food, my
grandmother always used to say."
"You mean you think I need it?"
Joshua laughed. "Don't we all." He
removed the fish
plates to the serving tray, and helped Adam to meat,
rice,
carrots. "Still hungry? I've never managed
to get used to two seven-course meals a day, so I
get around it by not earing any lunch. It's been a
couple of days since you've
eaten, hasn't it?"
"It probably has," Adam said. "I
don't remember. But I
am
still hungry, and this is very good." Then, feeling that
perhaps he had been too friendly he picked up his
knife and fork. If only he did not have this
instinctive feeling
that Joshua Archer was someone to be trusted he could be
more objective. But if Typhon Cutter and
Kali were right
then Joshua was the last person in the world to trust.
"Adam," Joshua said, "have you seen Carolyn
Cutter

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
since you went into the coffee shop with her at the
airport
in New York?"
"How do you know I saw her then?"
"I happen to know it from several sources," Joshua
said.
The one that might interest you most is Typhon
Cutter.
He mentioned it at the dinner table at the
Embassy."
"You mean the night Poly was kidnapped?"
"Yes."
"You're
sure
Poly is all right?"
"I told you she's on Gaea with her parents."
"How do I know that you're telling me the truth?"
"You don't. You're just going to have to follow your in
stincts about me one way or the other."
Adam glowered across the table. "But I don't trust
my
instincts any more, Mr. Archer."
"Call me Josh."
"Okay."
"What's wrong with your instincts?"
"They're just not working," Adam said. "I
do
have a feeling that somebody has to be right and somebody
has to
be wrong, but I haven't a dream who is which."
"Would it help any if I tell you that I trust
you?"
"I don't know. All I can tell you is that if
I needed to
be taken down a peg I've been taken."
"Because Poly was kidnapped while you were in
charge of her?"
'That," Adam said, "but mostly because I can't
trust my own decisions or my own thoughts. I used
to be pretty sure of myself. I thought I could handle
just about any situation."
"You handled some pretty rough ones
in
New York, didn't you?"
"Well," Adam said, "yes. How did you know?"
"Dr. O'Keefe was kind enough to let me see his
dossier on you."
"How did
he
know?"
"His work is too important for him to take any
chances.
You weren't aware that you were being investigated?"
"No. I guess I wasn't I thought Dr.
Didymus" recom
mendation was all that was needed."

MADELEINE I/Engle
"Not even Old Doc's word is enough for something as
vital as this. What I liked best of what I read
about you was the time you and your Puerto Rican
friend-Juan,
wasn't it-was
"Yes."
"comthe time the two of you managed to stop a rumble from
starting. Maybe that's what makes me trust you,
makes me know that you're fighting on the same side
I am. But I think I'd trust you even if I
didn't know any
thing about you. Have some salad?"
"Yes, please." Adam watched while Joshua
served.
"Could I ask you a question?"
"Fire ahead."
"You say you know I went into that coffee shop with
Kali-was
"Yes."
"She told me her father has businesses here."
"That's right. He does."
"And that he knows lots of people at the Embassy."
"Correct."
"Do you know him?"
"Slightly. I'm not important enough for him to bother
with."
"What do you think of him?"
"That he's a very clever man."
"Do you trust him?"
"As far as I could throw the bathtub."
"Is this instinct, or do you have reasons?"
"Both."
"Could I know the reasons?"
Joshua seemed to ponder. Finally he said, "He
cares
more about money than he does about anything else.
Money and power. And he doesn't care who's
sacrificed as
long as he gets them."
"Is Dr. O'Keefe powerful?"
"Not in his own mind, certainly, and only because his
mind can run circles around any other mind I've
ever met.
But power is always subordinate with him.
Manipulating
people is the last thing in the world he'd want."
"So what do you think about power?" Adam demanded.

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
"Power corrupts," Joshua quoted.
"Absolute power cor
rupts absolutely."
Adam sighed.
Joshua stood up. "Yon don't want any
dessert, do you? We'll have coffee at my place.
I've made my decision
about you, Adam, whether you trust me or not"
For a moment Adam felt only relieved that the
decision had been made, that it had been taken out of
his hands. Then he knew that if Joshua Archer were
to try to send him back to America he would have
to escape him some
how and go back to Kali and her father.
But Joshua said, "I'm going to take you to Gaea."
They left the hotel without speaking to anybody, without
giving in keys at the desk, without further
communication
with Arcangelo. Joshua turned to the right and they
walked briskly for about ten minutes through the sweet
summer darkness. They stopped before a narrow house
faced in gleaming blue-and-white patterned tile.
"Ever
seen the Portuguese tile before?" Joshua asked
absently, not waiting for Adam to respond. "It's
quite famous." He
put his key in the door. "I have the top floor.
Modest, but
mine. I love this stairway. Pink marble.
Beautiful, isn't it?"
"Yes." Adam followed him up three flights.
At the top was a blue painted door, which Joshua
also unlocked, saying, "Gone are those innocent days
when I
didn't worry about keys. I got awfully tired
of having my
things gone through. So "Gelo very kindly helped me
fashion a lock that is impossible to pick or
duplicate."
"Who is Arcangelo?" Adam demanded.
"My very good friend." Joshua flicked a switch and in
the ceiling a crystal chandelier sparkled into life.
Adam looked around. They were in a fair-sized
room, a
room that smelled of tobacco and books. It was,
indeed,
more of a library than a living room, as there were
books
not only on all four walls but piled on tables and
window-
sills. Adam saw in a quick glance a record
player and
shelves of records, a sagging couch covered with an
India
print, an old red rep easy chair, a large
desk that looked as though it had been discarded from an
office. It was a
good room, the kind of room Adam had dreamed of
havi
g
some day. He looked at a Picasso print over
one of the
bookshelves, a sad-eyed harlequin on a white
horse. The
harlequin reminded him of someone, and suddenly he
realized that it was Joshua himself.

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
Joshua pointed to an open door. "Bedroom and
bath.
Go in and make yourself at home. Your stuff's all
in there.
I'll make us some coffee. I don't have a
proper kitchen,
just a hot plate, but it does."
Adam nodded and went to the bedroom. It was a
small,
bare room, furnished only with a narrow brass bed,

chest of drawers, a straight chair. The walls were
white
and absolutely bare. The room was cold and austere
in
comparison to the cluttered warmth of the living room.
Adam washed his hands and face. He was not being
sent back to America. He was going to Gaea. He
could not
help liking Joshua. But if he should see Kali
again how
would he feel? So far he had managed to tell
Joshua noth
ing of any importance, and Joshua did not seem
to be go
ing to pursue his questioning.
-Play it cool, Adam, he seemed to hear a
voice hi his
ear. Kali's voice.
As long as nobody knew that it was Kali who had
come
to him at the Avenida Palace, that it was to Kali's
apart
ment he had gone, that he was expected to work for
Typhon Cutter as a-what had Mr. Cutter
said? Patriotic
duty, wasn't it?-then he had not yet committed
himself to
either side. And as long as he didn't commit himself
he
couldn't do anything too terribly wrong. Could he?
-I wish things were black and white, he thought sav
agely. -I wish things were
clear.
He remembered his math teacher back at school, a
bril
liant young Irishman, telling of his personal
confusion
when he first began to study higher mathematics and dis
covered that not all mathematical problems have one
single and simple answer, that there is a choice of
answers
and a decision to be made by the mathematician even
when dealing with something like an equation that ought
to be definite and straightforward and to allow of no more
than one interpretation. "And that's the way life
is," the
teacher had said. "Right and wrong, good and evil, aren't
always clear and simple for us; we have to interpret and
decide; we have to commit ourselves, just as we do with
this equation."
As though reading his thoughts Joshua came and

MADELEINE I/Engle
lounged in the doorway. "Don't hold off too
long, Adam.
The time comes when you have to make a choice and
you're not going to be able to put it off much longer. Un
less you've already made it?"
"I don't know." Adam rubbed his face with a
clean,
rough towel.
"The trouble is," Joshua said, "that I can't
guarantee
you anything. If you decide to work with Dr.
O'Keefe I
can't in any honesty tell you that anything is going
to be
easier for you than it has been for the past few days.
I
can
tell you that nobody expected things to start breaking
quite so soon, or we wouldn't have let you come. You
were never supposed to be hi any kind of danger. It
was
pure coincidence that it was this summer that
Old Doc de
cided you were worth sending to Dr. O'Keefe to be
edu
cated. Of course neither Canon Tallis nor
Dr. O'Keefe
believe in coincidence. I'm afraid that I do, and
that we're
often impaled upon it Then, on the other hand, I can't
help wondering if it
was
pure coincidence that made
Canon Tallis finish his work in Boston at just the
moment
he did so that he and Poly were on the plane with you."
"But if he was lecturing there," Adam protested,
"he'd
know when he was going to be through."
"Oh, did he tell you he was lecturing? Well,
probably he
was," Joshua said somewhat vaguely. The main thing
is
that if you're worth educating then I suppose you ought
to
be up to facing whatever there is to face, oughtn't you?"
"What is there to face?" Adam sat at
the foot of
Joshua's bed.
Joshua did not answer his question. Instead: "Maybe
it'll help you if I tell you that it wasn't easy
for me, either.
I don't know about you, Adam, but I can't look
forward
to pie hi the sky. I'm a heretic and a heathen, and
I let
myself depend far too much on the human beings I
love,
because-well, just because. I guess the real point is that
I
care about having a decent world, and if you care about
having a decent world you have to take sides. You have to
decide who, for you, are the good guys, and who are the
bad guys. So, like the fool that I am, I chose
the difficult

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
side, the unsafe side, the side that guarantees
me not one
thing besides danger and hard work."
"Then why did you choose it?" Adam demanded.
Joshua continued to lean against the door.
"Why? I'm not sure I did. It seemed
to choose me, unlikely material though I be.
And it's the side that-that cares about people like
Polyhymnia O'Keefe." He wheeled and went
back into the living room. In a moment the sound of
music came clear and gay, Respighi's
The Birds,
Adam
thought, following him into the living room. Joshua
grinned. "It's the fall of the sparrow I care about,
Adam.
But who is the sparrow? We run into problems there,
too.
Now let's have our coffee."
He picked up a battered white enamel
percolator from
the hot plate on one of the bookcases. "Want
to go to the
Embassy when we're through?"
Adam watched Joshua pour the dark and fragrant
brew.
"Why? Do we have to?"
Joshua handed him a cup, indicated sugar and
milk.
"No. Not if you don't want to."
"I'm not sure it would make things any clearer."
Adam
put three heaping spoons of sugar in his coffee.
"I don't
want to telephone anybody. I mean, why bother
Old Doc?
I think he feels about me kind of the way you feel
about
Poly, if you know what I mean, so it would just be
upset
ting to bun to have me ask him to help make up my own
mind. I mean, I have to do it myself, don't I?"
"When you get right down to it, yes," Joshua said.
"And the whole idea of the Embassy business is very
confusing to me. I mean, you working there, and then
both the O'Keefes and the Cutters seeming to know every
body, and everybody thinking the Embassy's on their
side
and it
can't
be on everybody's side. I think I'd rather stay
clear of any more confusion for a while."
"Okay," Joshua said. "I follow you. I thought
it might help, but I see your point. What about
your passport, by
the way?"
Adam felt the by-now-familiar jolt in the pit
of his stomach. "I suppose it's still at the
Avenida Palace. I'd
forgotten all about it."

MADELEINE
L'ENGLE
Joshua reached in his breast pocket and handed the thin
green book to Adam. "Here. But it's something you'd
better remember from now on. Think you could do any more
sleeping?"
"You wouldn't think I could, would you?" Adam asked,
yawned, and laughed.
"Good. Let's just have our coffee and maybe listen
to a little music and go to bed. Ill take the sofa in
here; I'm used to it. In the morning well go
to Gaea. I hope you won't mind flying with me.
Actually I'm a pretty fair pi
lot-
Without knowing why Adam realized that he would feel
perfectly safe with Joshua at the controls of
plane, boat, or car. It was an instinct that the
wariness acquired in the past three days could not
shake, no matter how little at the
moment he trusted his instincts.
Although Adam protested briefly at the idea of
taking Joshua's bed he found to his surprise that
he was very happy to get undressed and stretch out. In
the living room he could hear Joshua puttering around,
changing records, cleaning up the coffee things. The
last thing he was conscious of was the strains of a Mozart
Horn Concerto. Then Joshua was shaking him;
sunlight streamed in through the open, uncurtained
bedroom window; and the smell of coffee came from the
living room. Joshua, unlike Dr. O'Keefe
or Arcangelo, seemed to feel no need to close
himself in behind shutters or draperies; or was it just in
knowing when and where?
They had coffee, bacon and eggs, all of which
Joshua somehow managed with ease on his single hot
plate; then they took a taxi out to the airport.
This was not the huge state-owned field at which Adam
had arrived, but a small, private field with a
couple of rickety-looking hangars. The waiting
room was a Quonset hut, with a few desks behind which
sat the inevitable uniformed men, a row of phone
booths, and a speaker system loud enough for Grand
Central Station, so that each time a voice came through
it the few passengers waiting in the hut were
almost blasted out of their seats.
Joshua walked in his usual casual, almost lounging
way

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
over to one of the desks, where he stood smiling and
speaking fluent Portuguese to the uniformed man behind
it; they seemed to be old friends and after a few
minutes
Joshua turned, smiling, to Adam. "Everything's just
about
ready for us. Five minutes to wait, that's all.
Okay?"
"Sure." What would Joshua have done if he'd
said,
'nope"?
Joshua led him over to an uncomfortable but empty
wooden bench and began to talk lightly about
Embassy
life, of his own job of filing and checking and being gen
eral errand boy, all of which, he said, could
perfectly well
be done by a ten-year-old. Every once in a while he
would
have to stop as his narrative was punctured by the
braying
of the loudspeaker. Adam almost laughed as Joshua would
shut his eyes against the blast, his sensitive ears
seeming to
quiver in pain. Adam's own ears pricked up as
he heard, "Jhoshuajh Archair. . . .
Jhoshuajh Archair. . . ." fol
lowed by a message in Portuguese.
"I seem to have a call from the Embassy," Joshua
said,
sighing. "Please wait right here for me, Adam.
Please do
not move, I beg of you."
Adam gave a rather lopsided grin. "I won't
open any
more locked doors."
"Good boy." Joshua ambled off, never seeming
to hurry, but covering the distance to the telephones in an
amazingly short time.
Adam leaned back on the bench, stretching his legs.
Perhaps it was catching up on his sleep that was
responsi
ble for his feeling of calm and certainty. -I can't
help it,
he thought. -I couldn't feel this way about
Joshua if he weren't all right. And Poly.
They've got to be the way I want them to be. And
Dr. O'Keefe and Canon Tallis. I'm
making up my mind to be on their side whether I
want to
or not. It's making itself up for me. Just the way
Joshua
said it did for him.
"Adam."
He jerked upright, his thoughts knocked out from under
him.
Standing before him was a man in ecclesiastical garb.
But it was not Canon Tallis. It was a younger man,
tall-

MADELEINE
I/Engle
er, extremely handsome, with a head of luxuriant
black
hah*.
"Adam?"
Adam looked but he did not speak. It probably
was, it
must
be a friend of Canon Tallis'. But even
if his mind
was being made up for him there was no being certain of
anything any more. Even if it was somebody who knew
his name.
"It
is
Adam Eddington, isn't it?" the man asked, in
one
of the most mellifluous voices Adam had ever
heard.
He could hardly pretend to be a deaf mute.
"Yes."
"I'm Dr. Ball." Adam looked somewhat
startled, and
the man repeated, "Dr. Eliphaz Ball,
rector of St.
Zophar's, the American church here in Lisbon."
A hand
was held out toward Adam, a white, clean,
well-manicured
hand. The grip was strong, man-to-man.
"How do you do, sir?" Adam murmured.
Dr. Eliphaz Ball, smiling pleasantly,
sat down beside him.
"Your young friend, Joshua Archer, and my friend,
too, I
am happy to say, has had to go back to the
Embassy. Poor lad, when his superiors call
he must jump, no matter what
previous engagements he may have hoped to fulfill.
So
he's asked me to see to it that you get to Oaea.
I'm afraid Fm no pilot myself, but I've
made arrangements for one
of the local men to hop us over." Dr. Ball's
beautiful voice was smooth and pleasant, his manner
easy, as he smiled at Adam. "Poor laddie,
we're all more sorry than we can say
for everything that has happened to you. It must all have
been more than confusing. But once you get to Gaea and
settle down to work with the good doctor you'll be able
to relax and forget all the unpleasantness. Thank
God our
darling Poly was returned unharmed, the precious
child."
Adam looked at the handsome, friendly face of Dr.
Ball and was not happy. For some reason his instinct was
tell
ing bun not to trust Dr. Ball, but he no longer
trusted
his instinct. For a brief moment he contrasted the
doctor
with Canon Tallis. Canon Tallis was
brusque, stern,
businesslike, formidable. He would never have called
Poly
a precious child, but Adam knew that it was to the canon

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
that Poly was precious. He knew it. At least
he went along
with his instinct that far.
"I'm afraid we'll have to hurry," Dr. Ball
said. "I think
we can manage your bags between us, don't you?"
Joshua had told Adam not to move. Adam had
promised to open no more locked doors. "I'm
sorry," he
said, courteously, "but I'm afraid I'll have
to wait here for
Mr. Archer."
"But my poor dear boy, I've just explained to you
that
poor Josh has been called back to the
Embassy, and has
put you in my charge."
Adam shook his head stubbornly. "I'm sorry.
I have to
wait here."
The velvet smoothness of Dr. Ball's voice
did not alter,
nor the friendly look fade from his features, as he
said,
"Adam, don't you think you've caused the
O'Keefes
enough trouble already?"
"I'm sorry," Adam said for the third time. "I
don't
mean to be difficult, but I have to wait."
"Poor lad, I hadn't realized just quite how confused
you are, in spite of what Joshua told me.
Joshua is not coming
back. Please try to understand this. He has been
called to
the Embassy. Do try to realize that it is
absolutely essen
tial for me to get you to Gaea at once. Won't
you be a
good boy and come with me?" Adam shook his head. "It
will be so much easier for both of us if you'll
come of
your own free will." Adam shook his head again. Dr.
Ball sighed and cast his eyes up to heaven. "Dear
Lord, be patient with the boy." He looked down at
Adam. "I'm sorry,
truly sorry, laddie, but I'll have to take you with
me.
Please do understand that it's for your own protection."
He glanced behind him, snapped his fingers lightly, and
a burly porter moved up to stand beside him.
Adam braced himself. With a wild and irrational stub
bornness he was determined not to move from the bench
where he had promised to wait for Joshua.
A second figure appeared beside the porter.
It was Arcangelo.
Adam did not move. Arcangelo spoke in a low
voice to
the porter, who looked at Adam, at Dr.
Ball, shrugged in

MADELEINE
I/Engle
a vague kind of apology, though Adam could not
tell to
whom, and trotted off to a baggage cart.
A shadow seemed
to cross Dr. Ball's brow, but his pleasant
expression did not change. He smiled again at
Adam, showing his even, white teeth. "We do seem
to be running into problems, don't we?" He turned
to Arcangelo. "And who are you,
my good man?"
"A friend," Arcangelo said.
"Of whom?"
Arcangelo jerked his head in Adam's direction.
Then he
pointed across the room. Adam looked and saw
Joshua coming toward them. As swiftly as he had
appeared, Arcangelo left
Dr. Ball put his hand on Adam's knee.
"What an unfor
tunate incident I will speak quickly, Adam. I
am a friend
of Typhon Cutter's."
"He wanted me to go to Gaea," Adam said.
1 am aware of that Why do you think I am here? I
was sent to help you. And to help you to help your coun
try."
"Thank you." Adam turned bis eyes to see
Joshua's
progress across a floor that now seemed endless.
"Not a word to Archer. Well get a message to you as
soon as possible." Dr. Ball's hand pressed
harder against Adam's knee. Joshua reached them.
Dr. Ball removed his hand, rose, and greeted
Joshua. "My young friend, the charming Mr. Archer!
How fortunate to meet you here
this morning! And how is life at the Embassy?"
"Splendid, thank you, Dr. Ball," Joshua
said coolly.
"Keeping you busy?"
"Enough."
"I've had a delightful time talking to your young
protgge

here. Do take care of him for us."
"I'll do that," Joshua said.
"And give my warmest regards to the O'Keefes."
"Certainly."
"A brilliant mind, O'Keefe's.
Brilliant Our country
needs more men like that"
"Right," Joshua said.
"I trust I'll see you around the Embassy, my
boy."

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
"Very likely."
"Do have a safe and pleasant trip. Small
craft warnings
are out, I believe." Still smiling, Dr. Ball
moved off.
Without a word Joshua picked up one of Adam's
bags. Adam picked up the other and his briefcase
and followed
him out of the Quonset hut and onto a runway. A
small
plane was waiting several hundred yards away.
Trotting
behind Joshua, Adam could see only a tense,
angry line of
jaw.
-He said he trusted me, Adam thought
resentfully,-so
what right does he have to go jumping to conclusions now?
As they came up to the plane Adam saw that it was
an
old, single-engine, British Hawker
Hurricane converted to
a two-seater. Arcangelo was standing beside it
Silently he
handed Adam, then Joshua, leather jackets,
goggles, hel
mets, and helped them up and into the seats. Joshua,
still
without speaking (and silence from Joshua, unlike
silence
from Arcangelo, seemed completely out of character),
turned around and showed Adam how to strap himself in,
then clipped on his own webbing. Suddenly his face
relaxed and he looked at Adam and grinned.
"Feel like
something out of a World War
U
movie?"
"Kind of," Adam said. And then, "This guy
Ball-was
"Wait
till
we get going. Silence is golden and all that
stuff." Joshua's experienced hands moved over the
con
trols; the engine coughed, choked, finally caught The
blades of the slowly circling propeller merged into a
swift
blur. Joshua leaned out and waved down at
Arcangelo who waved back, then turned and walked
toward the
Quonset hut. The plane slowly taxied along
the runway.
"She's a bit bumpy," Joshua shouted above the
noise of
the engines. "Hold on tight"
Adam held on. After a moment he closed his
eyes and gritted his teeth. The plane seemed
to buck and strain, to
refuse to leave the ground: how could it possibly
expect to
fly at such an advanced age? The only fit
place for it was
a museum.
Bounce. Bounce. Jerk. Bounce. A jerk that
threw Adam
back against the seat. Then a straining upward and a
pleased laugh from Joshua. Adam opened his eyes.

MADELEINE L'ENGLE
They were nosing up, up, higher, higher. They
circled
the small airport. As Adam looked
down he could see Arc-
angelo leaving the Quonset hut, getting into a
car, and
driving off.
This seemed to be what Joshua was waiting for. He
turned the plane away from the port, away from the
land,
nosed further and further up. Ahead of them over the
rooftops Adam could see water.
"Okay, kid," Joshua shouted back to him.
"Everything
under control."
Adam shouted in return, "I hope that's not the
over
statement of the year."
"I never go in for famous last words," Joshua
called.
"Don't mind talking in bellows, do you?"
"I'm a good bellower," Adam bellowed.
"Good. Me, too. Nobody listening in but sea
gulls.
We're over the Tagus now." Adam leaned over
and looked
down at the rim of Lisbon sprawled along the
river.
"That's the Jeronymos Monastery," Joshua
called back.
"It's just about my favorite piece of
architecture in Lisbon,
except for the Sad Juan Chrysostom Monastery
which is
even better. I'll take you there someday." He
flew along
the coast, pointing and calling. "There's the
Balm
Tower.
Famous Portuguese Manueline architecture.
Moorish influ
ence heavy. Makes you think you're in Africa,
doesn't it? Lots of Portugal will." And, a
moment later, "That monstrosity is the monument
to Henry the Navigator, but I've
become very fond of it Now what about Ball?" he
asked
without transition.
"Who
is
he?"
"Rector of St. Zophar's."
"Friend of yours?"
"I never make friends with the pious."
"What about Canon Tallis?"
Joshua snorted. "He's not pious."
"Did you send him to me?"
"Who? Canon Tallis?"
"No. Dr. Ball."
"Did he tell you I had?"
"Yes," Adam shouted, glad at last to be able
to be open

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
about something. He looked down and they were flying over the
harbor which was speckled with ferries, small fishing
vessels, pleasure craft. "Does he really have
a
church and stuff?"
"That's right. Very popular gentleman of the cloth.
Ladies swoon."
"You don't?"
"I'm no lady."
"Is he a friend of Canon TaUis'That"
Joshua roared. "Hardly."
"But I thought-was
"Adam, my son," Joshua howled over the sound
of the engines, over the blasting of the wind,
"don't expect any group of people to be all of a
kind. The church is no exception. And it is not
only because I am a heathen that I
say this. So what did the old black crow say
to you?"
"That you'd been called back to the Embassy and had
sent him to take me to Gaea."
"And you didn't bite," Joshua said. "Good
boy."
"I thought you thought I had." Adam looked away from
Joshua, over the side of the plane, down at the
open water of the Atlantic. Land was only a dark
shadow behind them, almost lost in haze. The water was
unusually dark, with occasional brilliant flashes
as it was caught by sun
light.
"Because I got all furious?" Joshua asked.
"Not at you. I thought you'd had about all you could take
and I could have strangled him with my bare hands. There
wasn't any phone call for me from the Embassy
or anyplace else, by the way. He'd bribed
somebody to page me to get me out of the way."
After a pause Adam said, "I think Fm
shocked."
"Because he's a churchman and stuff?"
"I guess so."
"I had that kind of being shocked knocked out of me when
I was in knee pants. Also thinking that anyone in
my government's employ necessarily has the
interest of my
country at heart. This is one of the few reasons
I'm of any use in the Embassy. Don't let
it get you, Adam. People don't compartmentalize. One
bad guy in a group doesn't

MADELEINE I/Englb
make everybody else bad, and one good one
doesn't make
everybody else good."
At that moment the plane dropped. Adam flew up
from
his seat and was kept in the plane only by the webbing of
his harness.
"Whoops," Joshua called, pulling at the stick
and nosing the plane up again. "We're going into a
spot of turbulence.
I can't get above these clouds; we'll have to go through
them."
He opened the throttle and the little plane shot into a
great, churning white mass. Adam
remembered Dr. Ball's
smug comment about small-craft warnings. The plane
jolted and jerked, dropped and steadied, so that
Adam's stomach leapt from his toes to his mouth and
back. The noise of the engine seemed accentuated by the
swirling cloud, by the unexpected pockets of air
into which they
fell like a stone.
Adam felt absolutely calm at the same time
that he
knew that he was as frightened as he had ever been in his
life. With each jerk and leap he expected the
plane to plummet into the ocean, but Joshua always
managed to
steady it.
In front of him Adam heard an unexpected
sound. It was Joshua. Joshua was singing, his head
flung back, his
mouth open, bellowing the joyful last chorus from
Beethoven's
Ninth Symphony.
Joshua, Adam realized, was enjoying the battle
with the cloud. Beside this supreme
happiness Adam's own fears fled. Holding on
tightly to his
seat, trying not to be thrown about any more than neces
sary, he watched the young man rather than the blind fury
of the cloud.
And then suddenly they were through it and into the blue and gold
of the day again. The plane choked and
steadied. Joshua turned back to Adam and grinned.
"Scare
you?"
"At first."
Joshua patted the controls fondly. "She's a
good old
crate. I'll get you there in one piece. I
hope."
They plunged into another cloud and dropped headlong
toward the ocean.
It was not precisely a relaxing trip, but Adam
caught
Joshua's exhilaration; he held on tight and the
thought that
they might not reach Oaea left bun.
"This is better than the roller coaster at
Palisades Park,"
he shouted.
"Rather!" Joshua called back, then burst into song
again.
Adam did not know how long a routine flight
to Oaea
ought to last; it took Joshua, battling through the
clouds in
the little plane, the better part of two hours before the
sky cleared again and here below them was the green of land
with a great, curving, golden beach. "Gaea,"
Joshua
called. "Hold on tight, Adam. Tide's out,
all's clear, and
I'm coming down on the beach."
Joshua accomplished the landing with skill and grace.
The wheels touched the hard-packed sand gently and
rolled along the water's edge to a smooth stop.
He sat for
a moment over the controls, breathing deeply, flexing
his
hands, deliberately relaxing. Then they unstrapped
them
selves, took off helmets, goggles, leather
jackets. As Adam
climbed out he realized that his legs were stiff and that,
unconsciously, he must have been bracing them against the
footboards during most of the trip.
"That was a great ride," he shouted, though the
noise of
the engine had stopped. "I loved every minute of it."
Joshua stretched, a great wide gesture of
well-being. "I
love to fly. Heaven, as far as I'm concerned.
Adam-was
Adam was looking about, at the ocean, the sand, the
dunes, and beyond the dunes to scrub and pine.
"Hm?"
Joshua was looking at him directly, questioningly,
bring
ing him back from the excitement of the flight to this mo-

MADELEINE I/Engle
ment of the arrival on Gaea, so different from the
arrival
he had anticipated when he left Woods
Hole.
"Josh," he asked, "this Eliphaz Ball
creep: what was he up to?"
Joshua stared out to sea, his eyes squinting a little
against the brilliance. "I'm not sure. My guess
is that he
wanted to-well, you might call it indoctrinate
you-be
fore you had a chance to talk to Dr. O'Keefe.
To get you firmly sewed up in the Cutter camp."
He paused, again looking at Adam questioningly, then
said, "Before I take you to the O'Keefes do you
want to tell me who you
opened the door to at the Avenida Palace?"
Adam, too, stared out to sea, his eyes almost closing
against the radiance of sun and water. "I haven't
told
you, have I?"
"No."
"Oh, Joshua-was Adam started, then trailed off.
"You can't make only part of a decision," Joshua
said
gently. "You have to go all the way."
"I
have
decided," Adam said.
"I know you have."
"Do you know
what
I've decided?"
"To work for Dr. O'Keefe."
"How do you know that?"
"Because you wouldn't come here to work as his as
sistant and work against him in any other way."
A cloud moved across the sun; its shadow slid
murkily
over the beach, draining the gold from the sand; the
blackness was reflected in Adam's mind. He
looked down
at his feet, the city shoes darkly incongruous
against the damp sand. "Do I have to work
for
him in order not to work
against
him? You don't understand, Joshua. Or still don't
understand. I don't see why I have to take sides
at
all. I know I couldn't work against you, and if that
means
not working against Dr. O'Keefe, then I won't work
against him. But I didn't come over here to take
sides
about anything. I came to assist a scientist in some
experi
ments in marine biology because that's what Dr.
Didymus
wanted me to do. You said yourself he didn't know about
anything else."

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
Joshua shoved his hands into his pockets. The cloud
moved past the sun and the sea was again dazzled with
brilliance. "That's quite true, Adam. But you
are
involved,
whether you want to be or not. In the end you'll have to
take sides, and it'll be easier for you if you
don't keep put
ting it off."
Adam scowled. "It would help if somebody would
tell
me what I'm supposed to be taking sides about."
"Adam," Joshua said with heavy patience, "if
you're as
bright as you're supposed to be you ought to know without
my telling you that it's because Dr. O'Keefe has,
in his
work, come across certain far-reaching discoveries that
certain irresponsible people are trying to steal."
"But you can't keep scientific discoveries
secret," Adam
protested.
"You have to try to keep them from being misused."
"You can't do that, either."
Joshua gave a rather wry smile. "That sounds more like
jaded old Josh than a kid fresh out of school
who ought to
have all his illusions intact If you'd been working for a
scientist who was in charge, say, of antibiotics
for a hospi
tal, would you have sat back while self-interested men
stole them, diluted them, and sold them for high
black-
market prices to doctors who gave them to children who
died in agony as a result?"
"I've read
The Third Man,"
Adam said, "and I've seen
it on the Late Late Show."
"So don't you see that it's not a joking or a
casual mat
ter? You
cannot
be uncommitted, Adam, believe me, you
cannot."
Adam's jaw set stubbornly. "I have to be dear
about
things."
Suddenly Joshua shrugged, and wheeled around from
the ocean, kicking at the thin remains of a broken
golden conch shell. "Okay. Forget it Come on.
We have a three-
mile hike to get to the O'KeefesVery
Adam's scowl settled into stubborn sullenness.
He did
not understand his own blind lack of decision, but he
knew that he hated having Joshua disappointed in
him,
and he knew that Joshua was disappointed. He was
strid-

MADELEINE I/Englb
ing across the sand to the dunes; on the crest was a dead
and rusty palm toward which he headed. One branch of
palm, brown fronds drooping like feathers, seemed
to
point inland. There was nothing for Adam to do but fol
low, feet slipping as they reached the deep, soft sand
at
the foot of the dunes.
Supporting himself on coarse tufts of beach grass
Joshua climbed the dune, standing, waiting until
Adam
caught up. Then he started ahead, moving slowly
through
what seemed to be no more than an animal track in
the
undergrowth. Thorny branches stretched across their
way,
and these Joshua held aside for Adam. Forest
creepers
looped from tree to tree, and although machete scars
showed that the path had recently been cleared, the
creepers were tenaciously starting to block the way
again.
Joshua untangled them, pausing occasionally to see that
Adam was behind him. Above them were intermittent
flashes of brilliant color, scarlet,
orange, gold, and the
alarmed shrieks of birds. Shadows moved
constantly as the
leaves stirred in the slightest breath of air.
Joshua was
caught in a shifting pattern of shadows, so that his
sandy
hair, his white shirt, his tanned skin flickered with
green,
purple, gold.
After a half mile or so of jungle they reached a
clear
ing, a wide savannah of golden grasses. At
the edge of the
clearing a cloud of multi-colored butterflies
hovered. One
brushed against Adam's face, startling him so that he
jumped. A herd of small animals was grazing
placidly in the distance, but ran pelting through the
grasses and into
the underbrush at the scent of human beings. At the far
side of the savannah was a grove of palms, and beyond
this a hill, which Joshua climbed without slackening his
pace. At the top of the hill there was a plateau where
monolithic slabs of stone caught the full blast
of the sun,
glinting with gold. A large flat slab like a table
or altar
stood in the center, with smaller stones circling it.
Joshua
went up to the table stone and put his palm on its sun
baked surface, asking in a low voice, "Not going
to be a
Mu
rdered
, are you, Adam?"
"I've read King Arthur, too," Adam said. The
sun beat

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
down on his bare head; his upper lip was beaded with
sweat.
Joshua looked at him, seemed about to say something in
reply, instead straightened up and spoke in his
conversa
tional, social-young-man-of-the-Embassy
voice. "This is the
highest point on the island. Over there, to your left,
you can get a glimpse of the Hotel Praia de
Gaea. It's getting a bit of a reputation as a
resort in spite of the heat. Sun
bathing and tennis, and dancing at night if there's enough
breeze. Straight ahead, where you can see a kind of
prom
ontory, is the native village. They're a
gentle people, a
mixture of original islander and Portuguese,
with a touch
of African thrown in. Some people think these stones were
brought here by their remote ancestors and
represent a kind of primitive religion. On
your right, through the
trees, that flash of white is the O'Keefes'
house and labora
tories. By the way, Dr. O'Keefe happens
to be doing his
work here with the blessing of the President of the United
States, though not many people know this, or are supposed
to know."
"Why are you telling me?" Adam asked.
Joshua answered quietly, "To try to counteract
some of
the things I am going on the assumption you have been
told."
"By whom?"
"The people you were with from the time you opened the door at the
Avenida Palace to the time Poly fell into
your arms on the sidewalk hi front of the Ritz."
There was
no longer any censure in his voice. "Until the
hotel was built a year ago there was complete
privacy here and
ideal conditions for Dr. O'Keefe's experiments.
After this
summer it will probably be necessary for him
to move
again. Pity."
"Joshua, don't hate me," Adam said.
"I don't."
"I promise you I-are you going to be staying here in
Gaea at all?"
"No. I have to fly back to Lisbon tonight."
"In-in
that?"
"Wind's quieting down. It won't be a bad
flight."

MADELEINE L'ENGLE
"Is there any way I-I could get in touch with you
if I
needed you?"
"Yes. I'll give you my phone number at
home and my
special extension at the Embassy. They're both
pretty clas
sified, so keep them to yourself. I don't think you're
apt to
need me. A few days with the O'Keefes will clear
things up for you. I was wrong to try to push you. This is
all
very new for you. I had no right to expect you to leap
into
understanding."
"I'd still like to have those numbers," Adam said.
Joshua pulled a small pad out of his shirt
pocket, a stub
of pencil, and wrote. "Here. But please don't
lose them.
Keep them with your passport."
"Okay."
Joshua took another sweeping glance around. "All
right.
Let's go."
A footpath, only slightly wider than that leading
through the scrub, took them down from the hill. The sun
was heavy and hot and pressed on Adam with tangible
weight. It seemed that they were walking far more than
three miles. Then, suddenly, they were at a series
of low,
rambling, dazzling white bungalows, joined together
by
breezeways.
Joshua whistled, the melody Canon Tallis had
whistled
in Madrid, the melody the rabbi had
whistled on the
plane.
"What
is
that?" Adam asked.
Joshua grinned. "The Tallis Canon, of
course."
Without being able to control himself Adam burst
into laughter. "Of course! What an idiot I
am! I
knew I
knew it. We used to sing it in choir when I was a
kid." Now that memory had returned he did not
see how he could have forgotten. The simple melody
Thomas Tallis had
written in the sixteenth century had been one of the
choir
master's favorites, and singing it in canon had been
like singing a round, so the boys had enjoyed it, too.
But
Adam's choirboy days had ended in the seventh
grade, so
perhaps it wasn't too strange that Thomas
Tallis' canon
had not been remembered.
Joshua joined him in laughter. "Polyhymnia's
idea.

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
Naturally." He sobered. "That's the way things come
clear. All of a sudden. And then you realize how
obvious
they've been all along."
Before Adam needed to reply a bevy of scantily
dressed
children came bursting around the corner of the bungalow
and Joshua, calling, hurried to meet them. Behind the
chil
dren, carrying a baby, came a tall, strikingly
beautiful woman, smiling in greeting. Children were
climbing all over Joshua, inspecting Adam, and
then Poly came running out of the bungalow, holding
the hand of a very small child she had evidently been
tending, since he was dressed only in a torn
white undershirt, and she carried
a diaper in her hand.
"Josh! Adam!" she cried joyfully. Joshua was
kissed with exuberance, then Adam. "You're late!
We've been
waiting for ages and ages!"
"We ran into a bit of weather," Joshua
explained. "Mrs.
O'Keefe, this is Adam Eddington."
Mrs. O'Keefe shook hands warmly, laughing.
"Poor Adam, this must seem a formidable
welcome. But it
is
a welcome. We're all happy to see you, and that
you'll be with us this summer. Poly's told us so much
about you. Come on in and I'll show you your room. Are
his things still in the plane, Josh? Good. I'll ask
one of the boys to ride over and get them." She
explained to Adam, "It's twice as long by the
beach, but you can't ride a horse through the brush. I
expect you found it rather scratchy
walking. We're much more primitive on our part of the
is
land than they are at the hotel, but we like it." She
led
Adam along a breezeway and into the largest of the
bun
galows. They went into an enormous white room with
comfortable and shabby-looking chairs and sofas. One
wall was filled with books, another was all windows
looking out
to sea. At one end was a huge fireplace faced
with the
same lovely blue-and-white tile Adam had
seen in Lisbon. The floor was rose-beige
marble. Everything was light and
open and clean, and a soft ocean breeze blew through.
"The living room," Mrs. O'Keefe said,
"obviously lived
in." She went through an arched doorway into a hall
off
which Adam could see a series of cubicles. "We
don't go

MADELEINE L'ENGLE
in for large bedrooms, but everybody has his own. This
is the boys' section. Then the doctor and I have our
room, and then there's the girls' wing. Your room is
nearest the living room. It's a tradition in our
family that the rooms go up in age, the youngest being
nearest our room. Of course each time we have a
new baby the rooms have to be shifted, but that's part
of the fun for the children."
She preceded Adam into the first of the cubicles. There
was a gayly embroidered spread on the bed, a chest
of drawers, a chintz-covered armchair with
sagging springs. A small, empty bookcase
waited by the bed with a lamp on it, and a bouquet of
beach grasses in a glass jar. "Poly's
offering," Mrs. O'Keefe said.
Adam looked at Mrs. O'Keefe's
tranquil, lovely face.
"Is Poly really all right?"
"Yes, Adam. She's fine. And she's very fond
of you."
Was there a question in the way this was said?
"She wasn't hurt at all?" Adam asked.
"You're sure?"
"Quite sure. Only frightened. And you mustn't blame
yourself. You had no way of knowing that there was any
danger when Tom-Canon Tallis-put you on the
plane."
"Is his name really Thomas Tallis, like the
composer's?"
"No. It's John. But his last name really is
Tallis, so of course he gets called Tom.
Do you know the Tallis canon?" Again: was there more
to her question than the
words?
"Yes, but I'd forgotten what it was until just now.
Joshua was whistling it and I asked him. It
was very stu
pid of me; we used to sing it in choir."
"Like to sing?"
"Sure, but I've been a bass now for quite a
while, and a
sort of rumbly one."
"Oh, splendid, we need a bass."
Out of doors Adam could hear the children calling and
laughing and then they trooped into the house and in
through the living room. "May we come in?" Poly
called.
"Adam hasn't been properly introduced."
"Maybe he'd rather wait and get his breath for a few
minutes first."

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
"No." Adam smiled at the crowd of children clustered
in the doorway. "I'd like to be introduced."
"May I do it?" Poly asked her mother.
"Go ahead."
"We'll go down in age this time," Poly stated
categori
cally. "After Father Tom gave me my horrendous
name mother and daddy wouldn't let him name any of the rest
of us, so don't worry. Charles comes
next; he's ten, and we're the redheads; we'd
given up on having any more
carrot tops till we came to the baby, but we
haven't come
to her yet as far as introductions are concerned."
A stocky, freckle-faced boy in tan shorts
and a white
shirt shook hands with Adam.
"Hello, Charles," Adam said.
"Sandy comes next." Poly paused for handshaking,
"and
then Dennys. This is Peggy. She's four; and
Johnny; he's two. And there's the baby on
mother's shoulder. Father
Tom was determined he was going to name her, and if he
had it would have been something awful; he has a weird
sense of humor. We all call her Rosebud,
because that's
what she is, aren't you, Rosy? But she was
baptized Mary.
Lots better than Polyhymnia, don't you
think? Isn't it,
Rosy?"
The baby opened her toothless mouth in an ecstatic
smile and held out her dimpled arms
to Poly. The soft fluff on her head was rosy
gold and she did indeed have the look of a tiny,
perfect bud. Looking at the baby and the other children
Adam felt a pang of envy: it would
have been nice to have brothers and sisters.
"Not now, Rosy," Poly said. "Mother, may I
take
Adam out to the lab to daddy?"
"No, Poly, let Josh do it. Come help
Maria get some
lunch ready."
"But Josh already is
in
the lab."
"We'll just point it out to Adam, then. It's not very
diffi
cult, Pol."
For a moment Poly scowled; then she took the baby
from her mother, holding it up and gently rubbing noses,
which apparently delighted Rosy, who crowed with soft
laughter.

MADELEINE L'ENGLE
I8Come, Adam," Mrs. O'Keefe said.
"I'll show you theI way."
IT-HE bungalows, the boy realized, formed three
sides ofI a square, with the fourth side a cement
sea wall. The cen-I ter bungalow contained living
room, dining room, andI kitchen. The right arm was
bedrooms, the left the lab.i Through all of the
rooms the salt sea wind blew, and thesound of the slow
breakers was a constant background.adam left the
living quarters and walked through thebreezeway into an
enormous cluttered room; it had themessy maze of
tubes, retorts, pipes, files, bottles,
acid-scarred counters with which he was familiar in Old
Doc'slab, and the same smell of the sea beneath and around
theacrid odors of chemicals and Bunsen burners.
One wallwas lined with tanks, and Dr.
O'Keefe and Joshua were
looking soberly into one of these.
Adam cleared his throat. "Dr.
O'Keefe-Josh-was The men turned from the tank, which
Adam could now
see contained two lizards. The sunlight was caught
and re
flected in Dr. O'Keefe's hair, in the
brilliant blue of his eyes. Joshua might be
able to slip, unnoticed, in and out of a crowd. Dr.
O'Keefe would always stand out. Now he
smiled at Adam, and his smile had much of the open
warmth of Poly's. Adam realized that up to this
moment he had seen the older man only at night,
only when his
face had been pulled tight with anxiety.
"Adam. Good to have you back with us." He made no
reference to the Avenida Palace, to Adam's
disobedience.
"This afternoon I'll show you the setup of some of our
experiments, and how you can help me with correlating.
Too
near lunchtime now, and I'm hungry. Take him
for a quick swim, Josh, while I clean up, and after
we've eaten we'll set to work." It was a
suggestion, but it was also an
order.
Joshua looked at him sharply. "Macrina?" he
asked.
Dr. O'Keefe gave a barely perceptible nod
of assent.
"My bathing trunks are in my suitcase,"
Adam said.
"That's all right," Joshua told him. "There are
plenty in the bathhouse. Come on." He led the boy
through the big room, into a smaller room,
also lined with tanks, and then into a cement-floored
room with several showers in stalls. A pile of
bathing trunks lay on a wooden bench. Bottles
of
solution and extra lab equipment were stored in
corners.
"Help yourself," Joshua told Adam, sorting through
the bathing suits and coming up with zebra-striped
trunks.
"My favorites. Aren't they repulsive?"
Adam took a pair of plain navy trunks,
disregarding
several violent-looking outfits.
Joshua laughed. "One of the native bath
attendants at the hotel is a friend of the cook's.
Whenever someone leaves the island, forgetting his
trunks-bathing suits, too, for that matter-he
brings them over to us. It's very
handy."
They emerged from the dim coolness of the bathhouse onto
a cement ramp leading to the sea wall, into a blast of
sunlight. At the wall stood Poly, in a faded
red woolen
bathing suit which clashed with her hair.
"Hi!" she called. "I thought maybe
you'd take Adam for a swim before lunch and I
didn't want to miss out. What about . . ." she
paused and looked questioningly at
Joshua.
Joshua nodded. "Your father said yes."
"Oh, good! May I call her?"
Joshua sighed, looking troubled. "Of course. She
comes better for you than for the rest of us."
-I have no right to ask questions, Adam thought.
He jumped off the sea wall
into
this
e
deep
san
d which burned against the soles of his feet so that he
hurried, stumbling,

MADELEINE L'ENGLE
across the beach to the damp, hard-packed sand cooled by
the waves. Poly was already splashing through the shallow
breakers; she threw herself down and started to disswim,
diving under the waves until she was beyond the pounding
of the surf. Adam and Joshua followed. Adam had
spent
much of each summer in the water, but he had to swim
al
most to the extent of his energy to keep up.
"Is this okay?" he called to Joshua as Poly
continued to
cleave her way swiftly and cleanly through the water,
out
toward the open sea.
"Yes," Joshua called back. "Poly's not
allowed to go out
this far alone, but she's a natural swimmer and this
is as safe a section of beach as you'll find
anywhere. They've had trouble with sharks at the hotel,
and with undertow, too." He dove under the water, sending
up a stream of
bubbles.
After a few more yards, Poly stopped, rolled over
onto
her back and floated for a moment, catching her breath,
then started to tread water. She glanced back at
Adam, as
though about to say something, then seemed to change her
mind. Looking out to sea she began to make a series
of
strange, breathy noises, which she repeated
over and over
again.
"Look." Joshua pointed out toward the horizon.
Adam thought he saw a flash of silver, then
another flash. Then there was the unmistakable joyous
leap of a
dolphin, coming in toward them.
"Watch," Joshua said.
The dolphin came, leaping through the air, plunging
into the water, leaping again, until it had almost reached
them. Then it swam directly toward Poly, who
swam to meet it with a glad cry. "Macrina!"
She, too, seemed to leap out of the water, and then she
was flinging her arms about the dolphin in the same way
she had greeted Joshua and Adam, and the two of them
were rolling over and over together, splashing, Poly
shouting, the dolphin
making a high-pitched whistle that was a greeting as
radi
ant as Poly's own.
The dolphin started swimming in a slow, graceful
circle,

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
with Poly swimming beside her. "Show me your
flipper,"
she commanded.
Obediently the dolphin rolled on its side,
waving a sleek,
wet flipper. It was a perfectly ordinary
dolphin flipper, but
Poly kissed it with exuberance, crying, "Oh,
Macrina, dar
ling, you're wonderful!"
For a moment Macrina seemed to nuzzle up to her.
Then she leaped in a great shining arc and plunged under the
water out of sight. It was evidently her goodbye be
cause Poly turned away, back toward Adam
and Joshua.
"Does he know about Macrina?"
"Not yet," Joshua said.
"I don't know a
thing
that's happened since Adam went to sleep in the
Ritz," Poly complained. "Every time daddy talked
to you on the phone he went out to the lab and wouldn't let
me come in. He wouldn't even let me talk to Father
Tom."
"You're a very inquisitive child," Joshua said.
"We'd better swim in now, Poly. You
know your father doesn't
like to be kept waiting for lunch."
"But isn't anybody going to tell me anything?"
Poly
wailed.
"Adam's done practically nothing but sleep,"
Joshua
said. "Come on, race you."
It was a close race, Joshua first, then Poly,
last Adam. Poly grinned in satisfaction at
beating him. "You swim very well, Adam," she said
condescendingly, standing on one leg in the shallow
water, shaking her wet hair out of her eyes, then
jumping up and down to get the water out
of one ear.
"That, my dear Miss Polyhymnia
O'Keefe," Joshua said, "is how to lose friends
in one easy lesson. When you're a few years
older you'll know better than to beat a
young man in a race."
"Like Diana with the golden apples," Poly said.
"Come
on, kids, I'm starved."
In the bathhouse they showered, sluicing off the salt,
then dressed, still half-wet. Poly and
Joshua were filled with such gaiety that Adam found
himself relaxing, think-

MADELEINE I/Engle
ing, -If Dr. O'Keefe asks me about opening
the door I'll
tell him.
He could not feel, bathed in Poly's and Joshua's
high
spirits, that there could be any danger here.
As they went in to the central section of the house
Charles was standing in wait, calling,
"Hurry,"
and they went directly to the dining room. The dining
table was round and the rest of the family was already seated,
Johnny in a high chair, and Rosy nearby in a
playpen. Mrs. O'Keefe called Joshua
to sit at her right, and Adam was taken in hand
by Poly who pulled him into the chair by her. Dr.
O'Keefe said grace, and then Mrs. O'Keefe
and Poly got up and served lunch, helped by a
tall, lithe woman with straight black hair and
dark skin. The meal
consisted of an enormous tureen filled with tiny
shellfish, still in their shells, bits of meat
and sausage, and the broth
in which it had all been cooked.
"One of Maria's specialties," Mrs.
O'Keefe said. "Peggy, how about getting us a
couple more bowls to put
our empty shells in?" She watched after the little
girl,
who went to the sideboard and brought two blue bowls
to
the table. "Joshua, when are you leaving?"
"Low tide."
"About eleven tonight, then. So we can get in some
singing before you go."
Joshua laughed. "If Adam can stay awake.
I've never
seen such a man for sleeping."
Poly defended Adam quickly. "But he was
tired,
Josh,
he hadn't had any sleep for three nights."
For a moment there was an uncomfortable silence. Then the
phone rang. Maria looked inquiringly at Mrs.
O'Keefe, who said, "It's all right, Maria,
I'll get it," ex
cused herself, and went into the living room,
returning to
say, "It's for you, Adam."
"But-was Adam started in surprise, pushing back his
chair.
"It's Carolyn Cutter," Mrs. O'Keefe
said.
"Oh." Adam stood up. "Excuse me." He
went into the
living room and picked up the phone.
"Adam," came Kali's light, high voice.
"I've come to

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
Gaea for a few days, and I'm at the hotel.
Isn't that splen
did?"
"Yes," Adam said, politely.
"Adam, you don't sound glad to hear from me."
"Well, I am." But he was not.
"Are you where we can talk? I mean are you private
or
are you surrounded? If you're surrounded just say
yes."
"Yes."
"I thought so. Your voice sounds all
funny and closed in. Do you think you could escape and
come over to the
hotel for dinner tonight?"
"I just got here," Adam said, "so I wouldn't think
so."
"I was afraid of that. Don't worry, Adam,
it'll be all
right."
"What will?"
"Everything. I do know it must be awful for you. Come
tomorrow night, then. I'll have daddy call and make it
all
proper and everything. We can't talk now, so I'll
say good
bye." Without waiting for him to reply she clicked
off.
Adam walked back to the dining room and sat down
again, murmuring, "Excuse me."
"I don't like that girl." Poly offered him an
orange from
a bowl in the center of the table.
Mrs. O'Keefe shook her head, warningly. "You
don't
know her, Poly."
"I've met her at the Embassy when
I've been there with
Joshua. I don't like her."
"Poly." Her father looked at her sternly.
"Oh, okay, I'm sorry, but I don't. What
did she want,
Adam?"
Mrs. O'Keefe said, "If she'd wanted
to tell you, no doubt she'd have called you to the phone
instead of
Adam."
"She wanted me to come to the hotel for dinner
tonight."
Poly wailed, "But you're not going!"
"Poly!" Dr. O'Keefe said.
"No, of course I'm not, Poly. Not my first
night here."
"Well, thank goodness. I'd have gone green with jeal
ousy."

MADELEINE I/Engle
Dr. O'Keefe rose. "Ready to come to the lab,
Adam?"
"Yes, sir." The boy excused himself to Mrs.
O'Keefe
and followed the doctor out.
In the big lab Adam sniffed hungrily at the
odor of fish
and chemicals and burning gas in the Bunsens, for there
was safety for him in this smell. It was home, it was
com
fort, and it was, for the moment, escape from confusion.
In this familiar room the decisions he had to make
would
be about what went on in the tanks of starfish, and not
choosing between spiders and teddy bears, or between two
groups of people, both of whom seemed convinced that they
spoke for the American Embassy and therefore for
America.
Dr. O'Keefe sat down at a large and
ancient rolltop
desk. The sunlight struck his hair, firing it.
The eyes that
looked at Adam were the clear and open blue of the
sky. There was, in the smile, the warmth and
welcome Adam
had come to respond to and to love so quickly in Poly.
Dr. O'Keefe looked around the lab, at the
tanks of star
fish, at the scarred working counter. "It's a good
lab," he
said. "I've learned a lot here. I'm sorry
to be leaving."
"Because of the hotel?"
Dr. O'Keefe leaned back in his creaking chair.
"Yes. This will be our last summer here. It's time
to move on."
He took up a pipe and filled it slowly.
"Sit down."
Adam perched on a rather wobbly stool and waited
while Dr. O'Keefe lit his pipe, drawing on
it thoughtfully,
as though thinking what to say. In the tanks the water
murmured and there was the occasional scrabbling sound
of an animal moving around.
"We came to the island," Dr. O'Keefe said at
last, "be
cause it was, at the time, one of the few places
left in the
world where I could bring up my family and work undis
turbed. We've almost finished what we came for.
What we
have to do now is to finish it quickly and get out in time."
"In time?"
"When the resort hotel was built here about a year
ago
it wasn't just because the world is running out of new
playgrounds, and it wasn't just one of Typhon
Cutter's
business ventures-though, as usual, it's been a
successful

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
one. It was largely-no false humility here-because of
me. Everything I've done in this lab for the past
months is
now open knowledge." Adam looked at him in a startled
way, and Dr. O'Keefe explained. "Therefore
everything that's done in this lab is nothing that couldn't have
been done by any scientist anywhere in the world: China
or Russia, for instance. The important part of my
work is neither kept nor recorded here. All right,
Adam, enough for now. Let's start you on the tanks and
what's going on in them. Your job is to take care
of the tanks and keep
the daily reports."
Dr. O'Keefe pushed back his chair which gave a
loud and protesting squeak. Adam followed him to the
first
tank in which were several perfectly normal-looking
star
fish. "Funny," Dr. O'Keefe said. "Here
we come from the
same family tree and we know so little about these crea
tures. Presumably," he gave a wry
smile, "they know as
little about us. Somewhere, a few billion years ago
on the
evolutionary scale, we chose to develop hi
different direc
tions. I wonder why."
"Well," Adam remembered unwillingly his
interview
with Typhon Cutter, "I suppose Darwin would
say it was
survival of the fittest and stuff. And mutations."
"Just happenstance?"
"Well, in a way, sir. We developed the way
we did be
cause we began to use our forepaws as hands, and
stood
up on our hind legs."
"Just by accident?"
"Well, I don't know, sir. Dr. Didymus
used to talk a lot
about free will and making choices and stuff."
The doctor nodded, then pointed to the starfish in the
tank. "Do you know how one goes about working with
them?"
"Well, it's not easy, sir, because if a starfish
feels that an
arm is being hurt or threatened in any way he
drops it and
grows another. So if you want to work with starfish you
have to put an anaesthetic solution in the water."
"Standard procedure, yes, and where we've made our
first changes. Now, what happens to an isolated
arm that
drops off?"

MADELEINE I/Engle
"It can't regenerate. There always has to be a
piece of
central disc, or the starfish can't regrow."
"So one wonders, doesn't one, what is in the
central disc
that isn't anyplace else? What would your idea
be?"
"Well, sir, Dr. Didymus says it's been
shown that nerve
is very important in regeneration."
is taking nerve animal and trans-
"Right. So what we have been doing rings from around the
mouth of the planting them to isolated arms."
"Wow!"
"Not so spectacular. Not even a very new idea.
But it
works."
Adam looked not at the starfish in the tank but at
Dr. O'Keefe's face, his own face
reflecting the doctor's interest
and excitement. "What happens?"
"The arm produces its own central disc, and after
about four months the familiar five-rayed form is
back again. Look. The starfish here have all
developed from arm frag
ments. Perfectly normal, ordinary starfish."
"Wow," Adam said again.
"They've been here a year and we'll continue
to observe them until we have to leave the island. You
do
see the im
plications of all this?"
"Well, yes, sir. If it could be applied to people-was
"Yes. But not too soon. The dangers are so
horrifying they hardly bear thinking about.
If unscrupulous men got hold of this it would be like
letting loose the power of the atom for devastation, for
death instead of life. The tiniest thing in the world is the
heart of the atom, and yet it's the most powerful.
What we are learning from the starfish is just as powerful,
and, like the core of the atom, can be either destructive
or creative. Misused-it could be like dropping the
bomb on Hiroshima." He moved on to the next
tank. "Here we transplanted nerve rings about
three months ago and you can see that regeneration is
well on the way. In this tank we started two
months ago but you can see that the starfish is going
to grow, that life is going to win. Now here in the first
tank you might think nothing is going to happen, but if
you'll look carefully you'll see that regeneration has
begun."

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
Adam stared eagerly into the tanks, his excitement
at
what Dr. O'Keefe was saying pushing the thought of
Kali's
unwelcome phone call out of his mind. "Why
hasn't any
body done this before?" he asked.
"I'm sure other scientists have. Now here in these
tanks
are frogs and lizards. It's quite openly known that
augmented nerve supply stimulates arms to grow on
frogs and legs on lizards. The files are here,
and I'll show you
the file not only for each tank, but for each
animal, and it
will be your job to keep these up to date daily."
"Yes, Dr. O'Keefe."
"This kind of work interests you, doesn't it?"
"Yes, sir. It excites me more than anything in
the
world."
"But the exciting things always have implications that
we don't foresee. Always, Adam."
"I wish they didn't," Adam said.
"As Poly would remark, if wishes were horses,
beggars
would ride. Poly has the making of a scientist, and
she's been working with me on this all along. As a
matter of fact, I have to keep her out of the
laboratory. It's better
right now for Poly to help my wife than to work with me
here, so I seldom allow her out here
until after the youn
ger ones are in bed."
"Is that why she was kidnapped?" Adam asked.
"Because she knows what I'm doing? Yes. But also I
think the idea was to use her as a hostage. Then, when
you opened the door at the Avenida Palace something
new
came into the picture. You became more important
than Poly. At least this is my guess." He
looked at Adam, but Adam looked down at his
feet. Dr. O'Keefe sighed.
Adam, still looking down, mumbled, "But you said that
none of this was really secret."
"It's not. Most of my lab isn't in a building
at all.
What's done in here is only the beginning, the going
back and working out reasons and proofs. It's the other
things, the things that are not here, that are really
important. Did
you see Macrina when you were swimming?"
"The dolphin? Yes, sir."
"She'll almost always come for Poly. Poly's
greatest tal-

MADELEINE I/Engle
ent is for loving. She loves in an extraordinary
way for a
twelve-year-old, a simple, pure outpouring, with
no look
ing for anything in return. What she is too young
to have learned yet is that love is too mighty a
gift for some
people to accept."
"Does she-does she love everybody?" Adam
asked,
rather desperately.
The doctor laughed. "As you may have noticed at the
table Poly is quite capable of dislike, reasonable or
no.
Being judgmental is something she knows she has to fight
against. But when Poly loves, it simply happens.
She loves
her family, all of us. She loves Tom
Tallis. She loves
Joshua. And she loves you, Adam."
At last the boy looked directly at the older
man. "Sir. I
love Poly, too."
Dr. O'Keefe returned the gaze. "Do you,
Adam?"
"Yes, sir. I don't quite know why. And I
don't-I don't
have any idea why she would love me. She was-she
was in my care when she was kidnapped. I was
responsible for
her."
"We don't blame you for what happened. Tom
says he
didn't warn you properly."
"But I was responsible," Adam said. "And I
failed. This
is why-was
"Why what, Adam?"
Adam looked down and spoke in a low voice.
"Why I didn't obey you when you told me not
to open the door.
Sir. I am very confused."
Dr. O'Keefe put his hand on the boy's
shoulder. "All
right, Adam. I think you'll do."
"Do for what, sir?"
"Let's just say that I don't think you'll ever
betray
Poly."
"Dr. O'Keefe, if you ever needed
to trust me with her
again-if you ever would-I wouldn't fail again."
Dr. O'Keefe nodded. "Yes. I believe you.
But you know
that I can't trust you with her now, don't you?"
"Why, sir?"
"You must know why, Adam."
"Sir," Adam said, "just let me have a few days
to sort

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
things out. If I can just work here quietly in the lab
for a while-if nothing here is really secret then I
can't hurt
Poly or you or anybody else, can I? If I
can just get a few
things straightened out in my own mind ..."
"All right. We'll have to let it go at that."
Again the boy looked directly at the older man.
"This
Carolyn Cutter-was
"What about her?"
"She wants me to have dinner with her at the hotel to
morrow, since I said I couldn't tonight. She's going
to have
her father call you or Mrs. O'Keefe about it. But
if you'd
rather I didn't I'd be glad not to."
Dr. O'Keefe shook his head. "No, Adam.
If you want to make up your own mind, you'll have
to make it up,
won't you?"
Adam stayed in the laboratory the rest of the afternoon.
He worked with happy concentration on tank and file:
here was work he knew; here was safety. He was loath
to leave when Dennys, changed to clean shorts and
shirt,
came to call him.
After dinner the two babies were put to bed. The rest
gathered in the living room, Sandy, Dennys, and
Peggy in their night things. Poly and Charles were
staying up to see
Joshua off.
"May we sing until time for Josh to go?" Poly
asked.
"It's a must," Joshua said, his arm lightly about
Poly's waist. "What first?"
"The Tallis Canon, of course, so Father"'11
know we're thinking of him. You start, Mother."
Mrs. O'Keefe leading, they sang it in
canon, one voice coming in after another.
All praise to thee, my God, this night
For all the blessings of the light.
Keep me, O keep me, king of kings Beneath thine
own almighty wings,
Poly's voice finished alone, light and clear, and
full of trust. Adam remembered, unwillingly,
the empty washroom on the plane, and thought of
Poly drugged, gagged, dumped roughly onto a
pile of luggage. He was grateful when Mrs.
O'Keefe started the gay "Arkansas
Traveller." From this they went into a conglomeration of
familiar hymns, madrigals, folk songs, even
Bach chorales. Adam had played the guitar at
school parties and he knew the bass to much of the
music. Joshua and Dr. O'Keefe were both
tenors, so he was a welcome addition.

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
"You're absolutely wonderful, Adam," Mrs.
O'Keefe said. "I'm sick and tired of singing
bass an octave high. If Old Doc had
only told us you could sing it wouldn't have mattered
whether you could work in the lab or not. How
about "Come Unto These Yellow
Sands"?"
During the singing Peggy, nightgown trailing, came
and sat in Adam's lap, at first a little rigid, as
though not quite certain of her welcome, then relaxing
softly against him, her head on his chest, her breath
coming more and more slowly until Adam realized she was
sound asleep. He put his arm around the small,
warm body, almost afraid to sing lest he disturb
her, then relaxing and singing fully.
Across the room Joshua, sitting with Poly, smiled
at him.
Just as Adam began to feel that he must shift his
position, and knew that he didn't want to move,
despite his discomfort, for fear of waking Peggy,
Mrs. O'Keefe rose and came over to him,
saying, "Will you carry her to bed
for me, please, Adam? Come on, boys, time for
bed."
Adam stood up with the sleeping child. He realized that
all evening he had been happy, he had forgotten
about Kali, he had felt only pleasure in the children
and in the music. He did not want the peace of the
evening to end.
He did not want Joshua to fly back
to Lisbon.
But when the boy returned to the living room Joshua
said, "You're coming to see me off, aren't you,
Adam?"
"Well, sure."
"I put some riding clothes in your room. Same
source as
the bathing suits."
Dr. O'Keefe laughed. "It's really not as bad
as it sounds. We do make every effort to get the things
back to their rightful owners. We'll be waiting for you
outside."
Mrs. O'Keefe stayed home with the younger chil
dren. Adam set off with the doctor and Joshua, who
were both riding stocky, golden-brown horses which
Joshua told Adam were an island breed. Poly
was on an elderly bay who seemed enormous for
her, but was obviously gentle and reliable; Charles
rode a shaggy pony, and Adam himself was given a
large, white, matronly looking beast, apparently
first cousin in disposition to Poly's bay.
The night was bright with a three-quarter moon, and the

MADELEINE I/Engle
horses moved softly along the damp sand at the
edge of
the water, their hoofbeats almost silenced by the slow,
steady sound of the sea. Against the dunes fireflies
glit
tered. Poly rode beside Adam. In the moonlight
the bril
liance of her hair was turned to silver. She sat,
tall and
erect, her height making her seem more than her
twelve
years. Ahead of them rode the doctor and Joshua;
Charles
led the procession, a solitary, small figure.
The two men
were talking and their voices, though not then- words, were
blown back on the wind.
"Daddy wants to talk to Josh," Poly said, "and
I can
see he'd rather I didn't listen. And Charles is
in one of his
hermit moods. I want to talk to you anyhow.
Josh and I
went for a long walk this afternoon while you were in the
lab working, and he didn't tell me one single
thing."
"About what?"
"About anything. Adam, I know children are not supposed
to be curious, but life isn't as simple as that
any more, and I
am
twelve, and after all, I
was
kidnapped."
Adam's sense of relaxation vanished; he felt
himself
stiffen hi the saddle. "Yes, Poly, you were."
"Well, then, don't I have a right to ask a few
questions? I don't think Joshua thought I did. Had
the right. I mean, it was okay for me to ask
him
questions, even if he wouldn't answer any of them, but
I got the idea that he didn't think it was all right
for me to ask
you
questions.
Why?"
Adam looked not at Poly but at the moonlight
dazzling the surface of the ocean. "I'm not quite
sure," he said at
last.
"Then is it all right if I
do
ask you some questions?"
"You can ask me anything you want to," Adam said,
"though I may be like Josh and not be very good at
answering. But how about letting me start off by asking you
a few things first?"
"Of course." She was so willing, the face she
turned to
him in the moonlight was so open, that Adam winced.
"Poly, on the plane, when you went into the
washroom,
you were afraid, weren't you?"
"Yes."

THE
ARM OF THE STARFISH
"Why?"
"Father Tom had told me it wasn't safe for him
to keep
me with him."
"Why?"
"Because of the pa---" she stopped herself. "Because
they'd know I was daddy's daughter. And they know I
know about what daddy's doing."
"About starfish regenerating their arms?"
"Yes."
"But that's not a secret, Poly. Your father said himself
that he was sure other scientists were doing the same ex
periments."
Poly leaned over her horse with a caressing
gesture, put
ting her head down on its neck. After a moment she
sat
up straight in the saddle again. "But it's more than
that."
"What is it, then?"
"Didn't daddy tell you?"
"He doesn't trust me," Adam said starkly.
"But Adam-was
Adam's voice was savage. "He has every right not
to
trust me."
"I trust you," Poly said.
It was all Adam could do not to kick his heels
into his horse's ribs, to gallop away. He
growled, "You're much
too trusting for your own good."
"Oh, I don't go around trusting everybody, the
way Peggy does. I'm not that much of a child. I know
there are people in the world you
can
trust, and people you
can't."
"How do you decide which is which?"
"You know with people, or you don't. I don't trust that
Kali. I wish you weren't going out to dinner with her."
"So do I."
"Do you have to?"
"Yes, I think I do."
Back in the brush an owl screeched, a shrill,
terrifying
cry. Poly shuddered. "And I didn't trust the
steward on
that plane. He was weasely."
"When you went to the washroom-were you afraid of
being kidnapped?"

MADELEINE I/Engle
"Not exactly. I didn't really know what I was
afraid of.
After all, I'd never been kidnapped before. But I
guess it
was really sort of in the back of my mind."
"You're sure it was the steward who put you in the can
vas bag?"
"Adam, if you're kidnapped you don't forget the
person
who kidnaps you."
"But did you really see him?"
"Yes. I was washing my hands, and I heard the
knob of
the door turn, but I'd locked it, so I didn't
expect it to
open. But when it did I saw him hi the mirror.
He put his
hand over my mouth before I could scream. He was so
much stronger than I am, in spite of being weasely,
that I couldn't even make a noise fighting. And then
he put that
stuff over my nose and got the gag on me and got
me in
the sack." She began to tremble.
"I'm sorry," Adam said. "I'm truly
sorry to have to remind you of it. Will you let me ask you
just a couple
more questions?"
"If you need to."
"I do need to. I wouldn't do it to you otherwise,
I
promise."
Poly gave an oddly grown-up laugh. "Don't
sound so
agonized, Adam. It's all right."
"Well, what about the steward," Adam asked, almost
savagely. "Is he just floating around loose? I
mean, he
might try to come here or something."
"Really, Adam." Poly sounded impatient. "You
must think daddy's very careless or something. Interpol
went
right after him."
"Have they got him?"
"Yes. Last night. Father Tom called from
Madrid."
"But-was
"I don't want to talk about it. I don't want
to think
about it. It's all over." Tension tightened her
voice again.
Adam sighed. "I'm sorry. Just one more thing. When
you got to the house, they took you right out of the sack?"
"Yes."
"Who took you out?"
"I don't know, Adam. Don't think Josh and
daddy

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
haven't asked me this one over and over again, too.
I was still groggy and it was so dark in the room all I
could tell was that it was a man, and I couldn't really
tell about him, because at first I thought he was terribly
fat, and then I
felt one of his arms, and it was skinny."
It was Adam's turn to shiver. The moon rode
placidly in a cloudless sky, the stars dimmed by the
brightness. The sea, too, was calm, the waves
rolling in gently, rhythmically. Up on the dunes
the grasses and the great wings of the palms were almost still,
though the fronds made their incessant scratchy
whispering. The air was warm and they rode without
sweaters or jackets. But Adam shivered.
Poly looked over at him. "He gave me something
to drink. I told you that. And it put me back
to sleep. And then, later on, whenever it was, when
I was awake and it was all dark and horrible and I was
frightened and the
door was locked and I started to cry, that man came
in-was
"Which man?"
"You know, Adam, I told you at the
Ritz, the man who drove us, that beast. And then he
blindfolded and gagged me and put me in the car and I
knew he'd hurt me if I tried to cry or do
anything. And then there I was in front of the Ritz, and
you were there, too, and you held me,
and I knew it was all going to be all right."
In front of them Adam could see Dr.
O'Keefe and Joshua talking quietly, their
horses close. Charles was still in the lead, sitting
up very straight, a stocky shadow on his little pony.
A firefly flew across the beach from the dunes, lit
for a moment on Charles's shoulder, then disappeared
into the moonlight.
"Adam," Poly said, "why haven't daddy or
Josh told me
anything about you?"
"I don't know."
"How did you happen to be there on the sidewalk?
were you in the car, too?"
"Yes."
"Were you kidnapped, too?"
Suddenly, almost without his volition, Adam's heels
kicked and his horse broke into a trot. He
kicked again. The horse started to canter.
120
MADELEINE L'ENGLE
As he came up beside Joshua he called out, half
chok
ing, "It was Carolyn Cutter I opened the door
to!"
He pulled the horse up. Joshua dropped behind,
then
came up on Adam's other side, so that the boy was
riding
between the two men. Dr. O'Keefe, at the water's
edge, was looking straight ahead, not at Adam, not
even at the
small figure of Charles placidly riding along
a few yards in front. Adam turned toward
Joshua who smiled at him brilliantly but did
not speak.
Behind them there was a thudding, and Poly's bay came
ambling along with what was obviously all the speed it
considered suitable.
"Hey!"
Poly called.
"I'm sorry," Adam said. "I have to talk to your
fa
ther."
"Poly," Dr. O'Keefe said, "go
ride with Charles,
please."
"But Charles wants to-was
"You don't need to talk to him. Just go ride beside
him."
In the moonlight Adam could see Poly glower.
But she responded obediently. "Yes, daddy," and
trotted the large,
disapproving bay so close to the water's edge that an
in
coming wave rippled against its protesting hooves.
Charles
turned to her and spoke, at which Poly flung her
arms up in the air in an abused fashion and
trotted the bay around
the pony so that the little boy could be next to the water.
"All right, Adam," Dr. O'Keefe said
quietly. "And then
she took you to her father."
"You know?"
"Yes. But you had to tell us yourself."
Joshua turned to Adam. "Had you ever seen
Carolyn
Cutter before you met her in the airport in New
York?"
"No."
"How did you happen to speak to her there?"
"I suppose," Adam said slowly, "you might
say she picked me up. But it all seemed
perfectly natural. What
with the fog and everything and planes being canceled and
flights deferred, all kinds of people were talking who
wouldn't have if everything had been perfectly
ordinary."

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
Dr. O'Keefe asked, "Was it just casual
chitchat between
you?"
"No. She warned me about-about Canon Tallis.
And
about you, sir."
"Warned you about what?"
"Well-not anything particular. Just a warning in a
vac
uum. I don't think I really took it very
seriously at first. It
all just seemed kind of exciting and an adventure."
"And you thought she was attractive?"
"Yes, sir."
Joshua reached over and patted the neck of Adam's
horse, as though in this way he could communicate com
fort directly to Adam. "And so she is. So when
she
knocked on the door ..."
"She told me she'd help me find Poly."
"You believed her?"
"Well, Josh, I
did
find Poly. She was there, at the Cut
ters' house."
The older men exchanged glances, and Dr.
O'Keefe
said, "Yes, Poly's description of the man in the
dark room
could hardly have been of anyone but Typhon Cutter.
But
we had to be sure. Now, Adam, will you go back
to the
moment you opened the door and tell us in as much
detail
as you can everything that happened until you and Poly
were put out of the car in front of the Ritz?"
"Yes, sir. I'll try. But I

terribly tired, so I may not get it exactly
right. I'll do my best." He looked out over the
ocean. The moon made a wide, shining path from
water's edge to horizon. Carefully he tried
to tell the two
men the events of that night that seemed far more than
three nights behind him. In spite of the fatigue that
had
kept him from thinking clearly or acting reasonably
his ac
curate memory again helped him, bringing the events
and
words of that night up from his subconscious. He
looked
at the bright swathe of moonlight on water and
recalled small details he hadn't even known
he remembered, or that, up to this moment, he hadn't
remembered. He saw
again with his mind's eye the black-and-white room,
saw
the obesity of Typhon Cutter's body in such
repellent con
trast to the thinness of arms and legs; he saw again the
ex-
122
madeleine l'engle
traordinary beauty of the young man in the portrait,
the
young man who had grown into a middle-aged spider.
"If you didn't know it was the same person-how
could
anyone change so completely?"
"The odd distribution of weight is glandular,"
Dr.
O'Keefe said, "but I don't think it's as
simple as all that. He also reflects all the
choices he has made all his life
long."
"Why," Adam asked, with the abruptness with which he
had asked it of Typhon Cutter, "why did
Canon Tallis
lose his eyebrows?"
For a moment the strained look tightened Dr.
O'Keefe's
face again. "It was in Korea. He not only
withstood torture himself, but he helped the men with him
to stand up against it. This was what left the greatest mark
on him,
not his own suffering, but the pain of others."
"Adam," Joshua said, "when we didn't
know where Poly was, and then when we didn't know where
you were-if he'd had any hair left it would have
turned
white."
"Stop, Joshua," the doctor said quietly.
"Don't make
this any harder for Adam than it is already. Go on,
boy."
"Yes, sir." He sighed deeply,
unconsciously, talking in a
voice so low that several times he was asked to repeat
himself. Finally he said, "I think that's about it. I'm
glad I've told you. But I think I have to tell
you that I'm still
confused. I'm still not certain or secure about
anything."
Again Joshua patted Adam's horse, saying
softly,
"That's all right, Adam. Who is?"
"So of course I won't have dinner with Kali tomorrow
night. I don't ever want to see her again."
Dr. O'Keefe spoke quietly but firmly.
"But I'm afraid you'll have to. When you opened that
door to her you started a chain of events for yourself that you
can't end
quite this easily."
Ahead of them Poly called out, "There's the
plane!"
Charles's clear voice came, "Race you!" and his
little
pony tore across the sand. Poly's bay broke
into a resigned
trot.

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
The plane lay on the beach ahead of them like a
strange, prehistoric bird in the shadows. Again
Adam felt a sense of irrational panic at the
idea that Joshua was go
ing to leave. Charles reached the plane the pony's
length ahead of Poly. They dismounted and walked their
horses over to the softer sand where there was an old
barnacled pile that could be used as a hitching post.
Dr. O'Keefe turned to the children, leaving Joshua
and Adam side by
side.
"Adam-was
"Yes, Josh?"
"Feel better?"
"I don't really know."
"You will."
"Okay, if you say so."
"Not if still say so. But you will. Even though it's not go
ing to be easy."
Adam set his jaw stubbornly. "I will not have dinner
with Kali tomorrow night. I will not have anything more
to do with the Cutters."
Joshua spoke tranquilly. "Oh, yes, you
will
."
"I will
not."
"Listen," Joshua said, "I'll bet you anything you
like
that you will."
"I wouldn't put money on it if I were you."
"I'd put more than that on it. When I whistled the
Tallis
canon you said you'd sung it in choir."
"Till my voice changed."
"I was going to say something, but I'm not. Instead-
did you ever hear Tom Tallis use a kind of
password
phrase?"
"Yes. In Madrid. Twice."
"Recognize it?"
"No. It was poetry, that's all I could tell."
"Yes. Robert Frost.
Two Tramps in Mud Time.
A simple sort of little poem it starts out to be,
with the poet
out chopping wood and two tramps coming along and
resenting it because he's doing for fun what they figure
they

madeleine l'engle
ought to be paid for. Then comes the last stanza, whammo,
a lower cut right to the solar plexus.
But yield who will to their separation,
My object in living is to unite My avocation and
my vocation As my two eyes make one in sight.
Only where love and need are one,
And the work is play for mortal stakes,
Is the deed ever really done
For Heaven and the future's sakes.
I'm not sure about heaven, but I do feel I have to do
my best for the future, and if you're any kind of
scientist you
will, too. And if that means going out with Kali tomorrow
you'll do it."
Adam still sounded stubborn. "As far as I'm
concerned,
Carolyn Cutter is the past."
"Listen, you told us tonight because of Poly, didn't
you?"
Adam sighed again. "I really don't know why I
told
you. I don't know why anything any more."
"It was Poly," Joshua said with certainty. "At
least it
would have been for me, and I'm willing to bet it was for
you. Adam, I don't know about you, but I can't do
anything except because I care about people, because I love
people. I can't do it for love of God, like Tom
Tallis, or for heaven's sake, as Mr. Frost
said. But because I love people I have to act according to it-to the
fact that I
love them. Maybe this doesn't make any sense.
But it's the
way I am, and you'll just have to accept it."
Adam said softly, "The way you accepted me?"
"I failed you on that this morning, didn't I? I
wanted to
push you too far, too fast."
"Don't push me now, then," Adam said.
"Touche. But I have the feeling that there isn't much
time. That I don't have the time to give you time.
Okay,
kid, come on, it's time I shoved off."
Adam, Poly, and Charles stood at the hitching
post while Joshua and Dr. O'Keefe checked the
plane. When all was
in readiness Joshua climbed into the cockpit; as the
motor
coughed and the propeller began to spin, making the little
plane vibrate as though it must fall apart, the
doctor came and stood beside the horses, a little
away from Adam and
the children. The plane wheeled and moved slowly across the
sand, gathered speed, bounced once or twice, and
then
began to climb.
"Sir," Adam asked, "is that plane really
safe?"
The doctor laughed. "Doesn't look it, does
it? But yes, as safe as the latest jet.
Particularly with Joshua piloting
it."
They watched the plane as it gained altitude,
flying, it seemed from where they stood,
directly along the path of
moonlight on water, flying further, higher,
smaller, until it
lost the reality of being an elderly, battered
Hawker Hurri
cane piloted by a young man, and became a silver
bird in
the night flying to the moon.
Standing beside Adam Poly let out a low, startled
cry.
"Charles! Don't!"
Adam turned and saw in the moonlight that
Charles's face was contorted in a vain effort at
control, that tears
were silently squeezing out of the tightly closed eyes
and
down the little boy's cheeks.
Dr. O'Keefe knelt on the sand in order to bring
himself
to the child's level. "Charles."
Without opening his eyes, Charles moved into his fa
ther's arms.
Poly stamped. "I
hate
it when Charles cries."
"Charles," Dr. O'Keefe said again.
Poly whispered fiercely, "He
never
cries unless ..."

MADELEINE I/Engle
Adam asked, "Unless what?"
"Unless something is awfully ... wrong."
Charles stood, leaning against his father, still crying
silently. Finally he said in so low a voice that
Adam could
hardly catch the words, "I wish Josh hadn't
gone."
Dr. O'Keefe's voice was quiet. "He'll
be back in Lisbon
almost as soon as we've had time to ride home. He
has a
good tail wind and the weather is clear all the way."
"Will he call when he gets back?"
"He always does. And I will come in to you and tell you.
I promise. He has no important papers
on him this time. I have to correlate and code everything
he brought
me. Come, now, Charles, it's late and you're
tired and we
must go. You'll ride with me."
Obediently Charles mounted his pony.
Dr. O'Keefe and the little boy led the way,
Joshua's horse ambling along just behind them, with
Poly and
Adam in the rear. They did little talking. Poly was
frown
ing, seeming unduly disturbed, Adam thought, by her
brother's behavior. After a while she began
to droop in the
saddle, saying, "I'm half asleep. Pick me
up if I fall off."
Ahead of them both Dr. O'Keefe and Charles
sat
straight and still and somehow stem. The moon moved
across the sky.
As they neared the bungalows Adam saw that someone
was standing on the sea wall, waiting, and for a moment
fear leaped into his throat, but Dr. O'Keefe
raised his arm
in greeting.
"It's Jose, Maria's husband," Poly said.
"He takes care
of the horses."
They went directly to bed. As Adam
drifted into sleep he heard the phone ring, and then
he heard Dr. O'Keefe pause outside
Charles's door. "That was Josh, Charles.
All's well. Go to sleep now."
In the morning Adam was wakened by Poly coming in
with a breakfast tray. His room was flooded with light
and
warmth and he felt a sense of pure well-being he
had been
afraid would never return.
"Sit up, lazy," Poly said. "I let you
sleep as long as pos
sible. I'm not spoiling you. Breakfast in bed is
one thing

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
we always do. I'm going to take Charles his tray and
then
I'm coming back to talk to you."
Adam grinned at her. "Okay. Forewarned is,
I hope,
forearmed, though I have only two."
Poly turned at the door. "And the starfish has
five. You
will have exactly time to wash your face and
stuff. you
hurry." She made a quick exit, and Adam heard
her say,
"Move, Sandy."
"Does Mother know you're bothering Adam?"
"She said I could ask him, and
he
said it was okay."
Their voices continued in friendly argument as they went
into the living room.
Poly returned, saying, "Daddy's out in the lab.
You're to go on out as soon as you're ready. Then
I'll come for
you a little before lunch and we'll go for a swim."
Adam poured hot milk, hot coffee. "Will we
see-what's
her name?"
"Macrina? Yes. If she comes." "Doesn't
she always?"
"Usually. But not always. Then, after lunch, we'll
take
you to the village."
"What village?"
Poly sat, crosslegged, on the foot of
Adam's bed. "The
native village. Where Maria and Jose come from."
Adam said, rather uncomfortably, his mouth full of
croissant, "I don't have to be taken
sightseeing, Poly. I've
caused enough trouble for all of you already. I'd really
rather stay in the lab and work."
Poly frowned, then gave him
a.
stern and piercing look.
"It's not sightseeing, Adam. I assure you that's
not our
purpose in taking you there."
"Are you going too?"
"If daddy'll let me. He usually does."
She got down off
the bed. "Okay. I'll come over the lab and yell
for you
when it's time for our swim."
When Adam went out to the lab Dr. O'Keefe was
sitting at the rolltop desk, writing, but he
looked up at the
boy's step, saying without preamble, "I want to show
you something." He took Adam into the small side
lab and to the first of the tanks. In it was a starfish in the
process of

MADELEINE
I/Engle
regeneration. It was not a starfish with part of its own cen
tral disc; it was an isolated fragment of arm
into which
Dr. O'Keefe told Adam he had
transplanted nerve rings as
he had done with the starfish the boy had already seen.
The difference between the starfish in this tank and those
in the main lab was that this starfish was not developing
normally. This particular combination of arm and nerve
ring seemed to be generating into a strange, lumpy,
three-
armed creature.
Without speaking Dr. O'Keefe moved to the second
tank. Here was a lizard who had lost a leg.
Something was
growing where the leg had been; it was not a lizard leg,
but a deformed stump. In the third tank was a frog
who had lost a forearm; this, too, was growing back
abnor
mally.
Dr. O'Keefe went into the main lab, sitting
down at his
desk. Adam stood, waiting. For some time Dr.
O'Keefe appeared to study a pencil. Finally he
said, "Back in the
early sixties scientists were able to start babies,
actual hu
man foetuses, in a test tube. For a while they
developed
normally. Then, and no one knew why, their
development
went awry. They became deformed; monstrosities.
You've
probably heard about this."
"Yes, sir."
"Why did this happen?"
"I don't know, sir. I don't think anybody
does."
"Why is regeneration a normal thing for starfish?
Why,
if we transplant nerve rings from the central
disc can an isolated arm fragment then organize
itself? Why is this
also true of frogs and lizards?"
"Well, it's because the augmented nerve supply
provides the stimulation."
"Why were the animals in the little lab
developing ab
normally?"
"I don't know, sir. Mutations?"
"In a very small percentage, yes. But usually,
no. Where
do you think I get my experimental animals from,
Adam?"
"Well, from the beach, from around here ... I used to
collect specimens for Old Doc."

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
"Yes. The children find a good many for me. They bring
me any animal they see, marine or land, that has
been injured. The villagers bring me some, too, for
which I pay them one escudo for twenty-five
specimens. I made it absolutely clear that they
were to bring me only the animals that had been
accidentally hurt. Then, after the first
abnormalities began to develop, I learned that
two of the men who work at the resort hotel had been
deliberately mutilating the creatures. I had
thought that the smallness of the payment would avoid this, an
escudo being three and a half cents, you will
remember. But it didn't. There always have been and there
always will be people who
have been corrupted into enjoying any excuse for
cruelty."
For some reason Adam thought of the Cutters"
chauffeur. He could quite easily imagine Molec
tearing the arm
off a lizard.
Dr. O'Keefe continued. "It is from these
deliberately mutilated animals that the
deformities have come. But it isn't even that simple.
I had, for a brief while, a lab assistant who
was a brilliant man. He was also one of the most
evil human beings I have ever encountered. Every animal
he tended, every starfish arm into which he trans
planted nerve rings, every frog or lizard into whose
wounds he injected augmented nerve supply,
developed malformations that were malignant and that
devoured the
creature on which they grew."
"Why-was Adam asked, "why was he evil?"
"You remember the story of the Third Man?"
"Yes. Josh mentioned it."
"Antibiotics diluted and sold on the black
market, and innocent children suffering and dying through this
incomprehensible greed. This kind of thing doesn't
happen only in fiction. You don't have
to read the book or see the movie to come across it. This
man, with a
brilliant
and utterly warped mind, grew fat on underworld
black-market corruption."
"Then why did you employ him, sir?"
"I was asked to. In order to convict him."
"Did you?"
"With Joshua's help."

MADELEINE
L'ENGLE
"What happened?"
"He's in Leavenworth."
Adam said, slowly, "So I guess this kind of thing
makes
enemies?"
Dr. O'Keefe looked at him. "They
are
enemies, Adam.
You don't have to
make
enemies of them."
Adam got his stubborn look. "But what about
Poly?"
Dr.
O'Keefe did not answer, and Adam continued.
"If you
didn't-if you didn't
make
enemies, I mean, even if they
are
enemies anyhow, then would anybody have wanted to
hurt Poly?"
The older man's face tightened. "Nothing is
easy,
Adam. Nothing. And we're all of us in danger from
the moment we're born. You've grown up in New
York. You know that if you cross a street a
truck can run you down. If you ride in the subway
and there's a spot of trouble a bullet meant for
someone else can find its way
way into your heart. And if my research, which I had
an
ticipated as a quiet and hermit-like life, so that
I could
bring my children up in a peaceful and natural way in
the midst of an unpeaceful and unnatural world,
has, instead,
led them into added dangers, then I must
accept this for them, as well as for myself, if I
believe in what I am do
ing."
"I'm sorry, sir. I didn't mean ..."
"That's all right. I just want you to understand clearly
why it is so important that what I am doing does
not get
into the wrong hands. Remember the deformed babies that
came of thalidomide being used before enough was known
about it? We're just at the very beginning of this, and it
cannot be taken out of our hands and misused."
"It's like what you said about the atom?"
"Yes. Like splitting the atom. We're just beginning
to learn why the regeneration is sometimes abnormal and
malignant. We're just beginning to understand that you
cannot change stones into bread. This is not the way mira
cles are worked, but it's always been a temptation.
If what
we are doing is taken over by the unscrupulous it can
cause unimaginable horror and suffering. Here is
power to give life to people, or to devour them. What I
am trying to

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
do is to go back about two thousand years in
my thinking. Somewhere in the last two thousand years
we've gone off. When we began to depend on and
to develop
things
in the western world we lost something of inestimable value
in our understanding. There's something wrong about trying to heal
with a surgeon's knife. There's got to be an
alternative to cutting and mutilating and I'm trying
to learn it from the starfish. But I'm just at the beginning.
And I'm afraid, Adam. If it gets out of my
hands-I'm afraid." Dr. O'Keefe clenched his
fist and pounded it softly against the papers on his
desk. Then he smiles. "All right, Adam. I
have work to do here at my desk. You get along with your
job until Poly comes to take you for a swim."
It was several minutes before Adam could concentrate
on his care of the tanks, but as he began to put the
day's observations down in the files, the discipline
of the work took hold of him, and he was able to keep his
mind on the job at hand. This was a task that
fascinated him, that engrossed him utterly, and he was
surprised when he heard Poly's voice and
realized that the morning had passed.
Poly stood in the lab, wearing a black
two-piece bathing
suit that did nothing for her still undeveloped
figure.
"Daddy," she asked, "what are the specifications
for
a fashion model?"
"Oh-thirty-four, twenty-two, thirty-four,"
Dr. O'Keefe
replied absently.
Poly sighed. "Oh, dear. I'm twenty,
twenty, twenty."
Her father laughed. "I really think you look better
in
the red wool, even if it does fight with your
hair."
Poly sighed again. "Yes. Okay. I'll
change, while
Adam's getting into his trunks. Mother says time
will take care of this particular problem, and I
suppose it will. Was
mother gorgeous when she was my age,"
"Frightful," Dr. O'Keefe said. "Much worse
than you."
"That's encouraging, at any rate. And I
suppose it's a good thing about time, because right now I'd
have an awful time choosing between Adam and
Joshua, even if Josh
is
too old for me."
Her father laughed again. It was a good laugh, warm
and open and loving. "Time seems to be making its in
roads already. A few weeks ago you were announcing
that
you were never going to grow up."
"Oh, I'm over being Peter Pan. Maybe it's
jealousy. Knowing that that Kali has her hooks
into Adam. Come
on, Adam, let's go. I told Maria I'd be
back in time to help
serve lunch."
It was another golden day, the sand was gold; gold
shimmered from the sun into the blue of the sky, touched
the small crests of waves in a calm ocean.
Adam and Poly
swam out, side by side, until Poly stopped and
began to tread water, making the strange, breathy
whistling noise
that was her call to the dolphin.
It was longer this time; Poly's calling began to sound
tired, and Adam had given up and was just about to sug
gest swimming back, when silver arched out of
water in a
swift flash, and Macrina came leaping, diving,
flying, to meet them. Again there was the ecstatic
greeting, Poly
with her arms about the great, slippery beast, Macrina
giving her marvelous, contagious dolphin smile, so
that Adam
felt that he was grinning like a fool. After a while
Ma
crina left Poly, came over to Adam and gave
him a gentle,
inquisitive nudge. For a moment he was frightened.
He knew that dolphins were friendly and gentle, that
sailors
rejoiced at seeing them because they kept away sharks, but
Macrina was so large, so alien, that it was all he
could do
to make himself keep treading water quietly, and
to say,
"Hello, Macrina."
Macrina nudged him again, then flashed out of the water,
dove, disappeared, and came up on Poly's other
side.
"She likes you!" Poly cried joyfully.
"Macrina, show
Adam your flipper."
As she had done the day before, Macrina obediently
rolled over and waved her sleek, wet flipper.
At last Adam realized. "The flipper-was he
said. "Did
she-was
Stroking Macrina, Poly nodded. "Yes. We
don't know how it happened. I found her on the
beach, flipper torn

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
off, bleeding to death. I ran and got daddy, and he
was able to stop the bleeding. Of course we didn't know
her then, but she seemed to know that daddy and I wanted
to help. Daddy has some big tanks in the
village. They're not in a building; the village
is around a cove, and there are some pens in the cove.
Luckily Father Tom was here, and he helped, and we
managed to get her to the village and into one of the pens.
Daddy and Father Tom stayed with her all night. As
a matter of fact, we could hardly get daddy
away for weeks, he ate there with Virbius, he's
their chief, and I guess you'd call him their
medicine man, too, he's a hundred and forty-nine
years old, and he prayed over Macrina
and it all worked, the augmented nerve and stuff, and
isn't she marvelous and good and beautiful and
virtuous and wonderful?"
Macrina rolled over in the water and smirked.
"Okay, Macrina," Poly said. "We've got
to go in to lunch now, I promised Maria. Give
my love to Basil and
Gregory."
"Basil and Gregory?"
"Her brothers. They're very intelligent. Of
course dolphins are, but we think Macrina's
family is more so. It's
quite obvious they are, isn't it?"
Macrina waited for no further goodbyes. Down,
down she dove, and then, a hundred yards away,
Adam saw her
flash through the air.
"By the way," Poly said. "While you were in the lab
that Kali's father called and talked to mother. They're
sending the hotel helicopter for you at
seven-thirty. I don't know why daddy wants you
to go there for dinner. I think it's just awful. But I
suppose if he wants you to go you'll
have to go."
"Yes." The pleasure ebbed from Adam's
limbs. "If he
wants me to I have to."
Poly stopped treading water, rolled over onto
her back, blew a jet of water upward like a
small whale, and floated.
"Promise me one thing."
"What?"
"Don't go without saying goodbye to me. I have some-

MADELEINE L'ENOLE
thing to give you, and you
mustn't
leave without it.
Pronrse."
"Okay," Adam agreed. "I promise. What
is it? A
charm?"
"No," Poly said. "A weapon."
After lunch Jose brought three horses around to the
bungalow, and Dr. O'Keefe, Poly, and
Adam set off for the village, riding uphill to the
plateau with the monolithic slabs of stone. As
Joshua had stopped by the great central table the day
before, so did Dr. O'Keefe, although he did not
dismount. Poly and Adam reined up beside
him.
Adam's spirits soared, despite the fierceness of the
sun.
The doctor was sitting erect on his horse, as
though waiting. He caught Adam's inquiring gaze
and said, "Virbius, the chief of the village, wished
to meet us here. Visitors aren't encouraged there.
The people from the hotel have brought only disease and trouble.
But you are under
my aegis, and he will escort us."
Adam nodded. Dr. O'Keefe continued to sit
straight and tall, and Poly was in one of her rare
silent moods. Adam looked around, at the great
stone table, above which a large golden butterfly was
fluttering. The flash of a bird's scarlet wing led
his gaze beyond the encircling stones and through the trees that
edged the plateau and into the clearing. In the clearing were a
few small, white slabs, with light moving over
them, and leaf shadows, green, mauve,
and indigo.
Again Dr. O'Keefe followed Adam's gaze.
"Yes. It's a cemetery. A small one. The
villagers have their own, and if anyone does anything
as inconvenient as dying at the resort hotel
they're whisked back to the mainland as
inconspicuously as possible." He held up his
hand for silence, and they could hear a rustling in the
brush. A yel-low-and-black bird flashed across the
clearing, followed by a wizened old man on a
horse, a dark and shriveled old man, with a few
strands of soft, silvery hair. Adam had no
doubt that this was Virbius, the chieftain. Poly had
said

MADELEINE L'ENGLE
that he was how old? a hundred and forty-nine? Adam
knew that the villagers' way of counting time was proba
bly different from the way he had been taught in
school, but if Virbius was not a hundred and
forty-nine he was certainly the oldest man Adam
had ever seen, far older
than Old Doc, who, after all, was ninety.
Dr. O'Keefe raised his arm in greeting;
Virbius respond
ed, the gesture full of dignity despite the fact
that his hand was tremulous with age. Without a word he
turned his horse and headed into the brush again. Dr.
O'Keefe
followed, with Poly and Adam in single file behind
him on
the narrow path.
They rode through the low brush along the spine of the
plateau; the sun was high and hot, so that their shadows
were small dark blobs moving along the scrub.
Somehow
Adam was grateful for the golden warmth that seeped
through him, even though his shirt began to cling damply
to his body. The blue, almost cloudless sky was so
high that there seemed to be between earth and sky a golden
shimmering of sunlight. The red of Dr.
O'Keefe's and
Poly's hair was touched with gold; gold, gold,
everything
glinted and glimmered, and light as well as heat
penetrated
Adam's pores.
He had lost track of time (would time ever seem nor
mal, countable, accountable, to him again?) when the path
started to descend. Below them lay the straw roofs of the
village, the large central hut, with smaller
huts raying out
from it, the whole village on a promontory about a
per
fect, natural bay. In the bay fishing boats were
anchored, and Adam thought he could see
others, small dark specks
out at sea. While they were still a fair distance above the
village Virbius stopped his horse, raised his
arm, this time
in a gesture of command, and let out a strange,
penetrat
ing whistle. For a moment all activity in the
village
seemed to cease, suspended in time. Then women and
chil
dren scurried into huts; men, who were working on
upturned fishing boats, on spread-out nets,
moved leisurely
but definitely away, disappearing either into the thick
jungle growth that edged the village, or into the
huts.
Poly turned back to Adam. "Don't be hurt;
it's just be-

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
cause it's your first time here. They have to make sure.
They've been so abused by the hotal people."
"Poly," Dr. O'Keefe said without turning.
"Sorry, daddy," Poly said.
Virbius started forward, his horse moving
slowly, care
fully, on the last, steep downward grade. As
they came into the village Adam saw that each hut
was surrounded
by a profusion of flowers that seemed to grow wildly;
but,
remembering his mother's garden on the Cape, he had a
suspicion that they were carefully tended. The fishing
boats were large, heavy shells, reminding him of
pictures he had seen on Phoenician
vessels. All were painted with
strange emblems. The most startling boats were stark
black
or white with prows which reared sharply upward and on
either side of which were painted two very wideopen eyes.
Virbius led them directly to the waterfront, to the
har
bor. He raised his hand and two small boys
came running to him, appearing, it seemed to Adam,
out of nowhere, to
take care of the horses.
A long T-shaped wooden dock let out into the
water,
and Virbius, moving slowly and stiffly, his great
age more
apparent than it had been while he was mounted, led the
way, keeping always a few paces in front of the
others.
Ahead of them in the water Adam could see what he
real
ized must be the pens Poly had told him about. As
they reached the T at the end of the dock Virbius
beckoned to Poly, pointed to one of the pens, and began
to speak to
the child. Adam stood beside Dr. O'Keefe, looking
into the
pen in which a dead shark floated. It had obviously
been wounded, not by another fish, but by some kind of
weapon; a long knife, judging by the wounds. A
strange
odor came from the water which Adam guessed was some
thing to disguise the smell of blood, and the water itself
was murky.
Virbius' words sounded like gibberish with a touch of
the Portuguese soft
ssh
and
jjh
added. Poly, head cocked,
listened, frowning with concentration. "He says
that this is
the same shark that attacked Temis." To Adam she
explained, "Temis is one of Verbius' great
great grandchildren, Adam. Last night the shark
attacked one of the

MADELEINE L'ENGLE
children right here in the harbor, and one of Virbius'
nephews went after him with a knife and drove him
into the pen. The child is all right; his wounds are healing
cleanly and there will be only a scar on one leg to show
that anything happened. They did everything you told them
to about the shark, daddy, but the shark has died.
Virbius says that he has prayed neither for nor
against him, but that it is justice. The shark died this
morning and
they only kept him for you to see."
From the dock Dr. O'Keefe took a pole with a
large hook and pulled the dead beast in. Then he
squatted down
at the edge of the pen and examined it carefully.
Virbius had moved along the dock and was standing beside
the next pen. Adam followed him. Here the water was
a brilliant, clear green, with purple shadows.
A small school of tiny fish flashed
by in a swoosh of silver. At the bottom sea
plants moved, their green, white, rose fronds
undulating in a sinuous dance. Swimming
ponderously in the pen was a large and extremely
cross-looking tortoise. His head was stretched out
on the leathery neck to its full length, and he
glowered and blinked. Adam could see that one of the four
legs had been almost, or perhaps entirely, torn
off. It was healing neatly. The turtle turned his
head toward Adam, put a scornful nose in the
air, and then, with an indignant gesture, retired
completely into his
shell.
Poly shook with laughter. "He's the snootiest
animal I've ever come across. Macrina's fond of
him, so I suppose
he's all right, but he has no manners
whatsoever."
Adam was surprised to hear Virbius let out a
thin, dry cackle of amusement as he moved on to the
next pen. In this was a shark whose dorsal fin had
been ripped off in some kind of marine battle.
Small, ugly lumps were ap
pearing where the fin had been.
"Of course we don't
get
many sharks," Poly said, "but we've never had one
regenerate normally. I can't even be sorry for them
and Josh says I'm a fool about all animals.
But not sharks. I hate them. I would far prefer
to meet a sting ray coming around a corner, and
they
look like bats out of hell if any beast ever did."

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
Dr. O'Keefe moved up to join them. "I'm very
pleased about the turtle, bad manners or no. One
of our most exciting successes has been a
sea-gull wing. We would never
have managed that without Virbius. While the bird
couldn't fly it was all right, but he wanted to use his
wing
too soon, and only Virbius could control him."
Virbius spoke, and again Poly translated.
"He says his gods are very powerful, and they gave
him some of their
power."
Virbius spoke again, spreading out his hands.
"He says it was the way Father Tom's God gave
him of His power the night he stayed up with
Macrina. Virbius says they must be good friends."
"Who?" Adam asked. "Canon Tallis and
Virbius?"
"No, silly," Poly said impatiently. "Their
gods."
Virbius nodded. If he spoke nothing but his own
native tongue he understood, Adam guessed,
almost everything that was said. And if he understood English
it was more
than likely that he also understood Portuguese.
Adam real
ized that the old man was no one to underestimate. As a
matter of fact, he reminded the boy in many of his
man
nerisms of a combination of Old Doc and Mahatma
Gandhi.
There were two other tanks which were presumably empty
at the moment, because neither Virbius nor Dr.
O'Keefe went to them. Virbius led the way
back up the dock to the village and to the green
clearing in front of the central hut. Around the hut
and climbing up its walls were flowers of every shade of
blue, and Adam noticed that none of the other
dwellings
had
blue flowers; there was every color of red, orange,
yellow, but no blue. Virbius squatted down,
beckoning to Poly to sit on his right side, Adam
on his left. Dr. O'Keefe sat crosslegged
op
posite the old man.
From the central hut came a woman and a child, a
girl perhaps Poly's age, perhaps younger. They bore
coconut bowls which they set down in front of the
visitors. Poly
gave a warm, welcoming grin to the child, which was
equally warmly returned, but neither of them spoke.
Virbius raised his hand for silence, although no one was
r

MADELEINE I/Engle
speaking, then bowed over his coconut bowl, murmuring
in his native tongue and swaying slightly from side
to side. He took the bowl, raised it over his head
in a gesture of offering, then sipped from it. Dr.
O'Keefe raised his bowl in a similar gesture,
and Poly and Adam followed suit. Adam did not
know what it was they were drinking; some
thing strange and cool and sharp.
Virbius beckoned to the child, who squatted
down on the grass in front of the old man. Adam
decided that she was definitely younger than Poly,
although already more developed physically. She had
straight, lustrous black hair, and a dark skin through
which a golden glow seemed to shine, as though she had
caught and contained the light in which the island was drenched.
She smiled at Dr. O'Keefe, who smiled
back, a smile of both compassion and joy.
Virbius spoke and Poly translated.
"It is all right?"
Dr. O'Keefe nodded. "Tell them that Josh
brought back all the lab reports Father Tallis
got in Boston. Everything
is perfectly normal."
As Poly spoke the child raised one golden-brown
hand,
looking wonderingly at the five outstretched fingers.
Adam turned to Dr. O'Keefe.
"Yes. This is Temis, the child the shark attacked
six months ago. Her body was badly slashed, and
one of her
fingers was severed."
Beside him Adam heard a strange sound and looked
to see that Virbius was crying, tears rolling
unchecked down his wrinkled cheeks.
Putting one hand on the child's shoulder the old man
stood up, then raised both arms heavenward, calling
out in a loud voice. With the tears still streaming he
turned to Dr. O'Keefe and embraced him. There
were tears in Dr. O'Keefe's eyes, too.
Temis stood
quietly, smiling.
Poly said to Adam, "We were sure it was all right,
but it's good to have all the lab work say so, too. When
the shark attacked Temis, Virbius called
daddy. I've never seen daddy so upset. He said
he wasn't ready, that it wasn't time. The body
would heal; that wasn't the problem; it was the lost finger.
You couldn't say; let's try,

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
there's nothing to lose. There'd been the deformities.
And there'd been the-the horrible malignancies. Father
Tom came, and he and Virbius and daddy sat up
all night, and then daddy said they'd try. Father
Tom stayed to help. He never left Temis, he
and daddy and Virbius. And then it happened,
Adam, it happened, and it's all right, and Temis
has five fingers again." Her eyes filled. "But
Adam, if it hadn't been all right-if the
new growth hadn't been natural-if it had
devoured Temis the way it has some of the animals
when things haven't gone right-was she choked
and stopped.
Her father took her hand. "Hush, Poly. It's
all right." He said to Adam, quietly,
"Poly's anguish during this time was making her ill.
As soon as we were sure that everything was going as we
prayed it would, Tom Tallis took her away with
him. The trip to Boston was to take slides and
X-rays to a zoologist there, but served as a needed
change for Poly, too. When you landed in Madrid
instead of Lisbon and had to be bailed out of the
airport things were complicated, but Tom managed
to get the reports to one of our friends, who in turn
got them to Josh. So, in spite of a little
unexpected confusion, we have all the final
lab reports and clearances."
"And it's all right!" Poly cried, joy driving the
tension
from her face. "It's all right!"
Dr. O'Keefe said heavily, "Through the grace of
God it's all right. I know now that I know nothing,
and many men think that I know everything, and this is where the
danger lies. If only we had more time-was
Virbius said something, and Poly translated for her
father. "He says that time is a dream, but that his gods
and
Father Tom's are awake."
Dr. O'Keefe put his hand for a moment on the old
man's shoulder. Then he and Virbius bowed in
silent farewell, and the doctor moved quickly away.
Adam and Poly followed him, and as they walked
away from the harbor
and the village the two little boys came up with the
horses,
which had been watered and rubbed down.
They rode in silence. The sun was beginning to move
toward the horizon. The long fronds of the palms
rattled

MADELEINE I/Engle
in the evening breeze, their shadows like great, dark
birds.
Adam's white horse blew gently through her
nostrils and her flanks lifted in a patient
sigh. But to Adam it was as though everything were bathed in
light, as though the
golden sun of the island had at last penetrated the
darkest
reaches of his mind.
He understood now. All the pieces had fallen
together to make a clear and unmistakable picture.
He knew why he was important to Mr. Cutter,
why anybody even re
motely connected with Dr. O'Keefe would be
important to
all the Mr. Cutters. And he knew why the Mr.
Cutters of of the world must never be allowed to see Dr.
O'Keefe's papers, particularly Dr.
O'Keefe's papers on Temis. Un
consciously he heaved a sigh less patient than the
old white
horse's.
was "Smarter?" Poly asked.
"Nothing. I just wish I didn't have to have dinner with
the Cutters this evening."
But it seemed there was no evading the dinner. When
they got back his good suit had been pressed and was
laid out on the bed with a clean shirt and his most
colorful tie, a rather splotchy blue-and-red affair
that Adam called his
'Jackson Pollock."
Mrs. O'Keefe told him, "Maria chose the
tie, so if you don't mind wearing it,
Adam, it would make her very
happy."
"As long as you think it's okay. I'm kind of
fond of it."
He dressed carefully, but more to please Maria and the
O'Keefes than Kali. He would have liked to go
to Kali in his lab clothes, already slightly stained,
and a symbol of
his work, and somehow also a symbol of where he stood.
But this, he realized, would be a rather Don Quixote
sort
of gesture, and not very effective.
Shortly before time for the hotel helicopter to come for
him Dr. O'Keefe summoned him to the
laboratory.
"Adam, you are probably wondering why I want
you to
have dinner with the Cutters tonight."
"Well, sir, I suppose maybe it would be
wisest if they didn't know I'd made up my
mind. I mean, it might be a
good idea if they think I'm still willing to work for
them."

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
The doctor looked at him with approval.
"Exactly. I hate to ask you to do this, Adam.
It's going to be difficult for you. One of your most
evident qualities is a direct honesty, and
prevarication of any kind isn't easy for you.
However, there is an urgent and immediate need for this.
Once the results of any experiment are in I have
to get them off the island as quickly as possible. The
papers on Temis are finally complete. I don't
have to tell you how important they are. All the lab
reports from Boston are in code, and I will now
double code them. This will take me about a week. There
is only one man-and he's in Lisbon-who can
break the code so that they can get from the Embassy
to Washington. During this week I'll keep the real
papers on me and leave others, indicating another
experiment, in the lab. Josh took a set of these
phony papers with him and will be careful to see that the
right-or wrong-people get hold of them. Now we come to the
problem of getting the Temis papers to Lisbon.
Joshua, of course, has been courier many times, but
now it's safe neither for him nor the papers. I've
used Maria once, Jose twice, but it's not
fair to ask them again. The Ambassador himself has
been errand boy on occasion. Next week
it will have to be you. If you can make Cutter think
you're willing to play along with him because you think he's
right, then you'll be under less suspicion than
anybody else. I don't think anything has been
discovered about Temis, and it must not be." He
stopped, repeated slowly, "It must not."
"I know, sir."
"So I want you to make a date with Kali in
Lisbon. I'll give you some papers to give her.
They'll look legitimate, and they'll follow the
ones I'll appear to be working on this week and that
Josh took back to Lisbon with him. We'll
talk later about getting the real papers away. The
point is that tonight you must appear to be still confused
about me: you are
not
confused any longer, are you?"
"No, sir." Adam's voice was firm and
confident.
"Let Typhon Cutter do his emotional
patriotic act for
you. It's very effective."
"Yes, sir. He's already done it. It-it
did
confuse me."

MADELEINE L'ENGLE
"All clear now?"
"Yes, sir."
"You understand what I am asking you to do?"
"Yes, sir." Adam swallowed. "It will kind of
make up
for-was
"Not to make up for anything. That's over and done with,
and no real harm, thank God. You're doing this for
the future."
"For Heaven and the future's sakesThat
Adam asked
softly.
Dr. O'Keefe nodded. "This is where Joshua
has been so
remarkable. His love and need
are
entirely one. And while
the work has been play for him he has been well
aware of
their mortal stakes.
Only where love and need are one, and
the work is play for mortal stakes, is the deed ever
really
done for Heaven and the future's sakes.
Think of Joshua tonight if you like. You couldn't have
anybody better to follow." Above them they heard a
loud droning; Dr.
O'Keefe remarked, "They're very prompt," and
stood up.
The helicopter dropped clumsily to the beach in
front of
the bungalows. Poly, running with the other children to
say goodbye, called, "You'll get sand in your
shoes."
"It'll shake out," Adam answered.
Barefooted, she caught up with him, gently shoving
Peggy ahead and saying, "Run look at the
belly, Pegs." She whispered to Adam, "I have
what I told you I'd give
you. Here. Just pretend you're holding my hand."
Charles asked, "What're you whispering about?"
Poly stamped her bare foot against the sand
impatiently.
"Charles. Please. Oh, do run get Johnny
for me, quickly,
and let me say goodbye."
"Adam's just going out for dinner," Charles said, but
he went after Johnny who, fully
dressed, was heading for the
water.
Adam put his hand around Poly's firm, thin one.
"What
is it?"
"Adam, have you ever seen a switchblade?"
"Yes," Adam said, smiling. "Is that what you're
giving
me?"
Poly scowled darkly. "You're condescending to me."

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
"I'm sorry; but if it's a switchblade I
don't want one
and I don't like the idea of your having one."
Poly shook her head impatiently so that her red
hair
flew about her face. "Okay, I know you coped with
gangs
on the streets of New York and all that jazz.
This isn't an
ordinary switchblade."
"What's extraordinary about it?"
"It looks like a switchblade and it works like a
switch
blade-I'm taking this on hearsay because I've never
actu
ally used one. But it's really a kind of
hypodermic needle."
"Poly, for heaven's sake-was
"There's a channel in the blade filled with
MS-222."
"comwhat do you expect me to do with it, use it on
Kali?"
Again Poly pawed the sand. "She'll probably
ask you to
go for a moonlight swim, and there have been sharks at
the hotel beach this summer, though they won't admit
it. I
wouldn't put it past that Kali to send you straight
into a
shark's jaws, and daddy says MS-222 is still the
best thing;
it knocks them out right away. When the blade is
released
the capsule of MS-222 is punctured and it
goes right in, so
you don't have to aim for a vital spot or anything.
It's on a belt, and it looks just like an ordinary
knife. It's quite
flat, so you can wear it under your bathing trunks.
You've
got them with you, haven't you?"
"Yes. Your mother told me to bring them along."
"Which ones?"
"Just the plain navy ones, Pol. I guess I'm
not uninhib
ited enough to wear the wild ones the way Josh does."
"You promise me you'll wear the belt with the
knife?"
Adam knew that he could not hurt Poly by laughing
at
her intensity. "Well, I don't really think
Kali wants to dis
pose of me. But thanks anyhow, Pol."
Poly pulled at his jacket sleeve.
"Promise me you'll
never go swimming without it."
"Even when I go with you?"
"Not with me, goosey. Macrina keeps the sharks
away.
But anywhere else. Promise."
"But, Poly-was
"Promise."
146
MADELEINE I/Engle
"All right."
"Poly heaved a great sigh of relief. "Okay.
I know I can
trust your word. Goodbye. I suppose I'll be in
bed when
you get home. I don't really want you to have a good
time
but I'm going to be polite and tell you to have one. But
it's just courtesy. So have a good time." She turned
and
ran back to the bungalows, not standing on the sea
wall to
wave and watch him off as he bad expected her
to. The
other children called and waved, and Adam waved back,
but he found himself looking beyond them for Poly.
The pilot was Portuguese, and if he spoke
English he
kept it a closely guarded secret. Adam was
glad for the
minutes of silence: no, silence was certainly not the
word,
for a helicopter is a noisy bird, but for a time of
not hav
ing to listen to new ideas, of not having to respond.
As they landed on the flat roof of the hotel Kali was
waiting and came running to meet him. She flung
her
arms around him, whispering, "Adam, help me,
help me.
I've been all wrong about everything. I know now that
daddy's doing things that aren't-that aren't right. Adam,
what am I going to do?"
Before Adam could make any response to this outburst
Kali whispered, "Here comes daddy. Hush."
Typhon Cutter looked even more like a spider than
Adam remembered. It seemed incredible that this
obese
mass with the stringy appendages could possibly be father
to the beautiful girl at his side. Then the boy
remembered
the portrait of the angelic young man and wondered if
Kali could ever be anything but young and radiant and
lovely.
She pressed her fingers quickly against his, a
gesture that was both intimate and warning. Adam did
not return
the pressure and her look flickered quickly over him
like a
flame.
"Of course," Typhon Cutter was saying, "all
the rooms
have balconies overlooking the ocean, and our guests,
in a
primitive setting, nevertheless have every modern con
venience."
Kali explained. "Daddy's part owner of the
hotel."
They walked through a rooftop bar and lounge,
Typhon
Cutter gesturing expansively with one thin arm.
"I think our service can compare with any of the great
hotels in the world. We'll stay up here and cool
off before going
down to dinner."
In the lounge, long windows opened to the terrace, and
there were groups of comforat chairs and couches
around low tables. The walls were painted with lush
murals of the native village, so glamorized that
it was a mo
ment before Adam recognized it. The mud and straw
huts,
the fishing vessels, the natural harbor, were all
enlarged
and garishly ornamented, and the natives themselves wore
elaborate leis and looked more as though they came from
a tourist's dream of Hawaii than a primitive
island off the
r

MADELEINE
L'ENGLE
south coast of Portugal. In one corner of the
room was a
huge television set around which a group of young people
was clustered. The volume was on high. Without looking
around Typhon Cutter raised his hand and snapped his
fingers, and a uniformed page went running over to the
set
and adjusted the dials.
At one of the low marble tables sat a solitary man
in a
dark suit Adam could see only his back, but it
looked
somehow familiar.
Mr. Cutter turned toward him, saying, "Dr.
Ball hopped
over with us. His busy schedule doesn't permit him
to get
away often, but he's badly in need of the rest.
We're flying
him back tonight since of course he can't be away
over
Sunday."
Adam said nothing. Silence, as a matter of fact,
was his
plan of campaign: to look naive and innocent and
gullible
(not too difficult, he realized ruefully); to be
swift to hear,
and slow to speak. He caught Kali looking at him
anx
iously, then glancing away as her father turned toward
her. Adam felt a hot surge of resentment.
He had enough
on his hands without coping with a confused Kali. If
she'd tumbled to the fact that her father was a stinker she'd
have
to work it out her own way.
Dr. Ball rose as they reached him, shook hands
effusively with Adam, and kissed Kali. Adam
found that he
enjoyed this latter even less than the handshake.
"Dear boy," Dr. Ball murmured,
lowering himself into
his comfortable chair. "How delightful to see you again,
and in less hectic circumstances than our first
meeting.
What will you have to drink?" He indicated his own
glass.
-Get the prospective victim drunk or
drugged, Adam
thought Aloud he said, "I'm not thirsty, thanks."
Kali put a hand lightly and briefly against his
knee.
"The banender has Cokes. I'm going to have one."
Dr. Ball urged, "Do join us in our libation."
"Okay, a Coke, then, thank you." Adam
realized that a
uniformed boy was hovering by Typhon Cutter waiting
to
take their order. Mr. Cutter nodded at the boy,
who went
to the bar.
"Now, Adam," Mr. Cutter said, "when last I
saw you

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
we had reached a certain understanding, had we
not?"
Adam said nothing. "You did agree to help me,
did you
not?" Adam tried to look blank and made a
slight gesture
of his head that could have been interpreted either as affir
mation or negation. An edge of impatience came
to Mr.
Cutter's voice. "I believe that I made it
reasonably clear to
you that I am in a position to be useful to the
Embassy,
and that I feel that it is my duty to my country
to help
out when I am called upon."
"Yes, sir," Adam said.
"You were understandably tired, but you did agree to
help."
"Yes, sir. I would consider it my privilege
to help them
at the Embassy." This seemed to be a nice,
double-barrel
ed response, the Embassy, being in his mind,
Joshua.
"Good." Mr. Cutter's voice spun
upward, a high, thin, plausible web. "At that
time-I am referring to the time
of our first meeting-my men, in order to inspire your
confidence and insure your cooperation, went to a great
deal of trouble and not a little danger to rescue the
O'Keefe child from the very organization to which her
own father belongs! A great man, but you know how stu
pid scientists can be. I may say that I
personally under
went danger: our enemies are ruthless, so ruthless,
indeed, that they do not hesitate to use an innocent
child, the child
of one of their own members, for their purposes." He
paused, waiting.
Adam knew that a further response was indicated
here.
"I've only been with Dr. O'Keefe a couple
of days and ev
erything's all secret and hush-hush around me. Just
what
are
their purposes, sir?"
Now Dr. Ball leaned forward, his
well-manicured hands spread out on the table. "You
have spent these two days in
working for O'Keefe, have you not, lad?"
"Well, yes, sir, but..."
"Are you aware of the nature of his experiments?"
"Well, to some extent, sir. I mean, I knew
before I ever
came."
Mr. Cutter asked sharply, "You have actually been
working
with
the starfish?"

MADELEINE
I/Engle
"Well... just cleaning tanks and simple jobs like
that,
so far."
Dr. Ball put his hand on Adam's knee. It
felt heavy,
and very unlike Kali's leaf-like gesture. Adam
felt his skin
crawling. He raised bis eyes from the hand to the
immacu
late white dog collar to Dr. Ball's handsome,
smiling face.
"Adam, dear boy," the doctor said,
lifting his hand
and passing it over dark, well-pomaded hair, "you
do real
ize what O'Keefe is doing, don't you?"
"Well, yes, sir, working on the regenerative
process of
the arm of the starfish."
"In the starfish-was were-Dr. Ball sounded as though
he
were hi the pulpit, Adam thought) "comand hi certain
other
specified beasts, this is a perfectly natural
thing. O'Keefe is
taking it beyond the point of nature. But not only is
he
usurping the prerogatives of the Almighty, he is
then al
lowing his work to get into the wrong hands, hands soiled
with the taint of sin."
Adam tried to imagine Canon Tallis saying
these words.
It didn't work. He mumbled, "I'm afraid I
don't under
stand."
"Un-American hands," Mr. Cutter
said. "Hands that do
not have their country or its economy at heart."
AH Adam could think of at this point was that hands do
not have a heart He shook his head slightly to try
to pull
his thoughts together. This time he did not have lack of
sleep as an excuse for not being alert.
The young waiter put two Cokes down on the marble
table, a fresh drink for Dr. Ball, and a drink for
Mr. Cut
ter. The bartender evidently knew, without being
told, ex
actly what Mr. Cutter wanted. "Adam,"
Typhon Cutter
said in his soft, tenor voice, "I am a very wealthy
man. I
admit to you perfectly openly that I enjoy my
money."
Dr. Ball broke in, "But you are a generous
man, a very
generous man."
"That's not the point. I try to do what I can, of
course,
and if I have been able to be of some small service
to you
it gives me great gratification. Eliphaz-Dr.
Ball-is on the boards of several hospitals and
orphanages and old

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
people's homes as well as attending meticulously
to his
regular parish duties."
-It's catching, Adam thought. -Even Mr.
Cutter's be
ginning to talk in Dr. Ball's pompous pattern.
Perhaps Typhon Cutter realized this, for he cleared
his throat before saying, "All I'm trying to tell you
is that al
though I enjoy my money and the things it can buy, my
country comes first. In fact, I love my native
land so well
that I am willing to live outside it, in voluntary
exile, be
cause in this way I am better able to serve.
I've been asked by people who must remain nameless to find
the results of
Dr. O8Keefe's work and to get them into the hands of
our
own government before unscrupulous agents
grab them."
"But, sir," Adam said, trying to sound innocent and
rea
sonable, "Dr. O'Keefe is an American."
"Pink," Dr. Ball murmured, "tinged, alas,
with scarlet."
Standard tactics, Adam realized. Accuse those
who
might well accuse you before they have a chance to get in
a word edgewise.
"Adam," Mr. Cutter asked, "how much do you
care
about your country?"
"Very much," Adam answered with complete honesty.
"Would you make a sacrifice for it if necessary?"
"Yes, sir." Here again he could speak with the ring of
truth.
Dr. Ball asked, "Do we have your word of honor
that you are willing to work for your native land, no
matter
how difficult it may be for you personally?"
"Yes, sir." Adam nodded mentally, comand I'm quite
sure
that this doesn't mean working for you. It's Dr.
O'Keefe
who cares about the things you're talking about, not you.
You're-you're nothing but a whited sepulcher.
Mr. Cutter put his glass down with a click.
"When do
you think you can get back to Lisbon?"
"Well-I-I think I could manage it next
weekend."
Dr. O'Keefe would have the Temis papers ready
by then;
it would be time for him to go.
"Make a date with Kali."
"Well, yes, sir, that would be my pleasure
anyhow."
Kali smiled at him and he managed to smile in
return.

MADELEINE L'ENGLE
"Arrange to meet her on Friday. The hotel
taxi service schedules a routine Friday morning
flight. By then you should know more about O'Keefe's work.
And, so that you have more than my word to go on that I have my
country's rather than my own interests at heart, you
may bring
your information directly to the Embassy."
"Oh, good," Adam said with deliberate
innocence. "I have a friend there. I could go right to him.
Joshua Archer." He turned and smiled at Dr.
Ball. "He's a good friend of yours too, isn't
he?"
Dr. Ball forced a toothy smile. "Yes,
indeed. Indeed, yes. But O'Keefe's work is
too important to-if the Ambassador himself is
busy we'll see to it that you talk to someone very close
to him. This is nothing for mere underlings, no matter how
delightful they may be. This is more than a
patriotic duty, my son. It is also a very big
opportunity for you. It may make all the difference
hi the
world to your entire life."
"Yes," Adam said. "I know."
"Come to me at the rectory as soon as you reach
Lisbon," Dr. Ball said. "Perhaps that would be
easier for you than braving all those formidable
secretaries at the Em
bassy."
Mr. Cutter rose. "I'll have instructions
waiting for you at the rectory. Well go downstairs
for dinner. The air conditioner works passably well
in the Coral Room. I don't know what they do
with the air conditioners; must get an
investigation going. Ill order some good American
food; I imagine you're tired of these
Portuguese messes. Drink up,
Kali girl, Adam must be hungry."
The Coral Room, too, went hi for murals.
These, Adam gathered, were meant to be of
Manhattan, though it was only a faintly
recognizable Empire State Building that told
him this. The artist, if he had ever been to New
York at all, had seen it last hi the days of
elevateds; one enormous wobbly structure ran
right by what appeared to be the main branch of the
Public Library, since there were two lions hi
front of a pillared building approached by an
enormous flight of steps.
The fourth wall was French windows leading out to the

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
tennis courts, the pool, and finally the ocean.
Adam sat be
tween Kali and Mr. Cutter at dinner, and across
from Dr.
Ball. Mr. Cutter ordered steak and French
fried potatoes,
and salad with Thousand Island dressing. "That
all right
with you, Adam?"
"Oh. Well. Yes, sir. Fine." Anything he
could agree
with legitimately was fine with him. There was no longer
the slightest question in Adam's mind as to who was serv
ing his country, Mr. Cutter or Dr.
O'Keefe, and there had never been any question as to who
was serving God, Dr.
Ball or Canon Tallis. The critical
moment Joshua had
predicted had definitely been passed. There could
be no
more holding back. He had chosen sides, whether he
liked it or not. At the moment he found to his
immense surprise
that he was liking it A new kind of excitement
surged
through his veins. He felt tingly and alert from toes
to fin
gertips, and ready to go.
There was only one hitch, and it was an unexpected
one. Kali's anguished greeting had doubled all the
compli
cations. He knew that if Kali needed
bun he could not re
ject her plea for help. Joshua had said that his
side cared
about the fall of the sparrow; Kali, in her frantic
cry as
Adam climbed out of the helicopter, had become a
spar
row.
But how to help her, he pondered, as he chewed his
rather tough steak and kept one ear on the conversation.
He tried to think what Joshua would do. Joshua would
not
turn away from anyone who needed him. That was the first
thing. After that he would probably play it by ear.
Adam only hoped that his ear would come close to being
half as true as Joshua's.
What he must do now, he decided, was to manage to
sound suspicious about Dr. O'Keefe when Kali
was out of
the room. He felt a surge of anger. This whole
business
about Kali was off the schedule entirely. He had
written
her out of his life except as the daughter of the
spider, and
here she was, a new and unwanted
repsonsibility, and a
sparrow instead of a spideress. Canon Tallis
had put Poly
hymnia hi Adam's charge, and he'd muffed that
one.
Here, out of the blue again, he was being handed another

MADELEINE L'ENGLE
problem, and this time he must not goof. He wondered if
Dr. O'Keef e would have sent him off to dinner at
the hotel
if he'd known what was going to happen. Joshua, hi
play
ing by ear, seemed to have perfect pitch. Adam
wasn't at
all sure that he himself wasn't tone deaf.
After dessert he had the chance he was looking for.
Typhon Cutter said, "Adam, we adhere to the rather
old-
fashioned custom of the gentlemen's lingering over the
port for a brief respite after dinner. We'd be
delighted if
you'd care to stay with us. You can join Kali in a
short
while. I believe she has some idea of a
moonlight swim."
"Thank you, sir," Adam said. "I don't think
I'll have
any port but I'd love to stay and talk if I
may." Kali sent
him a stricken look, and he added, "We'll have
tune for a
swim, too, won't we?"
Typhon Cutter moved his ponderous head so that the
folds of pink flesh rolled over his immaculate
shirt collar.
"Certainly. I've arranged for the helicopter to stand
by to
take you back whenever you're ready. There isn't
any
hurry, at this end, at any rate."
When Kali, reluctant and pouting, had left, and the
port
had been brought, "Sir," Adam asked, looking from
one
man to the other, "this Dr. O'Keefe-was
"Yes?" Typhon Cutter asked.
"Well, sir, Dr. Didymus, the man I worked
for before,
you know, he's no slouch, but he didn't-well-was
"Well, what, lad?" Dr. Ball asked hi his
gentlest voice.
"Well, sir, I know it's only been a couple
of days, but
all I've done is scrub the lab floors and
clean tanks. I
mean, junk anybody could do. I haven't been
doing things
like that since I was hi seventh grade. I mean,
it's not Ol
iver Twist kind of stuff exactly, but it
certainly doesn't
challenge my
mind,
and he keeps the files locked, and I
have a feeling..."
"A feeling?" Dr. Ball prompted.
"Well, that he doesn't trust me."
Dr. Ball said smoothly, "It's probably not
personal, son.
I don't think O'Keefe trusts anybody. And
if a man trusts
no man, then he cannot trust God."
"I've been very careful," Adam said.
"I mean, I've been

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
very discreet I've just done my job, whatever he's
asked
me to do, no matter how silly. And I've kept
my eyes
open, so that I'm getting
some
idea of what's going on, whether he wants me
to or not..." He paused, frowning
slightly.
Dr. Ball raised one pale hand. "Under these
circumstances, my son, do you think you
will
be able to get to
Lisbon next Friday?"
"Well, yes, sir. Mrs. O'Keefe wants
me to do some er
rands. I mean, shopping, knitting wool and stuff that
abso
lutely anybody could do. And they did say something
about the hotel plane. After all, I could have used
my
mind more if I'd stayed with Dr.
Didymus in Woods Hole,
no matter how old he is."
Typhon Cutter shifted position in his chair, the
top-
heavy body swinging cumbersomely. "Don't worry.
Well
give you a chance to use your mind."
"Yes, Mr. Cutter. I hope so."
"You know what your instructions are?"
"Yes, sir. 111 fly over to Lisbon on
Friday, ostensibly to do some shopping for Mrs.
O'Keefe. I'll manage to wangle
permission to have a date with Kali to give me the
extra
time HI need. I'm to go right to the rectory to Dr.
Ball."
"How," Typhon Cutter asked slowly, "will the
idea of a
date with Kali be received?"
"Well, they
know I
like her, sir. After all, she
is
very at
tractive. I mean, any red-blooded
American male . . . And after all, they gave
me permission to come here
tonight I mean, it's not as though I were in prison or
anything. It's just that the work I've been given
seems kind of
silly for someone with as much background in marine bi
ology as I have."
Typhon Cutter poured more port "A reasonable
pre
caution on O'Keefe's part, isn't it?"
"Well, yes, Mr. Cutter, I guess it
is."
"All right, Adam. You're a bright lad. Mow's
your op
portunity to use that mind of yours. Keep your eyes
and
your ears open. You
will
be able to bring us some in
formation, won't you?"
"Yes. I think so."

MADELEINE I/Engle
"Be careful not to arouse suspicions. What you
don't ac
complish this time can be done next, though we don't have
all the time in the world. Remember that."
"I'll remember."
"If you want your swim with Kali we'll excuse
you
now. She'll be waiting hi the lounge. Make your
arrange
ments to meet her on Friday."
"Yes, Mr. Cutter."
Dr. Ball smiled again, rubbing his hands. "Be
gentle and
understanding with her, dear boy. She's a particular pet
of
mine."
"Yes, sir. It's been very nice to see you again."
He turned with equal courtesy to Typhon
Cutter. "It was a Wonderful dinner, thank you,
sir. Just the ticket." He shook hands with both
men, first the steel grip, then the
hail-fellow-well-met one.
"Until Friday," Dr. Ball said softly as the
boy left
Outside the dining room Adam breathed deeply.
So far so good.
Kali, already changed to a scanty black
bathing suit and a
white terrycloth beach robe, was waiting for him in the
lounge. "Come on and 111 show you where to dress,"
she
said. "We'll swim in the ocean, not the pool. I
want to be
sure we aren't overheard. Hurry up." She
spoke quietly,
quickly, nervously.
As Adam changed to the plain navy blue trunks
he remembered Poly's gift. He took it out
of the box and
looked at it, a canvas belt with a holder for what
looked
like an ordinary knife. He took the knife
carefully out of
the sheath and inspected the mechanism for triggering the
blade. He couldn't check the blade for the vein
filled with MS-222 without releasing both blade and
chemical, but it looked as though it would be perfectly
simple to manage.
Although Adam had never owned a switchblade he had
seen several, and he knew how they worked.
He shrugged and put the knife and belt back in the
box.
If he wore the belt Kali's keen eyes might
spot it, and the
evening was complicated enough already. He did not
worry about needing the knife; Poly was an
imaginative
kid, still frightened from the kidnapping experience, and
Typhon Cutter would hardly allow Kali to swim
in dan
gerous waters.
Then, with his hand already on the doorknob, Adam
swung around and went back for the knife. At the
corners
of his mind he felt that something was wrong with the eve
ning. It seemed as though he had done exactly what
he
had set out to do, but he had an uncomfortable, nagging
feeling that somewhere, somehow, he was being stupid.
And a promise is a promise. He had promised
Polyhymnia
that he would not go swimming without the MS-222, and

MADELEINE I/Engle
even if it were not for that small worry at the edge of
his
consciousness he would have to honor that
promise.
He strapped the belt around his waist. The sheath was
tapered and made very little bulge under the trunks, which
were slightly loose for him in any case. Then he
went to
join Kali.
She was waiting at the edge of the big pool, herself in
a
pool of golden floodlight which made her tan
glisten. Her
black bathing suit was sleek against her supple
curves, and
cut more deeply in the back than Adam would have
thought possible. As she saw him walking down the path
toward her she picked up her robe and ran to him,
taking his hand. "See why we can't swim here? The
pool is full, and I don't dare trust
anybody. Daddy has an enormous
organization and I don't know half the people involved
in
it, though I thought I did."
Across from the pool the tennis courts, too, were
flood
lit, and a game of singles and a game of doubles sounded
in the night, the ping of ball against gut,
against the clay of the court. There was calling and laughter
from the pool. Ahead of them the ocean lay dark and its
murmur
was almost lost in the light and sound about the hotel.
As they got to the long ramp leading to the beach, and out
of the glare of the floodlights, Kali seemed
to relax. She held Adam's hand lightly, instead
of clutching. But
her voice was still wound with tension. "Oh, Adam, every
thing's so
awful
his
She moved closer to him, seeking, it
seemed, the strength and comfort of his body. "Adam,
oh,
darling, darling Adam, can I trust you?"
"Trust me how?" he asked cautiously.
They had reached the end of the ramp and stood on the
night beach. Kali let her robe drop onto the
sand, and
turned to Adam putting her arms tightly around him,
lean
ing her head on his shoulder. "I need your help so
terribly."
The light fragrance of her hair brushed
against his nos
trils. Kali, despite her sophistication, was just
as vulnerable
as Poly. She might be a few years older, but
she was just as helpless against the powers of evil that
surrounded
them. "How do you need me?" he asked gently.

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
Kali lifted her head and looked at him. The
moonlight
fell full on her, so that her skin was milkwhite and
her
lovely features seemed chiseled out of marble. Her
eyes
were imploring. "Adam, I know you have no reason
to trust me. I wouldn't blame you a bit if you-if
you just
rejected me now. But please don't"
"I'm not rejecting you, Kali."
"Let's just sit down for a few minutes before we
swim
and I'll tell you as quickly as I can. All the
awful things
I've done because daddy told me to and
everything." She
led the way along the beach, back through the soft sand to
the foot of a high dune. Here she sat down,
pulling him
after her, and lay back. "We can wash the sand off when
we go in for our dip. Adam, what would you do if you
discovered that your father was doing things-things that
were wrong?"
This was something Adam could not possibly imagine.
If he had to choose one word to describe his father it
would be
integrity.
So he answered, "I don't know." He
did not add, "Because it would never happen."
But Kali must have caught the unspoken thought. "I
used to think daddy was perfect. I thought that no
matter what he did, as long as it was daddy who was
doing it, it
must be right. But now I know-was she stopped with a sud
den intake of breath. "I can't tell you anything more
unless you promise me something. I shouldn't have said
this much."
For a moment caution returned to Adam. "What do
you want me to promise?"
"Oh, nothing difficult. I don't
want you to
do
anything
or anything. Just promise that you'll never, never,
never
say anything to anybody in the world about what I'm
telling you."
"Why would I want to say anything?"
Kali sat up, looking down at him broodingly.
"Adam, I
know now that O'Keefe and Tallis and their people are
right and daddy's wrong. I'm sure you know it, too.
You might want to tell them. O'Keefe and
Tallis. But I'm not
going to tell you anything they don't already know: I
wouldn't put you in a position where it would be your

MADELEINE 1/ENGLE
duty to tell them. I promise you. But I couldn't
bear- please, Adam, promise me you won't
tell them. It's- maybe it's just a matter of
pride. I still love daddy, you see. He's still my
father. So please just promise me you'll never tell.
I can't work for O'Keefe and Tallis or
anything. I can't work
against
daddy, even-so please,
please promise you'll never tell them any of what
I've told
you or what I'm going to tell you now." She flung
herself
at him, pressing her face against his shoulder, so that
he
could feel her tears hot against his flesh.
"All right, I promise," he said, stroking her
back gently
as though she were Poly.
She heaved a great sigh of relief. "Oh, thank
you.
Thank
you. Adam, daddy only returned Poly to you
to get
you to work for him. But I guess you know that, anyhow."
"Yes," Adam said.
"And I know daddy's asking you to work for him again."
Adam didn't say anything, and Kali continued,
"I'm not going to ask you about that. That's your problem,
and you have to handle it whatever way you think is right.
I know it'll be the right way. Maybe you don't
trust me,
yet. But I trust you. Implicitly."
She paused, so Adam mumbled, "Thank you."
"You're supposed to go into Lisbon this week, aren't
you?"
"Yes."
"And you're supposed to meet me?"
"Well, yes, you know that"
"On Friday, isn't it?"
"Yes."
"I know about the plans, of course, because daddy
doesn't know I know about him, and I couldn't ever
let him know. He might-Adam, he might hurt
me.
I know
now that all he wants is more money and more power, and
he doesn't care who's hurt as long as he gets
them. There are people in China, for instance, who are willing
to give daddy almost anything he wants if they can
get hold of O'Keefe's findings. They think people
are-what's the word-expendable-and so does daddy. It
isn't anything
as simple as communism versus democracy. It's
power pit-

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
ting itself against power. So I'm-I'm trapped in the
middle. By Friday I ought to know more what I have to do.
So if we can just pretend to play along with daddy- and
it will just be be pretending-we can meet in Lisbon and
things ought to be clearer by then. The main thing is
that you
have
to keep your promise, Adam. You must
not
tell anybody, not anybody anything I've told
you."
"I'm not in the habit of breaking promises,"
Adam said.
"I know you're not. But you see, a promise
simply
doesn't mean a thing in the world to daddy. He'll
promise
anything in order to get what he wants and break it
the next minute without a thought. So I'm-so I just have
to make extra sure. It isn't that I doubt you.
You're the only
person in the world I trust."
"I'm sorry, Kali," Adam said, helplessly.
Kali was lying
back against the dune, her fair hair
spread out on the sand. The moonlight fell full
upon her beautiful face and
body. He felt a profound longing to protect
her, to rescue
her from the evil that held her in thrall.
She whispered, so that he could hardly catch the words,
"Thank you."
"For what?"
"For being you. It was the best day of my life when our
planes got held up by fog and I met you in the
airport." She turned her face toward him, then
reached out and
touched him gently on the cheek, moving so that she was
closer to him. Very lightly she put her lips against
his,
then, abruptly cutting his response, she jumped
up, saying,
"That isn't fair to you. Come on, Adam darling,
let's have
a quick dip and then you'd better get on back to the
O'Keefes."
Like a naiad she ran swiftly across the sand and into the
water, and he followed her, splashing through the
waves.
The moon was high and the ocean quiet. It was
not long
before they were beyond the breakers and into the rhyth
mic swells. Kali rolled over onto her back
and floated, staring up at the moon. "You see,
Adam, I think I can
help you now. I can't work against daddy, you do under
stand that, but I think I can help you not to work against

MADELEINE L'ENOLE
O'Keefe. It won't be safe for you to call the
apartment
when you come hi to Lisbon on Friday, so we'll have
to
arrange to meet somewhere. We could meet for lunch,
couldn't we? That would be perfectly natural,
wouldn't
it?"
Adam, too, was
floating
, letting the water ripple gently
against his body, slap lightly at his cheeks.
"That's pretty
much what's expected, I dunk."
"Someplace large and obvious would be our best bet.
There's a good seafood restaurant, the
Salao da CM. Any
body can tell you where it is. Meet me there at
one."
"Fine." Adam looked up at the moon. He
thought of
Joshua in the little plane flying straight along the
path of
moonlight as though he were heading toward the clear,
cold light of the moon itself.
"Adam, I'm so jittery about everything I could
jump out
of my skin. Let's have a race." She flipped
over and faced
out to sea.
"What about undertow and stuff?" Adam asked.
"Oh,
Adam."
"Sorry, but I've learned to treat the ocean with a
good
deal of respect"
"For goodness sakes, Adam, I'm as used to this beach
as
I am to my own bathtub."
Adam asked, doggedly, "What about sharks?"
"That's nonsense. Daddy says it's just a
malicious story
made up by people who'd like to see the hotel lose
business. Come on. I'm going. If you're scared
you can go
in to shore and wait for me." She thrust her body
forward
in the water. After a moment's hesitation Adam
followed.
Kali swam easily and well and she had a head
start Adam was stronger, his arms and legs longer, but
he had
to work to catch up with her.
Just as he drew even and began to forge ahead he
heard
Kali scream.
They were hi the path of moonlight, now, and in the
water beside them he could see a large, dark body.
He felt a moment of cold blankness. Then, almost
without think
ing, he reached for the knife Poly had given him.
As Adam's hand touched the sheath he felt himself being
butted.
Kali shrieked. "It's a shark! Swim for your
life!"
He was butted again.
His next reaction was not on the thinking level. He
sim
ply knew that a shark does not butt. A shark
turns over on
its back, white belly exposed, and attacks.
The dark body
bumping against him in the night water was not a shark.
"Macrina!" he shouted.
The moment of recognition was not conscious, it was
pure and joyful instinct.
Macrina kept butting at him. She was
deliberately turn
ing him around and heading him toward land. Kali was already
swimming in, cleaving swiftly through the water, not
looking back for Adam.
"Thank you, Macrina," Adam said, loudly,
hoping that
Macrina would understand the intonation if not the words,
since he could not, as Poly seemed able to, talk
in dolphin language. He turned and headed in
to shore, looking back
to see Macrina's body, bright with moonlight,
flash through the air and disappear into the sea.
Kali stood, knee deep in water, waiting for
him. She
flung herself into his arms, sobbing and gibbering. "I was
going to run for help-and then I saw you swimming
in-it was a shark-oh, Adam, I'm terrified of
them-oh,
Adam, it was so horrible-oh, Adam, oh, oh,
oh-was
He held her, patting her gently. As her
torrent of sobbing ceased he said, as calmly as he
could, for his own
legs were quivering and his heart thumping madly against
his ribs, "It wasn't a shark. It was a
dolphin."
"You're crazy," Kali said. "Look." She
pointed to the

MADELEINE I/Englb
water and he could see the swift black triangle
of a shark's
fin moving across the path of moonlight. "That's a
shark.
A porpoise leaps out of the water. Adam, I
don't know
why it didn't kill us. You saved me."
"I didn't do anything," Adam said. "We both
swam in as
fast as we could." But it
had
been Macrina who had
butted him. That was it! he realized. Macrina had
been
warning him of the shark.
"Sharks swim much faster than people. I just don't un
derstand." Kali still clutched at him in a terrified
manner.
Adam tried to sound matter-of-fact.
Instinctively he
knew that he could not tell Kali about Macrina.
"Let's just
be grateful that we're here and that we're okay.
You're shivering, Kali. Get your robe and let's
go in and get
dressed." He was still acting on an automatic
level, his
brain arrested, frozen by the icy bath of terror and
moon
light.
Kali leaned against him as they walked across the sand
to where her robe lay in a small white pool by the
ramp.
Adam picked it up and held it for her as
she got into it,
shivering. Strangely enough he felt no desire
to take her
into his arms now, to hold her, to comfort her, to brush
his lips against the fair hair, the delicate mouth.
His mind
was still suspended; his emotions, too, seemed caught
and
frozen in the moonlight Everything about him was calm
and cold, but somewhere inside was a small, still voice
telling him what to do. His earlier anger at having
Kali
added to his responsibilities was gone; the moment
of joy
that had come when he recognized Macrina was gone.
He
knew that all that was required of him at the moment was
to take Kali back to the hotel; then he would be
free to go
home to the O'Keefes.
Typhon Cutter and Dr. Ball were drinking
coffee and
brandy in the lounge.
"Dear children," Dr. Ball cooed, "did you have a
pleasant swim?"
Kali walked up to her father. "Daddy, there
are
sharks.
Adam and I saw one."
Typhon Cutter's voice was unperturbed. "I
think that
highly unlikely, Kali. were you in the ocean?"

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
"Yes."
"I thought you were going in the pool."
"It was too crowded."
Mr. Cutter pulled out a platinum case,
extracted a ciga
rette, and lit it unhurriedly. "I would suggest
that, if you
think you saw a shark, you follow the hotel rules in
future. They are, if you will remember,
my
rules, and I've
asked you before to swim in the ocean only during the day
time when there is a lifeguard."
"All right, daddy. Sorry. I just thought you'd
want to
know."
Typhon Cutter swung his cumbersome body toward
Adam. "Did you see a shark?"
"Yes, sir. I think so."
"You're not positive?"
"Not a hundred percent, Mr. Cutter. But as far
as
swimming at the hotel beach is concerned I'd
certainly go
on the assumption that there
are
sharks."
Dr. Ball stretched and crossed his legs. "A
proper scien
tific attitude, my boy."
"I think I'd better go now," Adam said. "I
don't expect
anybody"!! be waiting up for me, but it's getting
late, and I
do have to get up early."
He said goodbye to the two men and Kali took him
to
the roof. Before he climbled into the helicopter she
moved
close to him. The moonlight shone down on her
face and
he could not avoid or evade her imploring look.
He took
her gently into his arms. "See you Friday,
Kali. Every
thing will be all right." She nodded, rubbing her face
against his shoulder, then lifted her lips to be kissed.
He was surprised at his reaction, for he seemed
to be
two separate Adams; one responded fully to the
physical
excitement of the kiss and to her body pressed against
his; the other, and the Adam who seemed at the moment
to be in control, was thinking only of Friday, of the
dangers and
problems involved, and that he must not let himself be
blinded by emotion no matter how badly Kali
needed him.
Indeed, if he was to be able to help Kali at
all, he must
keep his mind clear and disengaged. After Friday was
over
would be time enough to think of other things.

MADELEINE I/Engle
He turned away from her firmly and got
into the heli
copter. As it rose clumsily straight up into the
air and then
headed east he could see her watching and waving after
him.
Again during the homeward journey the pilot did not
speak. Adam, jumping down onto the sand, called
"Obrigado," which he had picked up as meaning
"thank
you," and hurried toward the lab where he could see a
light still burning in the big room.
Dr. O'Keefe was working at one of the tanks, but
went
to his desk and sat down, rather wearily, as Adam
knocked and entered. "I'm making some hot
chocolate
over one of the Bunsen burners," the doctor said.
"I find if
I drink coffee this late at night I'm apt not
to go to bed at
all. Want to get yourself a cup from the cupboard
over
there?"
"Thank you." Adam got a cup and set it down
beside
the doctor's on the counter top. "I'll finish
making this,
sir."
Dr. O'Keefe looked at him probingly. "How
did the
evening go?"
Adam stirred the fragrant chocolate. "All
right, I think.
There's something that bothers me, and I can't put my
fin
ger on it" As he said "finger" he almost dipped his
own
into the saucepan to see if the chocolate was hot
enough,
then decided that Dr. O'Keefe might not
approve of this
distinctly unsterile procedure. There
was
something wrong
with the evening, and it was something quite unconnected
with Kali. It had been bothering bun off and on all
during
the Sight home, although it had been Kali who had
been
in the forefront of his mind. He wanted very
much to tell
Dr. O'Keefe about Kali, but he had
promised. However, at
the moment Kali seemed to be on the periphery of the
central problem which was to get the phony papers
to Dr.
Ball and the real papers to Josh or the
Ambassador. On
Friday when he met Kali at the restaurant he
would make
her see that he must tell Dr. O'Keefe. He
could under
stand her feelings about this: Typhon Cutter was her
fa
ther and she must still love him very much no matter what
she had learned about his actions. You cannot suddenly

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
stop loving when it has been the central emotion of
your
entire life.
"Want to
tell
me about it now?" Dr. O'Keefe asked, "or
would you rather wait until morning?"
Adam decided, from the bubbles at the edge of the
saucepan, that the cocoa was hot. "I don't think
it'll take too long," he said as he poured. "I
can tell you while we
have our chocolate."
Dr. O'Keefe reached into a desk drawer and
brought
out a tin of biscuits. He handed it to Adam, and
accepted
the steaming cupful.
"Tin not quite sure how to start ..." Adam took a
bis
cuit.
"Begin at the beginning, go on to the end, and then
stop."
That, of course, was the trouble. He could not begin at
the beginning, which was Kali's cry for help. So he
began
with going into the terraced lounge.
"So Ball was there," Dr. O'Keefe murmured.
"He's a whited sepulcher!" Adam said
vehemently.
The doctor laughed. "He may be beautiful without,
but
yes, he's full within of dead men's bones
and all unclean-
ness."
"Then how can he possibly have a church and every
thing?" Adam asked.
"The scribes and pharisees were respected by a great
many people, and a great many of them did a respectable
job. I suppose most people see only the
outside-he's a
great one for rather showy good works-and have no idea
of what's within. Go on."
Adam's memory again served him well. He was able
to
give a detailed account of the conversations in both the
lounge and the dining room.
When he had finished Dr. O'Keefe sat
twirling a pencil.
"It seems to me you did very well. What's bothering
you?"
"I wish I knew."
Dr. O'Keefe continued to twirl the pencil, staring
at it
with concentration. At last he said, "Do you think
maybe
you feel that it was all too easy?"
Adam looked up, his face alight.
"That's it! They be-

MADELEINE I/Engle
lieved me too easily. That I'd work for them, and
that I
didn't trust you."
"It sounds to me as though you'd been pretty persua
sive. Why do you think it was too easy?"
Adam said, slowly, "I don't think I'm
that
good an ac
tor. I don't mean that I was bad or anything,
I really think
I did all right, but-was
"You think there may be a trap somewhere?"
"Yes. But I don't know
why
I think it It's just a feeling,
and I may be an wrong."
Dr. O'Keefe swirled the dregs of hot
chocolate in his
cup. "No. I think I know why you feel the way
you do.
Cutter and Ball aren't to be underestimated, and they
aren't easily sold a bill of goods, and
that's just what you were trying to do, and what you seem to have
succeeded
in doing, isn't it?"
"Yes, sir."
Again there was a pause, during which Adam wished
even more strongly that he hadnt made his promise to
Kali. Dr. O'Keefe took both cups to the
sink and rinsed
them out. "Tom Tallis will be in Lisbon on
Friday. That's
one good thing. I think you ought to go directly to Tom,
rather than to Joshua or the Embassy."
"But what about Dr. Ball-was
"Yes, you'll have to go there first, though I hate to have
you with the papers on you when you see him. I'll try
to work out a plan between now and Friday. You've blun
dered into enough danger since you left New York with
out my sending you into more."
Adam said, "I want to do anything I can."
"I know, Adam, and Fm grateful But you
are
in my
care. If there were anyone else to send to Lisbon-was
"There isn't, and anyhow they expect me, and it would
make them suspicious if I didn't
come."
Dr. O'Keefe stretched and yawned. "Let's go
to bed,
boy. Well sleep on it"
They had turned out the lab lights and shut and locked
the door behind them, when Adam said, "Dr.
O'Keefe, I
forgot to tell you one of the most important things of
all."
"What's that?"

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
"It's Macrina."
Dr. O'Keefe listened, standing quiet and
unmoving, as
the moon dropped slowly behind the hills. "If
Macrina did
that for you-was
"But I could be wrong again, sir. Maybe I just
thought-was
"No. I don't think there's any doubting what
happened.
And each separate event added up makes me
realize-was
He paused, sighing.
"Realize what, sir?"
"That you
are
the one to go to Lisbon on Friday, no
matter how much it goes against the grain for me to send
you into what we both know will be danger." The older
man's hand dropped onto Adam's shoulder, but it
was a
touch completely unlike that of Dr. Ball.
Whereas Adam
had wanted to pull away from Dr. Ball and had had
to
will himself not to move, Dr. O'Keefe's hand felt
like his
father's; it seemed to be giving him strength, and
determi
nation, and the courage to do whatever it was that he had
to do.
"Good night, Adam," the doctor said. "See you
in the
morning."
The next day was, in a quiet and unexciting
way, every
thing Adam had hoped the entire summer would be.
Poly
brought him his breakfast but was surprisingly reticent
and
the only question she asked about the evening before was
what he had had to eat. Adam wondered if her father
or
mother had told her to leave him alone. He did his
chores
in the laboratory, drank coffee with Mrs.
O'Keefe while the doctor was busy at his
desk; Mrs. O'Keefe knew a
great deal about her husband's work and had often assist
ed him.
Before lunch Poly called for Adam and he went
swim
ming with all the children; they did not see Macrina, which was
only partly a disappointment. Macrina would
have made him think about the night before and all its im
plications, and he wanted a day of simple,
straightforward
work.
In the afternoon Dr. O'Keefe rode over to the
village. Adam was left in charge of the
laboratory, happy and
uninterrupted. Mrs. O'Keefe brought him tea,
but left him
alone, and he spent the time deep in concentration on the
files.
After dinner they sang again, and, as Adam's mind had
been held during the day by his concentration on his work,
so now the music held him and he relaxed into the
singing. When the younger children were in bed he walked with
Poly at the edge of the ocean. Poly had slipped
off her sandals on the sea wall, and walked
silently, teasing
her bare toes against the incoming waves, her white
cotton
dress blown tight against her twenty-rwenty-twenty
body.
Not quite twenty-twenty-twenty any more, Adam
realized.
It wasn't going to be long before Poly would be
bursting

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
out of childhood as she was already beginning to do out of
her dress.
As it grew darker there was a glittering against the
dunes and Poly ran, colt-like, across the sand
crying,
"Fireflies!" and tried to catch the
small sparkles between
her hands. "Sometimes I catch them in a jar, just
to look
at for a little while, just to make a small lantern.
But I
never hold them for very long. I used to think they were
tiny stars, but then I found out how cruel they are, and
I
don't think stars should be cruel."
"Fireflies cruel?" Adam asked with tolerant
good hu
mor.
"Oh,
you
know," Poly said impatiently.
"Fireflies have been pretty much left out of my
educa
tion. All I know is that they're the only source
of light
that provides illumination with incandescence."
"So far so good." Poly held her cupped hands out
to
him, and a small startled spark flew out and up. She
put
her hand in Adam's and pulled bun down
onto the dune.
"Let's sit for a while."
Adam leaned back against the soft, warm sand. How
different this was from the night before with Kali. He
sighed with relief at the release from tension. Ahead
of
them the moon was rising. Above, fireflies
glittered. "It's
really fantastic," he said lazily, looking at
one small, mov
ing spark. "Every light man can make is mostly
heat. I
forget the proportion it is in an electric bulb,
but some
thing like ninety-five percent of the energy needed to make
an ordinary light bulb for an ordinary lamp in
an ordinary
house is used up hi heat. If we could find out
how the fire
flies do it, cold light, electricity would cost
only a fraction
of what it does now. It would be so cheap it would
hardly
cost anything."
Poly lay back, looking out to sea. "The
light and power
companies wouldn't like that."
"I think Old Doc was working on it for a while.
He
used to pay me a penny, way back when I was a
little kid,
for every ten fireflies I caught for him in a jelly
jar. I
spent all evening chasing them. Didn't make much
money
but I had an awful lot of fun."

MADELEINE I/Engle
Poly rolled over, leaning on one elbow and looking
at
Adam intensely. "Do me a favor and leave
fireflies alone."
"Hunh?" Adam turned to look at her.
"Listen," Poly said, still up on her elbow so that
she
could stare down at him. "Did you know they're
divided
into different levels or classes?"
"I've told you all I know about fireflies.
They don't
seem much of a menace to me."
Poly did not laugh. She continued to stare at him
with a
serious, probing expression, so that she looked much
older
than her twelve years. "Well, they are. And they
mate by
their flashes. A male firefly will give his
flash-maybe four
flashes, say. And if the female is in the same
class or cate
gory that he is, she'll answer back with four
flashes. But if she's in the class that has three
flashes, or two, or five, she
won't answer. Unless she's hungry. Then
she'll give him
back four flashes and when he comes down to her,
instead
of making love with him she'll eat him."
"What a bloodthirsty fiendess," Adam said
lightly.
"That's exactly what I mean. Leave
fireflies alone,
Adam." She stood up, calling, "Race you
back to the
house!" and went streaking across the sand.
Sunday morning the whole family went up to the
mono
lithic stones and sat around the large table while
Dr.
O'Keefe read morning prayer. Then they rode
to the native
village, Mrs. O'Keefe carrying Rosy in a
canvas sling on
her back, Dr. O'Keefe carrying Johnny, and
Adam riding with Peggy in front of him on the
saddle. He had one arm
around the little girl and she leaned back against him con
tentedly and slept.
Virbius entertained them with a lavish and exotic
meal,
and Poly and Temis rounded up all the O'Keefe
children
and the village children for a series of dancing and singing
games. Adam, sitting next to the doctor, felt
lapped in
peace and joy.
Friday seemed a long way off. It seemed a
long way off
all during the week of working in the lab with the
doctor,
of swimming with the children, of singing in the living
room in the evening, of coming to feel that this island and
this family was his home. He knew that in actuality
Friday

THE
ARM
OF THE STARFISH
was moving closer and looming larger with every passing
minute, but he kept it out of his mind until
Thursday
night when all the children, including Poly, were in bed,
and he was sitting in the living room with Dr. and
Mrs.
O'Keefe. Mrs. O'Keefe was mending a pair
of Dennys"
shorts, but her face had a watchful, waiting
look, and she
raised her head as the doctor said, "I've
arranged to have
the helicopter pick you up in the morning, Adam.
You
have a hard day ahead of you, and it's a tiring ride
by
horse over to the hotel."
"Whatever you say, sir." Adam's heart began
to beat so
that he could feel its thumping.
"You should get to Lisbon around ten in the morning.
The plane leaves for Oaea again at six, but you can
ar
range to miss it Joshua will fly you back."
Adam smiled with pleasure. "Oh, great Something
re
ally good to look forward to."
"Now, Adam, there hasn't been time for you to learn
any Portuguese, has there?"
"Just a few isolated words and idioms."
"Here's a small phrase book you may find
useful, then.
This is a good street map of Lisbon which will help
you
find your way about In the morning I'll give you the
Temis papers. Maria and Jose" report that the
laboratory
has been watched all week. One small paper
I carefully
dropped "inadvertently" has disappeared. I
hope we are
leading them away from any thoughts of Temis into think
ing I have been experimenting on one of the horses.
Josh
@l
has dropped hints of this to the stable boys, and one of the
horses has a badly cut hoof. This nonexistent
experiment
is important enough to excite much interest, but what
is
more, in the long run it would not work. As for the papers
on Temis, well try to have them on you for as short
a
time as possible. Maria has made a concealed
pocket for
you to carry them in. She has also made a slightly
less
clever pocket for
the
phony horse papers. If you are
searched this pocket will be discovered first You are of
course aware that you will be followed wherever you go."
"Yes, sir, I figured I would be."
"Know too that someone from the Embassy will have

MADELEINE I/Engle
an eye on you. I don't think you yourself will be in
any
danger, although the papers may be."
"I won't let anything happen to the papers,"
Adam said
fiercely.
"I know, Adam. If I had not come to trust you
implic
itly I could not allow you to go."
Adam, remembering that until the promise was
lifted he
could not tell Dr. O'Keefe about Kali, bowed his
head.
"Adam will be all right," Mrs. O'Keefe said
softly.
Adam looked over at her with gratitude. Dr.
O'Keefe continued, his voice quiet, calm, but
containing absolute authority. "The first tiling you must
do when you get to
Lisbon is to call Father Tallis. You will be most
private in
a public phone booth. Now, Adam, you have already
learned that it is the unexpected that usually
happens."
Adam controlled a shiver that threatened
to ripple
through his body. "Yes, Dr. O'Keefe. I have."
"We've tried to prepare, as much as possible, for the
unexpected, to foresee the unforeseen. I think you're
right
in your suspicions about Dr. Ball and Typhon
Cutter the other night: they're hot on the trail
and you're being used as a decoy. I wish I knew
what move they're going to
make, but I don't. I can only guess that
they'll try to keep
you from getting in touch with either Joshua or Father and
certainly they'd prevent you from getting through to
the Ambassador. And the Temis papers are too
important
to go to anybody else. So, to try to prepare for the
un-
preparable, we have worked out alternate times and
places
for you to call Tom Tallis. I'm only
grateful that he is able to be in Lisbon instead of
Gibraltar or heaven and
the bishop know where else."
"Sir," Adam asked, "how did Canon
Tallis get involved
in this-in this kind of business?"
"Inadvertently and unwillingly. Like most of us."
Adam nodded. "Yes. How am I to get hi touch
with
him?"
"He will be moving all day Friday. I cannot give
you a
list of where he would be, because it would be too danger
ous for you to carry. You'll have to memorize the places
where hell be available at each particular hour. The

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
phone numbers will be no trouble since they'll be, in
each case, numbers you can look up in the public
phone book.
Ready?"
"Yes, sir."
"Until ten-thirty the Russian Embassy."
Adam looked startled, but Mrs. O'Keefe
smiled serenely, and Dr. O'Keefe continued.
"You must try to get him there, because we want the
papers off you as soon as possible. Ask for Dr.
Fedotov. Don't speak to anybody else."
"How will I be sure-was
"He will identify himself to you through the Frost
poem, since it's the only one of the pass codes you
know."
"What about the Taffis canon?"
"That's more a trademark than a code. Dr.
Fedotov will put you through to Canon Tallis. If
all goes well, and there's no reason it shouldn't,
you'll be able to give him the papers before you go to the
rectory to Dr. Ball. But if anything should
happen to prevent your calling or getting to him, after
ten-thirty you'll be out of touch until eleven-it
does take time to get from one place to another-but between
eleven and twelve you can call the Monastery of
Sad Juan Chrysostom. Ask for the
senhor
paroco,
Father Henriques."
"The
senhor paroco,
Father Henriques," Adam mur
mured, memorizing.
"If by noon you still haven't been able to talk to Tom
you'll have time at the restaurant when you go to meet
Kali. Between one and two-thirty call Rabbi
Pinhas. Look in the phone book under the name of
Senhora Leonora
Af onso. Got it?"
"Yes."
"If you haven't been able to phone by two-thirty-and
you should be able, Adam, these are just emergency
procedures like the life belts on a plane that you
never really expect to use-then from three-thirty
to five call Joshua.
You have his numbers, don't you?"
"Yes, in my passport."
"Whatever happens don't let anybody get
hold of them. I hope long before afternoon you'll be all
through with your job. If, by any mischance you're not, in
the evening

MADELEINE I/Engle
Joshua and Father Tallis are going to the opera. If
you
have to call them, ask for Dr. Magalhaes and say
it is an emergency. Tom Tallis will have left that
name, and say
that he may get a call. I repeat, Adam, this
should be an
unnecessary precaution. Now I'll go over the list
again."
Adam listened carefully. Mrs.
O'Keefe finished patching
Dennys' shorts and reached for a sweater of Peggy's.
"Poly's growing out of everything," she murmured.
"I'll
have to go into Lisbon myself soon."
"Got it?" Dr. O'Keefe asked Adam.
"I think so," Adam said. "Until ten-thirty
Dr. Fedotov
at the Russian Embassy. Between eleven and
twelve Fa
ther Henriques at the Sa6 Juan Chrysostom
Monastery.
Between one and two-thirty the Rabbi Pinhas, in the
phone book under the same of Senhora Leonora
Afonso.
From three-thirty to five, Joshua. In the evening the
opera
house, and ask for Dr. Magalhaes."
"Good. A friend of Arcangelo's will have the plane
ready for you and Joshua after the opera. We can't use
Arcangelo any more since Ball saw him with you at
the
airport. He's now pinpointed as one of our men,
so don't
try to get in touch with him whatever happens.
He can't help you any more, and it would only be
putting him in
jeopardy."
Adam gave an involuntary shudder because he
understood now just how grave the danger to Arcangelo
could
be. For some reason he remembered the chauffeur,
Molec,
and the brutality of the huge hand as it sliced against his
knee.
"Arcangelo's a good man," Dr. O'Keefe
said, "and ab
solutely loyal. We'll miss him badly."
Mrs. O'Keefe looked up. "Is it safe for
him to stay in
Lisbon?"
"Safer than to try to leave."
"Dr. O'Keefe," Adam asked, "is the
Rabbi Pinhas the
one who was on the plane-was
"Yes. Now, Adam, you'd better get to bed and
get a
good night's sleep. We'll be waiting for you and
Joshua to
morrow night."

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
"Yes, sir," Adam said. "Good night. Good
night, Mrs.
O'Keefe."
He lay in bed in the small airy room that had so
quickly come to seem like home. A fresh ocean
breeze came in the open window. He pulled the
blanket up over
him, but he was not sleepy. His body was tense and
ready
to spring, as though he were already in the plane on the way
to Lisbon. He ran over in his mind the list of the
places he was to call Canon Tallis. Then he
tried to project his imagination beyond the unknown
quantity of the day and to the trip back to the island with
Joshua. But he
could see in his mind's eye only the daytime trip the
week
before, and Joshua sending the little plane into the great,
turbulent clouds, his voice rising above the
tumult of the
elements.
Back in the hills a night bird hooted. Dr.
and Mrs.
O'Keefe walked past his door on their way
to bed. Adam
did not look at his watch because he did not want
to know
how much time had passed. If ever he needed a good
night's sleep it was tonight, so that his mind would be
clear for whatever might happen the following day. In
the next room Charles made a noise in his
sleep. Adam won
dered if the children would see Macrina when they went
swimming, and if Poly would tell Macrina that he
was in
Lisbon, and if Macrina would care. There was no
ques
tioning Macrina's intelligence, but Adam
wondered
whether or not things mattered to her. How did a fish,
even a mammal, show sadness? A crocodile
might be sup
posed to shed tears, if only crocodile tears, but
what could
Macrina do to show sorrow?
As he thought about Macrina the thoughts got more
complicated and more confused and he was in Gaea and
he was in Woods Hole and Macrina was
sitting at the con
cierge's desk at the Avenida Palace and
Adam was asleep....
Mrs. O'Keefe brought him breakfast in the
morning.
"Our thoughts will be with you all day, Adam," she said.
"Thank you. I'm glad."
Poly knocked and came in. "Take care of
yourself for
heaven's sake."

MADELEINE I/Engle
"For heaven's and the future's sake," Adam
quoted.
"For my sake," Poly said.
Charles slipped into the room. "Just take care of
your
self."
Peggy came running along the corridor, calling
for her
mother, plummeted into Adam's room, and was barely
stopped from leaping up onto the bed and spilling the
breakfast tray. "When will Adam be back?"
"Tonight," Poly said tightly.
'Tonight," Charles said, looking at Adam.
Mrs.
O'Knowledge
eefe
pulled Peggy up onto her lap. "But late,
Charles. Very late. Long after midnight. They should
ar
rive with the dawn."
Charles looked at his mother, at Adam, nodded without
speaking, and left the room as quietly as he had
entered it.
Mrs. O'Keefe put Peggy down. "Come
along, Pol, Peg.
Let's give Adam a few minutes to eat
breakfast in peace."
The whole family stood on the sea wall and waved
as he left in the helicopter. -It won't be
long, Adam
thought,-before I'm back here and everything will be all
right.
It was the same silent pilot who had taken him
to dinner with the Cutters, and they whirred across the island
with the pilot scowling out the windshield, seemingly wish
ing to avoid even looking at Adam. They circled
the hotel,
then flew over the pool and tennis court,
and down the
beach to a small cement landing strip. The taxi
plane was
there, and Adam was allowed to get on and settle in his
seat, although he was early. There was room for twelve
people in the compact cabin, but not much leg room. A
pleasant-looking stewardess offered him coffee, but
he was
suspicious of all stewardesses and not at all
sure of anything offered him to drink. He thought he
could handle himself and protect the papers in Maria's
special pocket as long as he was wide awake and
alert, but he did not want to risk a Mickey
Finn and someone searching him
between the island and Lisbon. So he smiled
politely and
said, "No, thanks, I've just had gallons."
"Would you care for a magazine?" she asked in her

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
charming accent. "We have the latest American maga
zines,
Esquire, Mad-was
"No, thanks, I've brought some work." And he
did have a sheaf of magazines Dr.
O'Keefe had given him, some American, some
English, some European, in a number of which Dr.
O'Keefe had articles. The first magazine he
opened, an Australian one, had a lead article
by T. S. Did-ymus, and Adam felt that this was
somehow a propitious
omen.
He read the piece by Old Doc, smiling
affectionately at the old man's individual
quirks of phrasing. Then he managed to lose himself
in various other articles that caught his interest,
grateful for the discipline of concentration he had learned
at school. Dr. O'Keefe's writing style was
spare and clear, with unexpected, vivid
illustrations, and a quick sense of humor. -How could
I ever have thought he wasn't okay? Adam
wondered, and then remembered that his doubts were all
seeded before he met the scientist, and that if it had not
been for the New York fog for which Kali was so
grateful, he might not be heading for
Lisbon and danger now.
But this was purposeless thinking. He shook himself and
returned to the magazine, reading until the
passengers from the hotel came aboard. A
portly, porcine man with a briefcase
settled himself beside Adam. The boy kept his nose
in the magazine, determined not to be drawn
into conversation, no matter how innocent. But the man
appeared as averse to chitchat as Adam, opened his
briefcase immediately, and set to work on a sheaf of
papers, only
grunting in assent as the stewardess offered him
coffee.
Adam read, holding his mind at bay. He
managed not to think of the hours ahead, but discovered that
he was not retaining anything from the articles in which he
had
thought he was engrossed.
They landed at the small airport from which he and
Joshua had taken off, and where he had first met
Dr. Ball. A limousine was waiting outside
to take the passengers into the center of Lisbon, and
Adam found a seat, seeking the portly man as a
seat companion so that he would be
assured of silence.

MADELEINE I/Engle
But the man did not reopen his briefcase. Instead
he
turned to Adam, smiled pleasantly, and
said, "I'm Donald
Green of the Singer Sewing Machine Company.
Haven't
noticed you around the hotel."
Adam did not in his turn introduce himself. Instead
he answered politely, "Well, no, sir, I
haven't been staying
there."
"Is
there any other place to stay on Gaea?"
"Oh, yes, sir."
"Where? Except for the hotel it seems a jungle
as far as
I'm concerned."
Adam did not know how to get out of this one. "Well,
I
have a summer job with a scientist who has a
laboratory
there." He tensed his body and mind for further question
ing.
But Mr. Green of the Singer Sewing Machine seemed
satisfied. To Adam's surprise he asked no
more questions
but went into a eulogy on the merits of his machines and
how they were changing the entire life of the
Iberian pen
insula. "I feel that I'm doing a great service
to these
people. Tried to get those savages over in the Gaean
vil
lage interested but was most rudely turned away."
Adam mumbled politely and Mr. Green of the
Singer Sewing
Machine continued to talk about his experiences until the
limousine stopped.
"Nice to have met you, sir," Adam said, and strode
pur
posefully down the street as though he knew
exactly where
he was going.
He did not.
He had no idea.
Dr. O'Keefe had given him a street map of
Lisbon, and
Adam had studied it. But Lisbon is not the
simple chequer
board that makes up most of Manhattan;
Lisbon is unex
pected hills, open squares, closed alleys, a
city of twisting,
turning, revealing, hiding, light, dark, a city of
mystery
and beauty and fascination.
And Adam realized that he did not know where anything was
in Lisbon. If he could find the Ritz then he
thought he could find, in one direction, the Avenida
Palace hotel, and, in the other, Joshua's
apartment. If he

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
could find the Ritz he could go in and look at the map
again, phone Canon Tallis, and figure out how
to get to
the rectory.
No. He shouldn't go into the Ritz because of
Arcangelo. But if he could find the Ritz then he
would be able to find someplace else to look at his map
and make his phone call. He stopped a man,
saying, "Ritz, por favor?"
The man went into a torrent of Portuguese, and
Adam simply shook his head. The man spoke
slowly and at full volume, but this did not help,
and Adam grinned foolishly
and shook his head again.
Then a voice came from behind him. "I show
you
where go."
Adam turned and faced the huge body and coarse
face
of Molec.
"This way," Molec said, and Adam followed
helplessly.
"Nao, nao," the man who had been trying
to direct him
called, and pointed in the opposite direction.
Molec scowled, speaking rapidly and angrily.
The man responded shrilly, flung up his hands in
exasperation, and
strode off.
"Where are you taking me?" Adam demanded. "Padre
Ball."
There was nothing to do but go with him. Molec led
Adam back to where the limousine was just pulling away
to return to the airport. Parked nearby was Mr.
Cutter's
car. Adam would not easily forget this car, and he had
no
desire to get into it again, but he clenched his teeth and
climbed in as Molec opened the door to the back
seat.
-If Mr. Cutter was going to have him meet me why
didn't he tell me? Adam thought. -- Or is
this some kind
of test or trick?
He looked out the window, trying to see something he
recognized, trying to remember the route, to see
street
signs, but he realized that as far as rinding his way
around
Lisbon was concerned he was completely helpless.
Squares with fountains, sidewalks in mosaic
patterns, laundry hang
ing, fountains splashing, all seemed to flash by him in
an
unassimilated jumble as Molec drove.
"Igreja," Molec said, pulling up abruptly
in front of a
grey stone cross-topped building on a broad,
tree-lined street somewhere on the outskirts of
Lisbon, though at
which point of the compass Adam did not know. His sense
of direction had completely forsaken him. Once he
could
study the map he would feel a little more secure.
A narrow, cobblestoned street led to a
modern villa be-

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
hind the church, and to this the chauffeur pointed.
"Padre
Ball."
"Obrigado," Adam said, quitted the
Cutters" car and
Molec with a sense of relief, and walked quickly
over the
cobblestones.
The villa was a handsome one, large, faced with pat
terned tiles in Venetian red. He rang the
bell and the door was opened almost immediately by Dr.
Ball himself who
grasped Adam's hand in his usual overhearty
grip.
"Dear lad, I'm so grateful that you're here
safely. So
Molec found you."
Adam retrieved his hand.
Dr. Ball led him along a narrow corridor
into a large
study. It was a light and cheerful room, filled with
books
and leather-covered furniture. Although it did not
seem to
Adam to reflect Dr. Ball's personality at
all, it was no
doubt the kind of study that the rector thought he ought
to have. He sat down at his large, leather-topped
desk, indi
cated a comfortable chair near him, and showed his teeth
in a smile. "We should have thought of having Molec
meet you when we talked with you last week, but alas,
we
did not, and both Mr. Cutter and I felt that a
phone call to you would be most unwise under the
circumstances,
and that we'd just have to trust Molec to find you. He's
a
most reliable fellow. Though I'm sure you'd have
managed
to get to me anyhow, wouldn't you?"
"Well, I think so, sir. As a matter of
fact, I didn't see
Molec right away, so I planned to look up your
address in
the phone book and then figure out how to get to you
from the map." com111 tell the truth whenever
possible, he thought, comand when I can't 111 try not
to say anything at
all.
"Clever boy," Dr. Ball told him. "Are you
hungry?
Would you like something to eat? What can I get you?"
"Nothing, thank you. I had a good breakfast and
I've
arranged to meet Kali for lunch."
"Where are you meeting Kali? Perhaps it will simplify
things if I show you on the map and tell you how to get
there."
r

MADELEINE I/Engle
"That would be fine. It's a seafood restaurant
called the
Salao da Cha."
He gave Dr. Ball the map, and the rector
spread it out on the desk. "Ah. Ah, yes. Here
we are." He indicated a central point. "Here
is the Salao da Cha. Here is the rec
tory. If you will walk three blocks east from
here-thus-
you will be able to get a number 198 bus which
will take
you to the Salao da Cha in about ten minutes. Or
perhaps
it would be simpler just to take a taxi. Yes.
Yes, of course.
That would be better."
"Well, no, thank you, sir, I think I'd rather
take the
bus."
"Why, boy? Do you not have enough money?"
Dr. O'Keefe had given Adam a sizable
roll. He an
swered promptly, "Oh, yes, sir, I have the
money for Mrs.
O'Keefe's shopping, and I have my first week's
salary, so
I'm fine."
Dr. Ball sniffed. "O'Keefe is not known for
overpaying his assistants." He took a wad of
bills from his wallet and
handed it to Adam. "We took that into consideration, of
course, so let it be no problem to you."
"I really don't want the money, sir. I
don't care about
taxis."
"Kali is not accustomed to ordering inexpensive
lunches."
"I can manage."
"My dear lad, I think you should feel free
to accept a
little payment for what you are doing for us."
"I'd really rather not take any money."
"I appreciate your sentiments, dear boy, but
accept it as
a loan. If you don't need it you can return it.
But you
may run into expenses you haven't anticipated."
Further arguing would be suspicious, so Adam took
the
money, putting it gingerly into his pocket. "About the
taxi.
I'd really rather take the bus so that I can learn my
way
around Lisbon a bit; it'll help give me the
lay of the land."
"All very well and good if there's time. We shall see.
Now for instructions. You have something for us?"
"Yes. Some papers I managed to get from the file
when
it was unlocked. Shall I give them to you?"

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
"Oh, no, sonny, no, no, no. It wouldn't do
at all for me to have the papers, nor would it be right for
me to act as courier. You must understand that. I do what
I can to
help, of course, but my position naturally
limits what it is
fitting for me to do."
"Well, then-was Adam let his voice trail off.
He had a feeling that Dr. Ball was leading him
around in circles
with his questions, his bus numbers. The rector was like a
well-fed cat who nevertheless enjoys playing with a
mouse.
Now Dr. Ball looked at his watch. "Ten
forty-five.
What time are you meeting Kali?"
"One."
"Very well." An edge came into the voice that made
Adam feel that now they were getting down to business;
they were through playing games. "Professor Embuste
of
Coimbra is upstairs. I will take you to him."
He rose, looked at his watch, checked
it against a clock on the mantlepiece, then led
Adam through the quiet house and up a flight of
back stairs. "Professor Embuste does not
speak English but his French is fluent. Yours?"
"Pretty good."
"Splendid, splendid. Cutter and I were betting
on it,
though we have an interpreter in readiness. We prefer
not
to use an intermediary if we can avoid it." He
paused on the landing. "If Dr. Embuste is
satisfied with what you have for us, you will be free to meet
Kali at the Salao da
Cha, where you will receive further instructions."
"Further instructions?" Adam asked blankly.
"Surely you didn't think your job would be over when
you had delivered the papers? You are not that nai've
nor
that young."
-And it will give this Professor Embuste more time
to
go over the papers, Adam thought. Aloud he said,
"I really don't think it's a question of naivete,
Dr. Ball. It
seems to me that once I've delivered the
papers my use is
over."
"You may be wanted for questioning." Dr. Ball started
up a second, narrower flight of stairs.
"Remember that you work closely with O'Keefe.
We may need to know
more than his progress in the regeneration experiments."

MADELEINE l/Engle
"But what-there's nothing I know-was
"You know his habits. What time he gets up. When
he
is out of the laboratory. Where he goes. When the
files are
unlocked."
"I see," Adam said slowly. "It seems to me
Joshua
would be lots more use to you than I, sir, since
he's such a
good friend of yours and he's known Dr. O'Keefe so
much
longer." Perhaps this was a dangerous gambit, but it
seemed to go along with the role Adam was trying
to play.
Dr. Ball cleared his throat, went up
two more stairs, paused. "Although our young friend
Joshua is not a
churchgoer, alas, I consider that he is still within my
par
ish and therefore my responsibility spiritually. He is
lost
now, and so, despite my disapproval of his way of
life-he
is really no fit companion for you-I must never
abandon
him. I would really prefer it if you did not see
him." He hurried up the last few steps, walked
down a short hall,
knocked briskly at a door and opened it to reveal
a small,
almost bare room. At a desk sat a man with a
sallow, in
telligent face. An unshaded light bulb hung
over the desk.
It reminded Adam of the room in the airport in
Madrid.
Without making any introductions Dr. Ball
closed the
door on Adam and disappeared. Adam could hear his
footsteps descending.
The sallow man looked up. "Embuste."
"Adam Eddington," Adam said, looking at the
profes
sor.
Professor Embuste glared back, the corners of
his
mouth turned down in a bitter and unwelcoming ex
pression. Adam was becoming accustomed to being exam
ined, so he stood his ground.
Professor Embuste did not ask him to sit
down. Without
moving in his chair he said, "The papers, please."
Adam handed them across the desk.
"You will wait," the professor said sourly, "while
I look
at them."
Adam stood, watching the professor go through the pa
pers, eyes flicking quickly over the formulas. Those
eyes,
small, close-set, dark in themselves and darkly
shadowed,
seemed to Adam to be sharp, cruel, and frighteningly
in-

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
telligent. Minutes moved and Adam did not dare
check his
watch. He shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the
other. But Dr. O'Keefe had prepared the papers
well, for
Professor Embuste put them down on the desk,
looked at
Adam, and said, "Very well. You may go. You will re
ceive further instructions at the Salao da
Cha."
Adam felt that he could not get out of this small
trap of
a room quickly enough. He opened the door and came
face to face with Dr. Ball. If the rector had
descended au
dibly, he had come back up the stairs in his
stocking feet.
Putting a finger to lips that were curved in a peculiar
smile he led Adam to the front door, then took
his hand in
the too-strong grip. "My dear good lad, I am
immeasurably relieved that all is well. You still
wish to take the
bus?"
"Yes, please."
"You remember the number?"
"198."
"Bright boy. We will be in touch." Adam's hand was
pumped, blessings were rained upon his unwilling head,
and he fled down the street.
At the bus stop a lonely young man waited. He
wore
heavy horn-rimmed spectacles and carried a
pile of books
under his arm. He beamed at Adam and said in studied
English, "A million pardons, but are you an
American?"
"Yes."
"I am a student at the University of Lisbon
and am tak
ing courses in the English language and the
literature of
England and America. It is always my deepest
pleasure to
talk to students from either of these great countries." The
light glinted against his spectacles so that Adam could
not
see his eyes.
"I'd like to talk to you," Adam said, trying to sound
courteous, "but I'm in a terrible hurry.
I'm
o
f
f
to meet a girl and the last time we met-well, we
had a misunder
standing-so you see-was his voice trailed off.
The bespectacled student waved his books
gleefully. "A
lover's quarrel! How delightful! So of course
I understand
that you are not interested in my idle chatter."
Adam was spared a reply by the arrival of a bus,
198,

MADELEINE I/Engle
comwhat luck, he thought gratefully. He smiled,
waved courteously, jumped on and ran up the
stairs to sit in one
of the front seats on the upper deck, then looked
down the
street. The student was no longer at the bus stop,
so presumably had boarded the bus, too, but he
did not come
upstairs. Adam alternately checked his
watch and the map.
It was already eleven-thirty, but with luck he would be
able to manage a phone call to the Sao Juan
Chrysostom Monastery. He felt a terrible need
to be in touch with Canon Tallis. Something about
Professor Embuste had frightened him, and although the
false papers had for the moment been accepted, the boy
knew that the Professor
must now be going over them more carefully.
He left the bus, the Temis papers seeming
to burn in Maria's pocket, bumped by several young
people who
pushed out ahead of him and stood clustered on the side
walk. He knew the papers had not been touched but
he still felt panic. The young people stood talking together
animatedly and he was not sure whether or not he was
imagining sidelong glances. Some of the glances came
from girls, and to this he was moderately accustomed, but
was the boy with his back turned the young man with
glasses? Was Adam being watched as he walked
quickly
down the street?
It was not yet twelve. He knew, from the map, where
the restaurant was, but to walk there before calling would
be cutting the time too close for comfort. He
went into a small hotel and found a phone. It was not
in a closed booth, but no one, as far as he could
tell, had followed him in. He struggled with the
phone book and managed
with considerable difficulty to find the number for the
Sa6
Juan Chrysostom Monastery. With the help of the
phrase
book he was able to give the operator the number, and
af
ter a good deal of clicking and clacking he heard a
distant
ring. Then came a rough voice, and Adam said,
"Senhor
Paroco, Padre Henriques, por favor."
There was a long pause, during which Adam felt that
everyone in the hotel lobby was staring at him. This, he
knew, was not likely, and he would not be alert to the
people who might really be following him if he was
sushi
-

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
pious
of everybody else. A gentle voice,
an old voice,
sounded in his ear: "Padre Henriques."
"Adam Eddington," Adam said. "Canon
Tallis, por fa
vor."
his
Memento
."
A shorter pause. Then the familiar, brusque
voice.
"Adam?"
"Yes."
"Where are you?"
"Lobby of the Hotel
Sao
Manmade
."
"How much time do you have?"
"Until one."
"Lunch with Kali then?"
"Yes."
"Are you being followed?"
"I'm not sure. Maybe I'm being too
suspicious."
"I doubt it. Leave the hotel and turn
right down
Rue
Sao
Manmade
. Go into the coffee shop at number 28, over
the oculist. I'll be there as quickly as I can."
A wave of relief broke over Adam as he
hung up. He found the coffee shop without trouble,
climbing a steep flight of stairs to a long, narrow
room filled with small tables. The table by the window
was empty and he sat
there, looking out over the enormous gold
spectacles that
signified the oculist's office and shop below. Across
the narrow street were more shops, a tobacconist, a
music
store, a shoe store. Down the street, which seemed
purely
commercial, he saw the ubiquitous laundry
hanging out.
He ordered coffee and tried to appear relaxed and
casual, but he could not keep from looking out on the
street. He did not know from which direction Canon
Tallis would approach, so he would take a sip of
coffee and look
up the street, another sip and look down the
street. He
was looking down the street, leaning forward, thinking he
saw the canon in the distance, when somebody sat down
opposite him, and he turned, thinking he must have
been mistaken, to be met by the beaming face of the
student
from the bus stop.
"But what good fortune to come across you here!" the student
cried. "Perhaps I can be of assistance to you. It
MADELEINE
I/Engle
would be my unutterable delight. Where is your-what do
you call it-girl friend?"
"I'm meeting her in a few minutes." Words
came
quickly, almost without thought, to Adam's lips. "The
bus
was faster than I'd expected and I don't want
to be
too
early. Bad for them to think you're too eager, if you
know
what I mean."
The student giggled convulsively. "You
Americans! You
steal our girls right out from under our envious noses.
We
are all so poor that it is difficult for us on the
surface to
compete with you."
"And below the surface?"
The student shrugged apologetically. "America is
a rich
country and life is easy for you. But the ability
to love a
woman and to please her to the ultimate fullest comes
only through centuries of experience and suffering. I
think
that in the inner matters of the heart you have much to
learn." He beamed at Adam as though he had paid
him a
great compliment.
A dark figure moved deliberately by Adam,
and the Canon seated himself at the next table, so that
Adam
faced him and the student had his back to him. Adam
felt a moment of frantic frustration. He had a
wild impulse to take the Temis papers from
Maria's pocket and give them
to the canon then and there. Canon Tallis looked
at him,
raising what, if he had had hair, would have been
eye
brows.
Adam stood up, saying rather loudly to the student.
"Well, it was very pleasant meeting you. It's time for
me
to go to my girl, now." He could not resist adding,
"And I
assure you that I, too, have more charm than money."
The student burst into roars of laughter, slapping his
knee in enormous appreciation. He, too rose.
"Perhaps it
would amuse you if I walk along with you and show you
some of the particular points of interest."
"But you haven't had your coffee."
The student shrugged and waved his arms in a windmill
gesture. "Coffee I can have any time. The chance
to exer
cise my English and simultaneously talk with an
American
is rare. Where are you meeting this lovely her?"

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
"At the Salao da Cha."
The student made a face. "The Salao da CM
prefers
money to charm."
"Oh, well, you know," Adam said, "girls. I
won't eat for
a month."
Behind the student's back Canon Tallis" lips
moved
silently. "Phone." Adam's eyes met his for a
brief moment
of acquiescence. Then he paid for the coffee and left.
The student chattered gaily about Portuguese
architecture, history, wine, cheese, until they
reached the restaurant. Adam listened enough to respond
intelligently and, he
hoped, innocently, but he was busy learning
streets, memo
rizing landmarks. At the entrance to the Salao da
Chand they said goodbye, the student pumping Adam's
hand with affection, as though they were old friends, Adam
trying to sound cordial. He did not know whether the
bespectacled young man was one of Cutter's boys
or not, but he was inclined to think so. The innocence was
too calculated to
ring true. And what about Adam's own?
The Salao da Cha was a large restaurant with a
fountain in the center, and a balcony. The
matter
dhoti
came bustling up to him, saying in English, "May
I help
you, sir?" Was he that obviously an American?
"I'm meeting a young lady for lunch," Adam said,
"but I'm afraid I'm rather early." There was no
use in trying to telephone now. He would have to give
Canon Tallis time to get to the Rabbi Pinhas,
since that was the next place
Dr. O'Keefe had told him to call.
The maitre
dhoti
was looking through a small black
book. "Would you perhaps be Mr. Eddington?"
"Yes."
"Miss Cutter called. She has reserved a
table on the balcony. It is more private there.
Would you like to go up
and wait?"
"Fine. Thanks." He wouldn't like to go up and wait
at all. He wanted to dash back out
onto the street and find Canon Tallis; but
Canon Tallis was probably on his way to the
rabbi's. Adam decided that he would call in ten
minutes, so he asked, "Is there a telephone I
could use?"

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
"Yes, indeed, sir. There is one in the
gentlemen's lounge
upstairs."
Adam thanked him and was escorted up the stairs to the
balcony. He sat at the table and tried not to keep
checking his watch. A waiter brought him a carafe of
water and asked if he wanted to wait for the young lady
before ordering. It seemed that everybody in Lisbon
knew more about Adam's plans than Adam himself.
He drank a glass
of water thirstily and went to the men's room.
He was relieved to find it empty. The phone was on
a table, the phone book beside it. He looked up
Senhora Leonora Afonso. With the aid of the
phrase book again he gave the operator the
number, having to repeat it several times, wasting time
in giving the numbers in French, German, English,
and finally going back to Portuguese. At
last he could hear the phone ringing. Ringing. Ringing.
Then a man's voice: his
Sims
?" Adam knew that this meant
yes,
but
the voice was formidable, unwelcoming.
"Rabbi Pinhas, por favor."
The voice replied, switching into English (was
Adam's accent as apparent as all that?),
"Speaking."
"Canon Tallis, please."
"Who?"
"Canon Tallis. Canon Thomas-I mean
John Tallis."
The Rabbi Pinhas-if it was he-said, "I think you
must have the wrong number."
"This
is
the Rabbi Pinhas?"
"Yes, and I am extremely busy. Please
check your number with the operator."
"Sir, this is Adam."
"Young man, look up your numbers more carefully in
the future."
"But sir, I know
you.
You were on the plane when-was
A cross voice cut him off. "Young man, this is
most definitely not a restaurant. We serve no
meals. I do not wish to be discourteous to a foreigner,
but you must go to
someone else with your problem."
At this apparent non sequitur Adam realized that
the rabbi might not be alone, or able to speak
freely. "Sir," he

MADELEINE
I/Engle
said, "if you think you'll be seeing Canon Tallis
could you
pretend I'm asking you for money?"
"Of course I can't lend you any money, young man.
I
suggest you go to the American consul. He is
supposed to
take care of his nationals."
"Do you expect him soon?"
"Young man, you are taking too much of my time. I
am expecting a colleague in a few
minutes."
"I'm at the Salao da
Chad
waiting for Kali. I'll try to call
again. I'll be here for at least another hour."
"My dear young man, I lead an extremely
busy life and several things have come up. Of course
you can't come to
see me. I'm going out in half an hour."
"I'll try to call back within half an hour,
then," Adam
said.
He went back to the balcony, to his table. There,
at the
next table, was Mr. Green of the Singer Sewing
Machine.
He saw Adam and smiled pleasantly.
"My young friend! And what are you doing here?"
"Meeting a friend for lunch."
"A young lady, I presume?"
"Well-yes."
"Lucky boy. You may wish me luck, too.
I'm hoping to bring off a sizable deal." Mr.
Green turned from Adam as
two men with dark hair and rather flashy suits
came up to
the balcony, spoke to them in easy, if heavily
accented Portuguese, and settled down to what
seemed to be business, paying no further attention
to Adam. The boy was inclined to think that Mr.
Green's appearance was only an accident. Kali
had said that the restaurant was
well known, and it seemed a likely place to bring
someone
if you wanted to clinch a business deal.
He looked at his watch. After one. He felt
twitchy. Where was Kali? There was no point in
trying to call the rabbi's number again yet. He
looked over the balcony to
the tables below, to the fountain in the center. The restau
rant was filling rapidly now, and when Kali came
in it was
with a group of other people, so that Adam did not see her
at once. Then he caught sight of the familiar
shining
hair, the slender, expensively dressed body, the
self-assured

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
walk.
The maitre d hurried to the girl, ignoring
other guests who had come in first, and bent gallantly
over
her hand.
Kali smiled and spoke to him, then moved
swiftly through the crowded room and up the stairs.
"Adam, darling, I'm sorry I'm a few
minutes late. Oh,
how lovely to see you." She kissed his cheek
exuberantly.
At the next table Mr. Green winked at Adam.
Kali stiffened and leaned over the table, saying in a
low
voice, "Do you know those men?"
"One of them was on the plane this morning."
"There is absolutely
no
privacy in the world any more.
Let's eat something quick and get out. They have a kind
of prawn here that's just marvelous. I'll order those
and
we can pick up some tea later. We'll do some
sightseeing
first."
"While you're ordering," Adam said,
slowly and deliberately, "I have a phone call
to make."
'To whom?"
"Just a call. Ill be right back."
He went into the men's room. An elderly
gentleman
with a white goatee was washing his hands, but left with
out even looking at Adam. This time the boy managed
to
get the number over to the operator without trouble, and the
phone was answered almost immediately. He recog
nized the rabbi's voice. "It's Adam."
"Hold on."
A short pause, then Canon Tallis.
"Adam?"
"Yes."
"Are you alone?"
"At the moment. I'm in the men's room."
"How long are you going to be with Kali?"
"I don't know. She wants to take me
sightseeing."
"Fine. Make one of your stops the Sao Juan
Chrysos-
torn Monastery. I'll have Father Henriques on
the lookout
for you. Hell ask if he can be of any assistance
to you- he speaks excellent French, so you won't have
any language problem-and you are to ask him who was the
pagan orator who taught law to Sao Juan.
If he simply
answers
Libanius
you are to call me at the theater tonight.

MADELEINE l/Engle
It's not safe for you to go to the Embassy or to call
Joshua
this afternoon. Cutter's men are all over the place."
The door to the men's room opened and Mr. Green
came in. Adam said, "All right, Susie
honey, I understand,
but what else do you want me to do?" If the rabbi
could
play this game so could Adam.
There was a snort at the other end of the line. "Com
pany?"
"Absolutely."
"If he goes on to tell you that John studied
theology un
der Diodore of Tarsus you must manage
to get back to the monastery before six, when the doors
are locked. I will be
there at five-thirty, and will be by the sarcophagus of
Princess Maria Fernanda."
"Anything you say, darling."
Canon Tallis gave another snort and hung
up.
Mr. Green grinned conspiratorially. "Quite the young
Don Juan, aren't you?"
"Well, you know how it is . . ." Adam replied
modestly,
Mr. Green sighed. "Not any more. Those days are
gone
forever. All I can say is make the most of your
hay while
the sun shines."
Adam went back to Kali. He still thought that Mr.
Green was all right, but he was taking no avoidable
risks.
Kali was dabbing butter on a bread stick. "I
thought you
were never coming back," she said crossly. "Who on
earth
were you talking to?"
"A girl friend."
She glowered as the waiter put a dish of shellfish
in
front of them. She took her fork and a pick,
"Watch," and
ripped the meat out of the shell. "I bet it was that
Joshua," she said, as Adam tried clumsily
to open his
shell.
"Joshua who?"
"Don't play innocent. I may not approve of
what
daddy's doing, but I know what's going on. And I
know
Joshua. I've seen him dozens of times at
Embassy things and he's always been very rude to me.
I can't stand him."
She spoke in a low and rapid voice, so that
Adam had a
hard time catching her words.

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
He leaned across the table and took her hands in his,
so
that to an observer it would seem like a love scene.
"Adam I'm scared out of my wits.
Daddy's utterly ruthless. He doesn't care how
many bodies he tramples over to get what he
wants. I'm sorry I sounded all snarly about
Joshua. I know he's working with O'Keefe. I
guess I'm just jealous of anybody who takes you
away from
me."
Adam released her hands. "We'd better eat."
"Yes. Let's get out of here. Adam darling if
it hadn't been for you I'd probably never have questioned
daddy. I'd have gone on thinking that anything he did
was perfect just because he did it. But after I saw
Molec drive off with you and the O'Keefe child I
was-I began to think. There's never been anybody
I cared about enough to think about before. I mean, if
Molec drove off with somebody else I wouldn't have
given a second thought whether they'd end up dumped
in the Tagus or not But I found myself thinking about you.
And then I had to go on and think about all the rest of
it" She dropped her eyes as though afraid of
having said too much, leaned back in her chair and
began to pick the meat out of the shell with precision.
She ate with rapid concentration and long before Adam
had finished she pushed back her chair, saying
"Let's go."
Adam picked up the check and stood up. "How much
tip should I leave?"
Kali took the check from bun reached into her own
pocketbook and put money down. "Quicker this way.
You
can pay me back. Come on."
At
the
next table Mr. Green gave another
conspiratorial wink and Adam, giving a foolish
grin in return, followed Kali down the stairs.
The student spy had been right. The Salao da Cha
was interested in money. One of Adam's favorite
restaurants in New York was The Lobster on
45th
Street and it was a good deal more reasonable.
"We have to talk," Kali said intensely as they
emerged
into the crowded street.
"Well let's do our sightseeing and well be able
to talk
then."

MADELEINE L'ENGLE
"Where do you want to go?"
"Just the
usual
. The
Belem
Tower and the Jeronymos
Monastery and the Sao Juan Chrysostom, and
maybe the
Madre do Dios church."
"We can do the Belem Tower and the monasteries with
out any trouble; they're all fairly close together
along the
waterfront. What about Mr. Eiffel's tower?"
"I'd like to see that, too. Let's do the things along
the Tagus, and then we can do the Madre do Dios
and the
Eiffel if there's time."
They were standing on the street corner, Kali's hand
resting lightly on Adam's arm. Several taxis
slowed down
suggestively, but she waved them on. "As soon as
I see a driver I'm sure of," she said. "It
has to be someone who doesn't speak English, so
we can talk. How are you for
time?"
Adam replied cautiously. "I have
until five, maybe. See,
there's this shopping I have to do for Mrs. O'Keefe."
This
he and the
O
'Knowledge
eefes
had decided to make legitimate for
the benefit of anyone following his movements; easy
enough, Mrs. O'Keefe had said, since the children
always
needed socks and underwear.
Kali flagged a taxi and Adam opened the door for
her.
As she climbed in she spoke in swift and charming
Portu
guese to the driver, giving him what appeared to be
com
plicated directions. Adam thought he heard her
mention
the tower and the monasteries. She settled back in the
seat
"Only till five? What about dinner? Can we have
dinner
together?"
"I'm afraid not."
"Why not?"
"I just can't, Kali."
"There has to be a
reason.
Are you having dinner with
somebody else?"
"I'm not sure."
Kali gave a little cry and turned toward him. "You
still
don't trust me!"
"I don't know," Adam said with painful honesty,
"whether I trust you or not."
Suddenly, unexpectedly, Kali's eyes filled
and she butted

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
her face childishly against Adam's shoulder. Through
sobs
she choked out, "If you don't trust me
...
if you don't love me... I can't bear it...
Ill want to die...."
At this weakness, so strange in Kali, Adam was
flooded
with a wave of protective tenderness. He held her
closely,
saying, "It's all right, Kali; it's all right."
Her sobs dwindled and she raised her head, asking
like
a child, "Is it really all right?"
"Of course."
"And you
will
help me?"
"In every way that I can. But I don't really see
how."
Kali's voice rose. "By keeping me with you. By not
sending me away." She began the sharp, frantic
sobbing
again.
"How can I possibly keep you with me? What about
your father, anyhow?"
Kali's eyes darkened. "Oh, Adam, it's so
awful. I do love him, but I don't want to see
him, and I can't help
him any more. All he wants O'Keefe's stuff
for is money
and more money, he doesn't care how it's used. He
says
there are too many people in the world anyhow and of
course he's right but... Did you see Ball this
morning?"
"Yes."
"Daddy said you were going to have papers from
O'Keefe."
"That's right."
"You mean you
did?"
"Did what?"
"You gave Ball O'Keefe's stuff?"
"No, Kali. I gave it to Professor
Embuste."
"That repulsive little shrimp. Adam, you didn't,
you
couldn't!"
"Couldn't what?"
"Give him-you know-the things you've found out
from O'Keefe." Adam was silent, and Kali
cried, "The
only way I can think of to make you trust me is
to stay
with you, so you'll know I'm not going to anybody with
information. And it's safest for me, too. If daddy
finds out
I've told you anything hell kill me."
"But you haven't told me anything."

MADELEINE L'ENGLE
"I've told you that I know what he's doing."
"But I already know that, Kali."
The taxi stopped. Kali jerked around and looked out
of
the window. Adam realized that he had been looking
at
the girl and not at where they had been driving. She
said, "It's the
Be
lem
Tower. Come on." She spoke again to the
driver, saying over her shoulder to Adam as she
climbed
out of the cab, "He'll wait for us."
They walked down a rough path. "Manueline
architec
ture," Kali said absently. "Let's not go
in."
Adam tried to look like an innocent tourist as he
faced the great white building jutting out into the water.
The
tower was something out of Africa, and he could imagine
a white-robed man standing at one of the corners (which
one would face Mecca?) calling the faithful
to prayer.
He could not keep Kali with him, but if she were
telling
the truth he could not let her go.
Kali turned away from the tower and the water. "All
right I'll tell you something else. I said I
couldn't work
against daddy, but I can't let you be hurt, either. Because
I
love you, too, Adam. That's what makes it so
awful. If you double-crossed daddy this morning, I
mean, if what you gave Embuste wasn't right,
hell be out for blood. He
has plenty of people who'd be glad to shoot you down for
a small sum-or for past favors. But everybody
knows me,
and as long as you're with me you'll be safe. Look."
Adam
could see a dark figure slip into the shadows of the
tower.
"That's one of daddy's men. I don't know if
they've found
out anything about you-I don't know what you've
done-so I don't know if he's really after you or just
keep
ing tabs. Let's go back to the taxi."
They walked over the gritty pavement Adam held
the
cab door open, saying, "Let me think."
"All right darling, darling." She sat close beside
him, so
that her thigh touched his, but she did not put her hands
on him, and she did not speak. At the Mosteiro
dos Jeronymos she led the way silently, walking
rapidly
around groups of tourists. When she spoke it was
quietly, unemotionally, in the polite way of
someone showing the
sights to a distant acquaintance or the friend of a friend.

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
"It's a rather austere entrance, but I guess that's
all right
for a monastery. One of daddy's men is over there,
stay
close to me. The reddish color of the stone is
lovely, don't you think? Daddy says that
the proportions are more har
monized than in any other building is Lisbon
except the
Sao Juan Chrysostom. He's looking at us.
This is Vasco da
Gama's tomb, but they had the wrong man in it for a
while or something. Come on, this way. The cloister
is fa
mous because it's two-tiered, like the Chrysostom, and they
both have these open cells leading off them. I don't
know what the monks used them for. Let's go,
Adam."
The control of her voice slipped. "I want some
tea."
Adam took her hand. It was warm and dry, while
his,
he discovered, was becoming cold with nervousness.
"We'll
have tea after we've been to the Sao Juan
Chrysostom
Monastery."
"Let's skip it. It's very much like the Jeronymos,
only
smaller, and less ornate."
"I'd still like to see it."
"Adam, you can't be interested in sightseeing
now."
A sightseeing bus pulled up in front of the
monastery,
and a group of chattering young people got off. Was that
the student with the spectacles again? "If we're being
fol
lowed," he said, "we'd better act as natural as
possible,
and it would be natural for me to see the Sao Ju-was
Kali cut him off. "All right. Maybe you have a
point
Let's go."
In the taxi Adam felt his hands getting colder
by the
moment, beginning to ooze icy moisture. He must not
hold
Kali's hand and give away his tension.
The Sao Juan Chrysostom Monastery had fewer
tourists
than the more famous Jeronymos. It was smaller,
less or
nate, but there was a purity to it that reached Adam even
through his whirling mind. The double cloister soared
heavenward, forming a narrow rectangle about
a garden
with a fountain in the center. In the church itself the light
had an underwater-green quality, reminding Adam that
the Tagus was just outside. This time Kali gave no
tourist's
spiel; her face was brooding as they walked
slowly, foot
steps echoing on the stone floor. They turned into an
oc-

MADELEINE
L'ENGLE
tagonal bay with a low font in the center, surrounded
by
seven columns. As they entered by one arch a tiny,
elderly priest in a shabby cassock came in
by another, bowed, and
smiled at them. "May I help you?" he asked,
first in Por
tuguese, then French. Adam answered in French.
"Well, Father, I was studying St. John
Chrysostom for a
school project once, and I can't remember-what
was the
name of the pagan orator who taught him
law?"
"Show off," Kali whispered.
"Now let me see," the priest said. "That would be
Li-
banius, wouldn't it? It was Diodore of Tarsus
who instruct
ed him in theology. I'm delghted at your interest,
young
man. May I inquire where you're from?"
"New York," Adam said.
"And the young lady? Is she interested, too?"
"No," Kali was impatient. "I'm afraid not.
Please,
Adam."
The priest smiled at Adam, his faded blue
eyes twinkling. "Perhaps you will come another time and let
me
show you around? I am Father Henriques."
"Thank you, Father. My name is Adam Eddington,
and
I'll
be back as soon as possible, I promise you."
"Adam,"
Kali said. "Sorry, Father, but we have to go."
When they were back hi the taxi Adam said,
"You
weren't very polite."
"If you're not keeping track of time, I am.
Adam, I have to know. Are you going to let me stay with
you or
not?"
Adam sighed.
"Is it such a horrible prospect?" Kali asked
in a low voice. "I did think that you might-that you
might care
about me a little. I'm not used to telling people I'm in
love
with them. I'm used to it being the other way around. It's
either you or the Tagus as far as I'm concerned."
Looking at her strained face and rather wild eyes,
Adam was torn between belief and doubt.
She continued, "I'm not trying to threaten you or say
it'll be all your fault if I throw myself into the
river. But there isn't any alternative for me.
Everything I've ever

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
cared about is all smashed. If you turn me away
I don't
want to live." Slow tears trickled
down her cheeks.
Adam thumped a tight fist into a cold palm.
"All right.
Look. Tell the taxi driver to take us
to Eiffel's Tower."
Kali leaned toward the driver obediently and the cab
headed back into the city. Adam, straining to look out
the window, tried to keep landmarks, street names in his
mind, but the problem of Kali kept whirling about,
driving away all other thoughts. He could not abandon
her either to the Tagus or to the web of steel threads
being woven so mercilessly by her father. But he had to go
back to the Sao Juan Chrysostom Monastery, and
he had to go there
alone.
Why? If he believed that Kali was telling him the
truth why wasn't taking her with him to Canon
Tallis the best
possible thing to do?
He believed her and yet he was not quite sure. A
week ago the confiding way she was holding on to his
arm would have undone him utterly. Now all he felt
was cold,
cold inside and out.
"Why are we going to
Eiffel
Tower?"
"To give me time to think."
"But you're going to keep me with you?"
"I'm going to try to."
"You're going to take care of me?"
"Yes."
The tower loomed up grotesquely in the street, the
observation platform balanced precariously on top
of the spindly elevator shaft. It was built, it
seemed, out of a small boy's erector set.
Adam had never seen the Eiffel Tower in Paris,
but he had seen pictures of it, and both were
obviously the result of the same rackety
imagination. The Lisbon Tower, however, also served
a purely practical purpose. Lisbon, like
Rome, was a city of steep hills, and the foot of the
tower was on one street level, the observation
platform on another, and riding the elevator was for

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
many people simply a useful short cut. At any
other time Adam would have been immensely pleased with
it. Now he gave the wild construction the scantiest
attention. As they waited for the elevator
to take them to the upper
level he said, "Okay, I think I've got
things straight."
"Tell me."
"If you'll do the shopping for Mrs.
O'Keefe-it's just
socks and underthings for the kids, and I have all the
sizes and everything written down-then I can do one
other er
rand at the same time, and then we can meet for dinner."
"What's your errand?"
"Something for Dr. O'Keefe."
Kali frowned as though this was something she needed
to ponder about. Finally she said, "I'm sorry,
Adam, but
how will I know you'll ever come back to me? You could
send me shopping and just disappear."
"I give you my word."
"People's words don't mean much to me any more. I
need something more tangible than that."
"I don't have anything more tangible. I'll do my
errand
and then I promise you I'll meet you wherever you
say."
Kali thought again. "Have you got your
passport with
you?"
"Of course."
"Give it to me as a hostage. Then I'll know you
can't go
off and leave me."
"I thought you trusted me."
"I do. More than anybody else I know. But you
see the
people I know have been daddy and his people, and I always trusted
daddy. So how can I trust anybody? Please,
Adam, if you
are
coming back to me there isn't any rea
son not to give me your passport."
Slowly Adam took the passport out of his breast
pocket.
Still holding it, he asked, "Where will we meet?"
"At the Folclore, as soon after six as
possible. The food's good and you ought to hear some
Fado and see some of the folk dancing." She held
out her hand. Adam put the passport in it. She
began leafing through it. "Oh, Adam, what an awful
picture, I'd never recognize you!"
206
MADELEINE L'ENGLE
Between the next two pages was the slip of paper with
Joshua's phone numbers. "What's this?"
"Just some phone numbers. Give it to me."
Kali shut the passport. "Oh, no, I'm going
to keep the
whole thing."
To make an issue over the numbers would be to give
them importance in Kali's mind.
Adam swallowed. His hands felt colder and
colder. His
feet, too, seemed to be lumps of ice. He was
doing what he had promised not to do. He said, "The
numbers are just for the errand for Dr. O'Keefe.
I'd appreciate it if
you'd let me have them."
"Look them up in the phone book." Kali put the
passport into her bag. "You don't trust me,
Adam. I can't
bear it."
Adam felt physically sick. His stomach clenched
with
fury at his ineptness, with frustration at his inability
to do
anything right. He did not dare press the
issue of the phone numbers further. If he could
convince Kali that
they were unimportant and if he could get back to the
Sa6
Juan Chrysostom in time to deliver the Temis
papers to
Canon Tallis, then he could meet Kali for
dinner, get the
passport and Joshua's numbers back, and no
real harm
would be done.
Mr.
Eiffels
elevator creaked down and groaned to a
stop, disgorging a chattering group of Lisbonese
on their
way home, and tourists gawking at and commenting on
the tower in all languages.
"Come
on,"
Kali said, pushing through the crowd into
the elevator, pulling Adam after her.
People continued to jam in long after Adam felt
capacity had been reached. He could not see the
usual comfort
ing sign to tell how many the elevator could safely
hold.
The air was thick with sweat, smoke, perfume. With
each
passing second he felt more of a sense of
pressure and
more as though he were going to be sick. He was pressed
close against Kali and she managed to slide one arm
con
fidingly around his waist. He was glad she had not
taken
the clammy hand that would have given away his intense
nervousness that was bordering on fear.

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
They were standing near the elevator operator and Kali
spoke to him in Portuguese, explaining in
Adam's ear,
"He's an old friend."
"One of 'daddy's men"?"
"Really,
Adam," Kali said as the door clanged shut.
"I
thought I'd made myself clear." Her voice choked
up and
Adam was afraid his stupidity was going to make her
burst into tears there in the crowded elevator.
"I'm sorry." His voice was gruff. He
clenched his fists.
He
must
keep control of himself and the situation while he
carried the Temis papers and while Kali had the
passport
with Joshua's phone numbers.
The elevator started to creak upward. People going
home from work continued their conversations or stood in
stolid fatigue. The tourists exclaimed in
excitement, one
fat woman giving small shrieks of nervousness at
the re
luctant jerking of the elevator.
Just as they neared the observation platform there was a
groan, a shudder, and they stopped. The operator
fiddled with the controls. He said something in
Portuguese, then
loudly in English, "STUCK."
There was a burst of excited, multilingual talk.
Kali said
in a clear voice as the fat woman's
shrieks grew louder, "It's all right, don't
worry, this happens all the time, he'll get it
going in a moment. It's perfectly all right,
don't get
panicky."
The operator broke through her words to call up through the
roof. From both the upper and lower levels
came shouts of excitement and, evidently,
directions, because the operator began jerking at the
controls. The ele
vator dropped a foot and stopped. The fat
woman let out
a piercing scream.
Adam could feel, particularly among the tourists,
a sense of terror compounded by his own. Kali,
strangely,
seemed less nervous than she had all day. She
said some
thing in a very low voice to the operator, but a French
man, standing close to them, had evidently heard, because
he said, "What was that?"
"I beg your pardon?" Kali asked icily in
French.

MADELEINE
L'ENGLB
The Frenchman accused,
"You
told him to stop the ele
vator."
"Why under the sun would I do that? I'm in just as
much of a rush as you are."
"I heard you say
parar.
That means
stop."
Kali burst into shrill laughter. "Your
Portuguese isn't
very good, is it?
Para
means
in order to.
I told him to call
someone in order to get us out."
The Frenchman looked sourly at Kali. "I
don't believe you. I think we are being forcibly
detained." He shouted
above the babel, "Start this car at once!"
The operator shrugged. "Stuck."
The fat woman cried shrilly,
"Somebody
do
something!
Help!"
"Madame," the operator said, "I "ave already
press ze
alarm button."
From the streets above and below the shouts were
louder, as though larger groups were gathering.
Adam felt suffocated. Seconds were passing and the
Temis papers still on him. He had to get
to Canon Tallis.
Above him he could see the floor of the observation
plat
form. If the doors of the elevator were opened he would
be able to climb up and out onto the platform.
But when he suggested this to Kali and she spoke again
in her fluent, rapid Portuguese, the operator
shook his
head. "Not safe."
Kali's arm tightened around Adam's waist. "Are
you in
that much of a hurry? Nobody here eats dinner before
nine."
Adam's head reeled, but through his dizziness
a high
English voice cut, "I was stuck in the lift at
Harrod's once,
but not for nearly as long as this."
It was stiflingly hot in the elevator with all the
jammed-
in bodies, and the laughter was beginning to have a hyster
ical edge that was ready to slip over into panic, and
he, hi his own panic, was being no help. He could
feel his heart
pounding. Kali's arm was tight about his waist. The
fat lady gave a thin, bubbly scream, but before her
hysteria got over the edges of control the elevator
gave a groan

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
and a jerk, and the operator, as though he were piloting a
plane, brought it to a stop at the upper platform.
Adam, forgetting all courtesy, pushed out, dragging
Kali
after him. He looked at his watch. Almost six.
He swung on Kali, shouting, "You do the shopping.
Here's the list. Here's some money." He thrust
Dr. Ball's bills into her hand. There. "I'll
meet you at the Folclore as soon as I
can." Without stopping for any kind of response from
her,
without giving her a chance to hold him back, he rushed
off up the street. An empty cab was passing.
He hailed it,
and got in, panting. "Sa6 Juan Chrysostom
Monastery, por
favor." He saw that Kali had run up the
street after him,
but he slammed the taxi door, giving her a vague
nod and wave. If she had heard where he was going it
was too late
now.
He looked from the window of the taxi to his watch and
back to the window. The streets were full of people
going home, streaming out of stores, hotels,
subway stops,
their shadows long as the sun began to drop.
The driver wove skillfully around pedestrians,
buses, cars. Adam looked at him through the
dividing glass, a
rough-appearing man in a fisherman's sweater and cap
and
an unkempt beard. He looked at Adam in the
rearview mirror and winked. Adam
froze. One of Cutter's men?
Had he walked into a trap?
Still with his foot on the accelerator the driver turned
to
face Adam, gave a jerk to the beard, which came
off, revealing Arcangelo. A swift movement and the
beard was
back in place.
"Arcangelo!" Adam gasped. "What-was
"I've been following you all day," Arcangelo
said in his
careful English. "So have others."
"But it's not safe for you!"
"You did not recognize me, did you?"
"But it's still not safe. Dr. O'Keefe said-was
"You think I would let those snakes drive me under
cover?" Arcangelo swerved scornfully around a
bus and turned down a side street. "If anything
happened to you
Polyhymnia would be unhappy."
Ahead of them a large black car swung out of a
side

MADELEINE L'ENGLE
street so that Arcangelo had to jam on his
brakes.
"Duck!"
he said suddenly, and in a quick reflex Adam
dropped to
the floor.
"Molec," Arcangelo growled between closed teeth.
"We
are in for what you would call the showdown. Where is
the Cutter girl?" He spoke with as little lip
motion as pos
sible, then puckered his lips up in a whistle, so that
anyone
looking back from the dark car ahead would not know he
was talking to the passenger. The whistling resolved itself
into a melody. The Tallis Canon.
Adam felt a surge of excitement despite his
cold hands
and feet. "She's safe. She's shopping. I have
to get to the
Sao Juan Chrysostom Monastery before six.
Canon Tallis
is waiting for me."
"Six now," Arcangelo said. "They are trying
to slow us down and I cannot let them know I know who they
are or
they will know who I am."
"It closes at six."
"I know a side door but we will have to get rid of
Molec." Arcangelo swung around and down a
side street,
then turned back into the city. Adam raised his
head, but Arcangelo said sharply, "Stay down."
The boy could not
see where they were going, but he could feel that it was a
rapid and devious way. The taxi stopped with an
abrupt
ness that threw him against the seat in front, and
Arcan
gelo said, "Get out."
Cold though Adam's hands might be, his
reflexes were
functioning satisfactorily. He grasped the
handle of the
door and pitched himself into the street. They had stopped
at a rank of taxis. Arcangelo was leaning out the
window,
talking to one of the drivers, and indicated with a gesture
of his thumb that Adam was to get into the other cab. As
the boy slammed the door Arcangelo said, "He will
take you to the Sao Juan Chrysostom.
I will continue to drive
so that Molec will be put off the trail. Go now,
quickly."
The taxi shot off. Adam called back,
"Arcangelo, take
care of yourself."
The taxi driver, a thin young Negro, looked at
Adam in
the rearview mirror and smiled. Then he began
to whistle,
softly. The Tallis Canon. Adam joined him.
They smiled

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
at each other. Adam knew that he must not make the
mis
take of thinking that either he or the papers were safe be
cause Arcangelo was taking charge, because he liked
the
young man who was driving him, but the terror had left
the pit of his stomach, and he sat, coiled like a
wire, ready
at any moment and whenever necessary, to spring.
"Sao Juan," the driver said, and ahead of them was
the beautiful, austere building. They
drove past the entrance,
the great doors closed, only darkness showing behind the
stained-glass windows which were drained of color as
light
was slowly draining from the sky. They turned the corner
and went past the Chapter House. Beyond this was an
iron
gate that opened to a long, narrow, hedged-in path to the
cloister. The driver looked around quickly, stopped,
and
jumped out. Adam followed him, and together they ran
to
the gate. The driver pulled at the bell, once,
twice, three
times. In the distance they could hear it clanging.
Bong. Bong. Bong.
Through the sound of the bell came the sputter of an
engine. The driver grabbed Adam and together they
pressed into the shadows. A diesel-powered taxi
drove up
and someone sprang out.
It was Joshua.
"Muite obrigado," he said to Adam's driver,
"apresse se," clapped him in a swift,
comradely gesture on the
shoulder, and turned to Adam. The young driver ran
back
to his cab. They heard him gun the engine and roar
down
the street.
Joshua pulled a key out of his pocket and bent
to un
lock the gate.
"How did you know-was Adam started.
"Kali phoned me. How did she get my
numbers?" The
gate creaked open. Joshua pulled Adam through,
clanged
it shut, locked it. When Adam did not answer his
question
he did not repeat it. They hurried down the path,
brushed by early evening shadows cast by the tall
hedges. Behind
them they could hear the squeal of tires, screech of
brakes,
slamming of car doors.
"Run." Joshua sprinted ahead, Adam close
on his heels.
The path turned, leading them to an arched side
entrance.
Again Joshua bent to the lock. As the door swung
open
they could hear footsteps pounding down the path.
Joshua
slammed the door and leaned against it for a moment,
panting. "Are the papers still on you?"
"Yes."
Behind them there was a pounding at the door. Joshua
pulled Adam away as shots rang out, splintering
the heavy
wood. "Quick."
The room they were in was so deep in shadows that Adam
could see nothing after the light outside. Joshua
grabbed his hand and they ran, Adam stumbling, slowing
them down, ran through the room, through a corridor il
luminated by high, dusty windows, and then out and into
the light of the cloister. In the center of the garden the

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
fountain rose high, catching the long rays of the sun
in a
shower of silver. They ran pounding down the echoing
stones; their footsteps echoed, and the echo was lost in the
crash of heavy feet seeming to close in from all
sides.
Ahead of them a hulking form loomed up: Molec.
"God," Joshua said. He swung Adam around and
shoved him into one of the monks" niches as a shot
rang
out.
Still running, Joshua fell.
Out of the niche beside Adam came Typhon Cutter,
and Kali ran swiftly along the cloister and
plummeted into
his arms. "Well done," Typhon Cutter said, and
Adam
saw, with a feeling of nausea, the look of adoration
she
gave her father, the spider weaving his inexorable web in
which they were all trapped. How, now, was there any es
caping the tightening threads?
Despair burned in the pit of Adam's stomach,
then burst into a fierce and controlled anger such as he
had
never felt before. He stood, crouched like a panther
ready
to spring.
Another shot.
The gun dropped from Molec's hand and he gave a
scream of rage and pain. Another shot
dropped him,
writhing, to his knees. Typhon Cutter pulled
Kali back
into the monk's cell.
Joshua lay, without moving, on the stones a few
feet
from Adam.
"Stay back!" A voice catapulted across the
cloister as Adam started to leap out of the niche into which
Joshua
had shoved him.
He had no weapon. No gun. He could not help,
only
hinder. There was, at the moment, nothing to do but
obey.
Across the cloister he saw the dark form of Canon
Tal-
lis, smoking gun hi hand. He thought he saw
Arcangelo. A shot rang across the cloister from
Typhon Cutter's cell and
ricocheted from a stone column.
Adam looked at Joshua's still form, only a
shadow as
light began to withdraw from the cloister, and let out a
cry of anguish and rage.
His cry was echoed in the high shriek of a siren.
Turn-

MADELEINE I/Engle
ing, he saw Typhon Cutter and Kali slip out
of their cell.
As they disappeared into the darkening corridor he was
af
ter them, and with one leap he flung himself on Mr.
Cut
ter, throwing him to the ground.
"Daddy, don't kill him!" Kali screamed.
Adam's fingers clamped around the wrist that held the
gun, his knee was on the bloated stomach.
"No," Kali said. "No." She grabbed the gun
from her father and pointed it quaveringly at Adam. He
could
barely see the gun because the passage was almost
entirely
locked in darkness. The light filtering dustily through
the
high windows was above their heads and they were en
closed in shadows. "Let him up," Kali
ordered.
Adam looked toward her. In the dim
light her face was
contorted in a horrible mixture of emotion. If
ever she had
been beautiful for him she was not beautiful now.
"Let him up," she said again, her voice steadier,
"or I'll
shoot. I mean it."
Adam lifted his knee from the belly, released his
hold on the wrist. Typhon Cutter struggled
to his feet as a
searchlight swept across the cloister, penetrating the
dark
reaches of the corridor where the three of them stood,
panting.
"The papers," Typhon Cutter said.
"I gave you the papers."
"Not those. You have others. Give them to me." The
treble voice soared.
"No," Adam said. "I don't have any papers."
"The gun, Kali."
"No, daddy. No."
If he shouted, Adam thought, they might hear him
hi the cloister and come. But no sound emerged from his
constricted throat.
"The gun."
The muzzle pressed against Adam's chest
"The papers."
"Go ahead and shoot," Adam croaked, "for all the
good
it will do you." He expected to hear the explosion of the
bullet if, indeed, he heard anything.
But Cutter said, "Kali," and the boy felt, instead
of a

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
deadly burst of lead, her long fingers moving over
him,
coming closer, as she searched, to Maria's pocket.
Without conscious volition his hand flashed out and slapped
across the girl's face, the sound sharp and unexpected
and immediately followed by a shot and the crash
of the gun dropping from Typhon Cutter's hand.
The shot had not come from Cutter's gun. From where?
Cutter began to back down the passage, holding
Kali in
front of him as a shield.
Through the darkness came the voice of Arcangelo.
"Let them go. My men outside."
Adam reached down in the shadows to look for the dropped
gun, but he could not find it. His breath
came in
painful gasps as his heart thudded against the rib
cage.
"Come," Arcangelo said. "It's over. Everything
is over.
Come."
The searchlight swung around again, and Adam moved
toward it and to the cloister that still contained the last rays
of the sun, the fountain glistening as it rose toward
the sky, Joshua, lying sprawled on cold stone.
With an absolute carelessness and indifference to what
was going on around him Adam ran across the pavement
to Joshua and knelt by him. Joshua's eyes were
open, but
he did not see.
"Joshua!" Adam cried. "Joshua!" He put
his head
against Joshua's chest, listening, listening, and thought he
felt the faint thread of a heartbeat. He noticed
two uni
formed men going by with Molec bellowing on a stretcher,
noticed it only because the sound kept him from listening
for Joshua's heart. He pressed his cheek
to Joshua's lips to
try to feel the faintest breath.
"Adam." It was Canon Tallis' voice.
Adam looked up.
The priest stood there, gun still hi hand, with two
uniformed policemen beside him. Adam could tell that the
canon was thanking them, that he was giving them instruc
tions. When they turned toward Joshua he spoke
to them
brusquely, and they bowed and moved away.
"Get up," Canon Tallis said to Adam, and the
boy
stood. The canon knelt beside Joshua. A faint
sound came

MADELEINE L'ENGLE
from his lips, the single word, "God." It was also the
last
word Joshua had said.
Out of the shadows Arcangelo and Father Henriques
emerged, Arcangelo looming enormous beside the tiny
priest. Canon Tallis looked at them.
"Morto," he said.
"No," Adam babbled, "no, he's not dead, he
can't be."
"He is dead. Be still," Canon Tallis said.
He leaned over Joshua again and it was as
though the two of them had gone two thousand miles
away, that they were not in the cloister with Adam and Father
Henriques and Arcangelo. The canon took
Joshua in his arms, holding him close in a
gesture of infinite tenderness and love.
Father Henriques touched Adam's arm and drew him
away. The three of them, Father Henriques,
Arcangelo,
Adam, walked slowly along the cold stones of the
cloister,
their feet muffled in darkness and grief, leaving
Canon
Tallis with Joshua.
Was it only that the light bulb in Father Henriques'
tiny
office was dim, like the light bulb in the Avenida
Palace,
or was the darkness in Adam's mind?
He sat on a straight chair across from Father
Henriques
and Arcangelo. Their faces were closed and
emotionless, as though turned to stone. Adam did not
know when Fa
ther Henriques and Arcangelo started to talk in low
voices, nor when he realized that they were
speaking
French, until he heard Father Henriques ask,
"Arcangelo,
how did you know-was
"You think you could keep me away," Arcangelo
asked,
"when I am needed? You think I will hide in
safety when
you are in danger?" His voice deepened with emotion.
"You think I cannot find out when you try to protect
me?"
Father Henriques held up a thin white hand, and
Arc
angelo rumbled into silence.
A dark shadow moved across the doorway and Canon
Tallis came into the office. "The papers," he
said without
preamble and, as Adam handed them to him, he demanded,
"Why was Joshua here? He was to be at the
Be'lem Tower."
Adam stood up, but his knees were trembling so that
he
sat down again immediately. "He was here because of
me."
Then came the questions, Canon Tallis
clear, precise,
ice cold, Father Henriques gentle but nevertheless
touching every raw and open nerve.
It had been again (again and again: would it never end?) the
unexpected, the unforeseen that had happened. The
papers Adam had delivered to Professor
Embuste at Dr. Ball's rectory had
indicated a meeting at the
Belem

MADELEINE I/Englb
Tower. Joshua, working with Interpol and the Lisbon
po
lice, was to have been there. Typhon Cutter was to have
been led into his own spider web.
"As indeed he was," Father Henriques said. "But
not in
the way we thought."
And not before Molec's bullet had found Joshua.
Adam cried in anguish, "I killed Joshua.
I believed Kali
and I didn't tell Dr. O'Keefe." He
began to gasp through sobs that racked his body. "I
let Kali get Joshua's phone
numbers and he came to save me-was
Canon Tallis cut him short. "Stop."
"But he would still be alive-was
The canon's voice was quiet, firm as a rock.
"You can
not see the past that did not happen any more than you
can foresee the future. Come, Adam. We must go."
In the back seat of a police car Adam rode beside
Canon Tallis. Two policemen sat in
front, talking casually.
The last late light of evening had left the sky, so
time
must have passed, and light from street lamps, shop win
dows, neon signs, streamed across the mosaic
sidewalks. A
mule-drawn wagon turned into the street in front
of them,
a lumbering, cumbersome wagon bearing great red clay
jars of wine. The mule ambled along, paying no
attention
to the honking of the police car. The driver shouted
threats at the mule driver, and finally managed
to swerve
around wagon and mule, almost knocking down an
elderly
man in a tam-o'shanter who was riding
along on a bicycle. The man wobbled
precariously, shrieking at the police car
and shaking his fist. The policeman leaned out the window
and yelled back, zigzagging toward the curb to more
shouting from excited pedestrians.
Beside Adam the canon sat still and stern, paying no
at
tention. The driver regained control of the car and him
self, and turned down a side street, then down
another and
darker street where laundry flapped, ghost-like, in the
breeze from the Tagus.
The car stopped and the canon got out, beckoning
to Adam, crossed to a narrow house faced with
blue-and-
white tile, and banged a brass knocker against a
blue door.

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
Above them a window was flung open and a man with a
long white beard and a nightcap stuck his head out.
"A.h. 173-176," the canon said.
"E.h. 269," the man
in
the nightcap replied.
jAapov ayias 803aret 779
adavarov
IlaTpos,
ovpaviov, ayioVt
I caret less-than Toii Xptarc,
eA@ddovTes
iirl rov rstbackslash iov Svtnv,
iSovTes
less-than from greater-than o greater-than less-than
so eairf.pi.vov,
vstjlvovstjsv
UaTtpa, Kal Yiov, Kal ayiov
Tlvevstut,
[*reggg'eoi,"
the canon said.
was "A caret ios "cv
Traai Kaipois vstjwticrdai
less-than @lo greater-than rais curiat?,
YiJust
[*reggg'eoii, fra caret very 6 StSovs-
Ato 6
koctsthos
less-than re 8o bar a caret @lment," the man
with
the beard replied, and disappeared, pulling the
window
closed behind him.
It had sounded like Greek to Adam. As a matter of
fact, it probably
was
Greek.
The door creaked open and the man with the beard led them
into a small side room containing only a high
desk and a stool. The canon explained curtly,
"Father Metousis
is the only one who can break Dr. O'Keefe's
code."
The patriarch sat on the stool, steel-rimmed
glasses slipping down his nose. He wrote with a
scratchy, sputtering nib which he had continually to dip
into ink. Adam did not know how long Canon
Tallis and he stood there while the old man
wrote, thought, wrote, scratched out and wrote again.
It must have been more than a few minutes. It was
probably less than hours. Time had no meaning:
it
was not.
Finally Father Metousis handed the papers over.
"Joshua?" he asked.
Canon Tallis nodded. "Tomorrow afternoon."
"Gaea?"
"Yes."
Adam no longer attempted to understand. He swayed.
Canon Tallis gestured to him and they left,
climbing back into the police car which was waiting
outside. "The American Embassy," the canon
said, then, dryly, to Adam, "We don't usually
have this kind of escort."
At the Embassy a party was in progress.
Lights and music filled the night. Uniformed
servants were passing trays of champagne,
platters of canapes. The canon walked by the open
archways that led into the rooms hi

MADELEINE I/Engle
which the party was being held. At one end of the large
room to the right an orchestra was playing, banked
by palms. That they could play on the night of
Joshua's, death, that the world could still turn, the
Tagus flow,
seemed to Adam incredible.
"Come," Canon Tallis said.
They went up a flight of wide marble stairs.
Adam could feel himself climbing, but he could not see:
he was
blind with rage, and even the brilliant lighting of the
room
into which he was led could not clear his vision. The kalei
doscopic events of the past hours crackled around
him. He
stood obediently by Canon Tallis while the
echoing shots
in the Sad Juan Chrysostom Monastery sounded in
his
ears.
He knew that he was being introduced to the Ambassa
dor, and that he was being questioned kindly. He answered,
but he did not hear what he said. In the bright
room the Ambassador had to repeat a question.
Adam replied, the question slowly filtering through.
"Oh. He was with the Singer Sewing Machine Company.
I
don't think he was one of Cutter's men."
"No," the Ambassador said. "One of ours."
"Poly-was Adam said to the Ambassador, but heard
no answer to the name that was now a question. "Charles
cried," he said, but when the ambassador, with gentle
pa
tience, asked, "What was that, Adam?" the boy
only shook
his head as though to try to clear it. Then he was able
to answer the questions he had already answered once for
Canon Tallis and Father Henriques.
Through the open windows of the Ambassador's bright
room the singing of summer insects came clearly, and
it
was as though their buzzing was in Adam's head. The Am
bassador was looking through the decoded papers.
Later
Adam would remember that there had been a
transatlantic
call to Washington. There were other calls.
Later it would all sort itself out hi Adam's
memory, questions and answers finally settling like sediment
in a
test tube. Next to Canon Tallis' steel
control the Ambassa
dor seemed excitable, harried, but Adam realized
later that

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
although he was undoubtedly the second he was not the
first.
"But why did Arcangelo let Cutter and Kali
go?"
Adam exploded once. "Why did he let them
leave the Sao Juan
Chrysostom?"
"The police and Interpol were both there. If you
remember, they were already at the Bandem Tower."
"But how-was
The canon silenced Adam with a stern glance. "When
your young taxi driver friend left you and Joshua at the
Sad Juan he went, as Arcangelo had
directed him, to
Bandem."
"But what about Cutter and Kali
now?
Where are
they?"
"Free," Canon Tallis said, "in a manner
of speaking."
"But-was
The Ambassador sighed. "You are not at home,
Adam. Trying someone like Typhon Cutter in a
Portuguese court
is difficult if not impossible-was
"You mean he can buy his way out?"
Now the Ambassador's voice was hard. "You think
our
courts are entirely free from corruption? Of
course Cutter would be able to buy and subvert at
least part of the testimony against him. But this is
nearsighted oversimplification. Even in America
it's difficult to arrest someone on suspicion of
intent to commit murder. You have to have
real and absolute evidence."
"But Molec-was
"comis being tried for murder. And will be found guilty.
The beast caught in his master's trap. One can't
help being sorry for him."
"I can."
"That's evading the issue. He is, in a way, our
scapegoat, too. Remember that the Portuguese
are not interested in the moral and ethical qualities
of expatriates, especially people whose extremely
lucrative businesses bring employment and money
where it is rather desper
ately needed. This is worth thinking about."
But Adam was not capable of thought.
The Ambassador continued-or was it before? when?

MADELEINE I/Engle
words floated to Adam's mind with no consecutivity:
"Has
it occurred to you, Adam, that we don't want to air
Dr. O'Keefe's experiments in court? The need
for silence has not been removed. Has it occurred
to you that both the
Portuguese and the United States governments would
wish
to avoid the appearance of an international incident which
Cutter would not hesitate to exploit? Something like
this,
allowed to snowball, could start a holocaust. Is this
what
Joshua would have wanted?"
"But-was
The Ambassador banged down onto the desk a
coffee
cup Adam hadn't even realized he was holding so
that the
dark liquid slopped into the saucer. "We are not
going to try to do more than we know we can do. If this
seems to you inadequate expediency, try
to remember that one battle won today permits us
to embark on the next, and then a next, and all the
long ones that are to follow." He
rose. Was it then, or later? In any case the
blinded time hi
the bright office was finally over and Adam followed the
dark, erect form of the canon down the stairs. They
left the light and music of the Embassy and climbed
into the
police car.
"I'll take you back to Gaea," Canon
Tallis said.
Adam nodded.
"Well take Joshua's plane. I'm not the
pilot he was, but
111 get us there."
"And Cutter?" Adam repeated, thickly.
"How much were you able to listen to?" There was no
censure in the question. "He's been given a week
to leave
Portugal. He'll lose his property here, and
all the money
he has tied up in it. His Portuguese operation
is over."
Adam clenched his fists. "That's not-was he started
sav
agely.
"No revenge is, Adam."
At the little airport Arcangelo was waiting. He
held out
the heavy jackets, the goggles, helped strap them
in. Then
he looked hi silent questioning at Canon Tallis,
who said,
"Father Henriques is bringing Joshua tomorrow. Come with
bun." He leaned out of the pilot's seat and reached

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
for Arcangelo's hand. "Thank you, Arcangelo.
Thank God
for you."
Arcangelo shrugged, smiled briefly, went to the
propel
ler. The plane shuddered to life, moved slowly
along the
runway, jerked, and left the ground.
Once again time was outside Adam, or perhaps it was
Adam who was outside time. He sat in the
cockpit of the
small plane where Joshua, hi the pilot's seat,
had sung the
"Ode to Joy" as they bucked wildly through the
boisterous clouds. Now Canon Tallis sat
darkly at the controls, closed
in, stern. Above them and around them the stars were
thick. Below was a sea of white clouds.
-He's flying this crate much too high, Adam
thought
fleetingly.
It didn't matter. They would or they would not get
to
the island, and whichever one it was didn't matter, either.
The plane jerked and dropped. Canon Tallis
grimly pulled on the stick and the plane steadied and
nosed up
ward again.
"Why didn't you kill Molec?" Adam shouted
suddenly.
He strained for the answer.
"Would that have brought Joshua back?"
With the taste of ashes in his mouth Adam realized that
his grief was nothing beside the canon's. He slouched
down in his seat as though to avoid the piercing light of the
stars. Behind them the moon, just beyond fullness, sailed
lopsided and serene. Through a rift in the clouds it
made a path upon the water below.
And all Adam wanted to do was to swear, to split the
pure and silver air with every blasphemy he had ever
heard on the streets. He shuddered, controlled
himself,
shuddered again. He bellowed, the words coming out like
oaths, "She has my passport!"
"Kali?"
"Yes."
"All right. We'll get it."
"I don't want it," Adam cried. "I don't
want anything."
To this the canon did not reply. He seemed to be
concentrating only on the plane, the stars above, the
clouds below.

MADELEINE L'ENGLE
They moved through space; they must also have moved
through time. The clouds were gone and below them lay the vast,
slowly breathing surface of the sea. Ahead was the
dark shadow of the island. The plane nosed down
ward, and suddenly along the beach flares were lit, one
af
ter another, outlining a runway for the landing.
Dr. O'Keefe was there, with Josd, Maria's
husband.
Four horses were hitched to the barnacled pile.
Canon Tallis climbed stiffly from the plane.
Adam un
strapped himself and followed. Beyond the barest
greeting
there was no talking. Dr. O'Keefe and Canon
Tallis rode
ahead, Adam and
Josh
behind. Jose spoke no English, but
once he looked over at Adam and said softly,
"Jhoshuajh .. ." and Adam could see that tears were
trickling quietly down his cheeks. Looking at
Josh's tears Adam fought down a reaction to shout,
"Shut up!"
He bowed his head and let the horse carry him along
the water's edge, the
drumming of the hoofbeats muffled in the sand.
The horses moved with unhurried pace, taking them
inexorably through time, through space.
In the bungalows lights were on in the living
quarters.
-Make Poly be in bed, Adam thought savagely.
-I
cannot see her. I cannot see Charles.
They dismounted. The horses followed
Josh
, and Adam
followed Dr. O'Keefe and Canon
Tallis. Only Mrs.
O'Keefe was in the living room and she drew
Adam to her
in a quick, maternal embrace. Adam felt an
enormous sob
rising within him and pulled from the circle of her arms.
She held him not with her arms but with her eyes. "You
must not blame yourself."
"It started with the door at the Avenida Palace,"
Adam
said. "If I hadn't opened the door-was
The canon cut brusquely across his words. "Or the
fog
in New York. Or if I had not asked you
to take Poly back
to Lisbon. This is foolish talk and must be
stopped."
"But he died for me," Adam choked. "I gave
Kali his phone numbers and he pushed me into one of the
monk's
cells and Molec's bullet hit him."
"He died for us all," the canon said, "and if you
love him you will have to stop talking and thinking like this,

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
because what you have to do now is to live. For him, and
for us all."
Mrs. O'Keefe moved to the arch that led to the living
quarters. "And what you have to do at this particular mo
ment is to go to bed. There will be work tomorrow."
-Work? What work? Adam thought numbly, but he
bowed a clumsy good night and went to bed.
In the morning Poly brought Adam his breakfast.
She put
the tray down on the bed and then stood looking at him
steadily and, it seemed to him, accusingly. He had
been
weighed again and found wanting.
But when she spoke she said only "Adam-was and then,
"Adam, I do love you and I'm terribly
sorry," At the door
she said in a muffled voice, "Daddy and Father
expect you in the lab as soon as you're ready."
"The lab?" Adam asked stupidly.
Poly ran her fingers with impatience through her hair.
"The starfish have to be tended to. Daddy's work
doesn't
stop because-was she broke off. A tremor moved across
her
face like the wind moving upon water. She
stamped angrily to regain control. "Why do you think
Joshua went
rushing off to you when Kali called him? You don't
think
he thought it was fun and games and the good of his
health, do you?"
Adam shook his head.
"All right, why, then?"
Adam banged down his cup. "Starfish and
sparrows," he
said loudly.
Poly stamped again,
"Okay,
then," and hurried out of
the room.
Adam finished the cup of now lukewarm coffee,
poured
another, drinking slowly, unwilling to leave what
seemed the comparative safety of his room. Seeing
Poly had been
bad enough. He wanted to put off seeing anyone
else. Slowly, deliberately, he drained the
last drops of coffee
and milk from the little pots, picked up each crumb of
his roll and ate it. Finally there was nothing
to do but get dressed, and since his lab clothes were
nothing but chino
slacks and a tee shirt he could not prolong the
process by

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
more than a few minutes. Then he almost ran through the
living room, hurried across the breezeway and into the
lab.
Dr. O'Keefe and Canon Tallis were standing
by one of
the tanks. Dr. O'Keefe beckoned to him.
"Look at this, Adam. This is the tiny fragment of
star
fish arm we planted with nerve rings several weeks
ago.
Yesterday I'd about given up on it, but look,
there's regeneration beginning. Check the other tanks, will
you, please?
and let me know if there's anything unusual."
Nobody was behaving as though it were an ordinary
day, but nevertheless the work in the laboratory was going
on, and this was still a shock to Adam. He took care
of
the starfish, pointed out new growth on a
lizard, wrote up
his notes in the files. He worked automatically,
adequately,
but his mind was no longer out of time as it had been the
night before. He was thrust back into time, and therefore
into pain.
This time the day before Joshua had been alive. In the
short space of twenty-four hours more had happened
than
it would seem time possibly could take care of. And
time
hadn't taken care of it. Molec's bullet had
sped through
space and time and into Joshua's heart.
"Adam," Canon Tallis said, "will you go over
these fig
ures, please? These are from Scotland and we want
to see
if they gibe with Dr. O'Keefe's findings."
"Sit down to it," Dr. O'Keefe suggested as
Adam took
the sheaf of papers. "It's important that you check
them
accurately. You'll find the equations perfectly
straightfor
ward, but you'll have to concentrate if you don't want
to
make errors. Well see you later."
"All right, sir." Adam had not wanted to come in
to the
lab to see Dr. O'Keefe and Canon
Tallis; now he did not
want them to leave. But they went on out, without telling
him where they were going. Perhaps to the village to see
Virbius or to check the pens there. He did not
know. He concentrated on the letters and numbers
written in black
ink on thin paper. He found that if he was to check
them
properly he could not think about anything else. At
first it was an effort to pay attention to what he was
doing; then, as always, the discipline of work took hold
of him and he

MADELEINE I/Engle
bent over the papers, his lips moving, his bruised
mind oc
cupied only with the job Canon Tallis had given
him.
He was surprised when Peggy came
to call him, hugging
him, twining her arms around him lovingly, kissing him
over and over again, but not speaking, not explaining the
sudden passion of affection.
Mrs. O'Keefe stood in the lab doorway.
"Have a quick swim before lunch, Adam. The children are
looking for
you."
Adam changed to the navy blue trunks, trying not
to
look at the zebra-striped ones. The children were waiting
for him on the sea wall. Poly wore the red bathing
suit,
but the color seemed drained from it, from her hair.
There
was no running and jumping over the sand, no delighted
leaping into the surf. Peggy held Adam's hand.
When she
was ankle-deep she let go, saying, "I don't
think I'll go swimming today if you don't mind,
Adam. I want to go
back in with Johnny and Rosy."
Sandy and Dennys sat at the water's edge, letting
the
small waves wash over them, letting the
damp yellow sand
sift through their fingers, talking only to each other.
Poly said, "If you'll come with me, Adam, I
want to
swim out a bit."
"I'll come, too." Charles moved to Adam's
other side.
The three of them walked out into the water, not
jumping through the waves, simply pushing against them,
letting the water break, unheeded, over them, until
they were out deep enough so that first Charles could drop down
and start to swim, then Poly and Adam.
He did not ask about Macrina, After a while he
said,
"That's far enough out, Poly," and obediently she
stopped
swimming and began to tread water. She did not make
the
breathy, whistling noises with which she usually called
Macrina. She simply kept treading water and
staring out
to sea. Charles lay on his back and floated, his
eyes closed
against the glare of the sun. Adam dog-paddled between
them.
He was about to say, "Okay, kids, we'd better
go back in," when there was the familiar flash of
silver and Ma-
crina was with them. Poly gave a great cry and
flung her-

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
self at the dolphin. Charles continued to lie on his
back in the water, his eyes closed. Poly's
sobs were enormous, racking the thin body in the red
wool bathing suit. For a moment Macrina thrashed the
water with her tail. Then
she gave a shudder and swam slowly around Poly,
keeping
her head with the great smiling mouth constantly toward the
child. The mouth was smiling but there was no doubt
in Adam's mind that Macrina, now nuzzling
Poly's shoul
der, was trying to comfort the child, that Macrina cared. Then
the dolphin left Poly and swam over to Charles,
nudging at him gently until he opened his eyes,
rolled over
in the water, and flung his arms around the great,
slippery
body. When Charles let Macrina go she
came to Adam,
seeming to look at him questioningly. Then, with a flash of
silver, she was gone.
The children swam in. "Come on, Sandy, Dennys,"
Poly said to the two little boys who were building a sand
castle.
As they walked across the burning beach to the bungalow
Poly murmured, "She's not an
anthropomorphic dolphin,
she's an anagogical dolphin."
"Hunh?" Adam asked.
"I don't know what it means. It's something Father
Tom
said once and I made him say it over until I
remembered
it. I think it's something good."
Canon Tallis and Dr. O'Keefe were not at
lunch. The younger children chattered desultorily.
Adam tried to
choke down a few mouthfuls because Charles was looking
at him, and when Adam took a bite, Charles
took a bite. Once Mrs. O'Keefe turned
to Adam, saying in a steady
voice, "The Cutters are at the hotel, Adam.
They'll be fly
ing to Spain from here, and then to America. My husband
and Father Tallis will go over tonight to get your
passport."
Adam bowed his head to show that he had heard, and
took another bite.
Mrs. O'Keefe rose. "Do whatever Maria
tells you to, children. I won't be very long. Adam,
Poly, Charles,
come."
It was only then that Adam noticed that Poly and
Charles had changed from their bathing suits to their rid-

MADELEINE
L'ENGLE
ing breeches. Mrs. O'Keefe said, "Maria
has laid out your
riding clothes for you, Adam. We'll wait
outside."
The riding breeches Joshua had given Adam the
first
night on the island were on his bed, together with a clean
white shirt. Lying carefully placed on the shirt
was the canvas belt with the switchblade knife
containing the lethal dose of MS-222. Adam
looked at the knife brood-ingly. Had
Maria put it there? Had Poly? He stripped off
his lab clothes and strapped the knife on under the
riding
clothes.
Poly led the way inland. Since her storm of sobbing
in
the ocean and the silent comfort of the dolphin she seemed
less tightly drawn. As the horses began
to climb Adam realized that they were going to the great
golden stones where Joshua had taken him the morning
he had
arrived on the island, the morning he had failed
to notice
the small cemetery in the clearing.
When they reached the plateau there were several boys
from the village waiting to take care of the horses, and
Adam saw that there were already other horses there.
Around the great table was a large group of people, some
seated on the stones, more standing. A few of them Adam
recognized: Virbius was there, with Temis.
Rabbi Pinhas
was there, and Mr. Green, Father Metousis and
Arcan-
gelo. Was the inspector from the Madrid airport
sitting on
one of the stones by the young taxi driver? Their faces
were turned away; he could not be sure.
Canon Tallis held the burial service.
Adam had heard the words before. For his grandparents.
For a teacher at school. It was the American words which
the canon was using for Joshua. Now the words seemed
tangible, material; steeled by the English
voice they held him erect on the stone bench where
he sat
between Poly and Charles.
"dis . . Remember thy servant Joshua, O
Lord," Canon Tallis said, "according to the favor which
thou bearest unto thy people, and grant that, increasing in
knowledge and love of thee, he may go from strength to strength,
in the life of perfect service...."

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
Charles reached over and took Adam's cold hand
hi his
smaller but equally cold one.
"Unto God's gracious mercy and protection we
commit
you," Canon Tallis said. "The Lord bless you and
keep
you. The Lord make his face to shine upon you,
and be
gracious unto you. The Lord lift up his countenance
upon
you and give you peace both now and evermore."
They moved from the golden stones across the rough
grass and into the clearing where the open grave waited.
Charles continued to hold Adam's hand. Once he
pressed
his face against Adam's shirt Then he turned and
looked back at Canon Tallis. On
Adam's other side Poly stood,
still as death.
Adam closed his eyes.
It was over.
The group dispersed quietly. It was only as Adam
went
with Charles to the horses where Dr. and Mrs.
O'Keefe
stood waiting with Canon Tallis that he realized
that Poly
had gone from his side, that she was nowhere to be seen.
"Stay with Charles," the doctor said. "We'll
look for
her."
They waited, and Charles said only,
"Don't worry,
Adam, Poly's all right."
When Dr. O'Keefe and Canon Tallis
returned alone,
Charles said, without anxiety, "I think she's gone
to the
village with Temis. She has to be away from us
for a little
while."
Mrs. O'Keefe looked at her husband. "Will you
ride
over and see?"
The doctor nodded. "Tom, come with me. She may
need you."
Now there were just the three of them on the plateau,
Adam, Mrs. O'Keefe, and Charles, and to one
side two
little village boys staying faithfully with the horses.
Adam
asked Mrs. O'Keefe, "Would you and Charles be
all right if I ride over to the hotel? I'd like
to get my passport back
myself."
She looked at him. "If this is what you think you
want
to do, Adam. Charles and I will be fine in any
case. But
olease be home hi time for dinner."

MADELEINE L'ENGLE
Adam agreed absently. He was not thinking of
dinner. As he rode toward the hotel darkness
closed in on him again. He did not see the sun,
or even feel its rays, al
though he frequently raised his arm to wipe off the
sweat
that streamed down his face. He rode through darkness and
through time. The sun was slipping down the sky toward the
west when the path opened out between the hotel landing strip
and the tennis courts and swimming
pool.
He did not know what he was going to do or say when
he saw Typhon Cutter and Kali. He was not
thinking primarily about his passport. This would be
easy enough for
Dr. O'Keefe and Canon Tallis to get.
He only knew that
the anger that burned in him would not abate until he
had
seen Kali, Kali who had
deliberately led him into the kill
ing at the Sao Juan Chrysostom Monastery.
Her high,
shrill laugh echoed in his ears.
He hitched the tired white horse to a tree at the
end of the path, walked past the landing strip, along the
beach, up the path between tennis courts and swimming
pool,
glancing at the courts where two paunchy men were
play
ing. The pool was emptying; only a handful of young people
remained splashing in the water, or sitting on the
sides of the pool, dangling their legs and sipping
Cokes.
He almost walked by without seeing a girl in a black
bath
ing suit sitting alone on the diving board. Her
head was down on her knees, and her fair hair
fell in a graceful
sweep across her face.
He went up to her. "Kali."
She raised her head. When she saw him her eyes
widened, but she did not move. "What do you want?"
"My passport."
She rose to her feet in a quick, lithe
gesture. "Catch me
and I'll give it to you," she cried, and gave her
high-
pitched laugh which rose shrilly almost into hysteria.
She
dived cleanly into the water, flashed to the end of the
pool, climbed up the ladder, ran along the path,
down the
ramp, and across the beach, Adam following, losing
ground, hampered by his riding breeches, his boots.
Kali ran splashing into the water, looking back
over her

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
shoulder, laughing. She dove through a wave and started
to swim.
Adam pulled
off
his boots, his trousers, ripped off his shirt and, in
underclothes and Poly's canvas belt, he ran
into the sea, flinging himself against the waves, thrusting through
the breakers, until he could throw himself down
and swim. He looked up, panting, to see
Kali's arms flash
ing through the water ahead of him. Each time
he looked
she was less far ahead.
Then he heard her scream.
His first thought was that it was Macrina.
But the second scream that rang across the water was
one of mortal terror.
He saw the shark, the sleek malevolent body,
its murky darkness unable to leap to a flash of
silver, its only light
the sickly white of its belly.
The shark would do for him more than he had dared
hope to do.
"Adam!" The scream throbbed against his ears.
He snatched the knife from the sheath, gave a mighty
kick that shot him through the water toward the screaming
girl, and plunged the knife into the shark.
There was blood in the water, Kali's blood, but the
shark was still. Adam took Kali hi a one-arm
hold and started to swim in to shore. She was limp in
his grasp although an occasional scream bubbled from her
lips. When he could stand he picked her up. Her
arm was ripped and bleeding copiously. He put her
down at the water's edge where loose sand would not get
into the wounds, and picked up his shut from the beach,
ripping the white material so that he could
wrap it around her arm to stanch
the blood.
He carried her to the hotel. She was sobbing and begin
ning to writhe in his arms. He felt neither hate nor
love toward her, only an infinite weariness, as
though she were a tremendous burden he despaired of
ever being able to put down. He tried not to think of the
horribly ripped
arm.
He endured grimly the clamor of excitement and
curios
ity that greeted their entrance, pushing blindly through the

MADELEINE I/Englb
avid guests toward the elevator, calling, The
doctor,
quickly."
The hotel manager rushed after him, wringing pudgy
hands. "But what is it? What has happened?"
"A shark," Adam said, grittily. "Get her
father. Get a
doctor."
In a luxurious room he put her down on the
bed. She
was white from shock. Her head moved
feebly on the pil
low. "Adam. Adam. Help."
Typhon Cutter and the doctor arrived together.
"What
have you done to her?" Typhon Cutter asked, face
contort
ed with accusation.
Adam did not answer.
"He said it was a shark," the manager babbled, "but it
couldn't have been a shark, it's not possible that it was a
shark."
The doctor undid the bandages Adam had made,
looked
at Kali's arm. "A shark," he stated
categorically. "Get me
blankets. Get me hot water bottles." He
opened his bag
and began to work over the girl.
Typhon Cutter watched sickly. The room was
silent ex
cept for the movements of the doctor and the sound of the
surf outside. The flesh of Typhon Cutter's
face had gone
greenish and seemed to sag. "In the ocean?"
"Yes," Adam said.
"Why? She knows I have forbidden-was
"I asked her for my passport and she said 'Catch
me."
You know how quick she is."
"Yes." The older man's eyes were focused on the
girl on
the bed, on the doctor's actions. "Then?"
"I hadn't quite caught up with her when I heard her
scream."
"The shark had attacked her?"
"Yes."
"How did she get away?"
Adam took off the canvas belt and sheath. "I
had a
switchblade with MS-222."
"What?"
"It knocks a shark out faster than anything else."

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
"You used it to save her?" There was scorn and disbe
lief in the voice.
"Yes."
"Where is the knife?"
"In the shark." Adam, feeling sick, through with
ques
tioning, through with the Cutters forever, started for the door.
Typhon Cutter's steel talons shot out and
clamped
over his arm.
"Wait." A lock of fair hair fell,
unheeded, over the older man's forehead. Still holding
Adam he asked the
doctor, "The arm?"
The doctor shook his head. "Bad. If it were not
for the young man and his quick action you would have no
daughter at all."
"But what about the arm?"
The doctor shrugged. "There is much damage. A
shark's
teeth are deadly."
"You're sure it
was
a shark?"
The doctor shrugged again. "I have seen shark bites
be
fore. There is no question."
Typhon Cutter, pulling Adam with him, leaned
over the
bed. "What are you going to do?"
"There is little I
can
do except stop the bleeding and shock. You will have to get
her to Lisbon. But even
there-was Again the expressive lifting of the shoulder.
Typhon Cutter jerked his head at the manager.
"Come."
Not relaxing his painful clamp on Adam's arm he
went
into the corridor. A police officer was waiting
outside the
door with the hotel detective. Cutter ignored
them, al
though they bowed respectfully, and the detective
started
to murmur expressions of alarm and concern.
"Get O'Keefe," Typhon Cutter said
to Adam. As Adam
did not reply the talons increased their pressure.
"still
said
get O'Keefe."
"Why?" Adam asked, beyond caring what he said or
did.
"Fool, do you think I don't know that he has worked
on
human beings in the native village? Go to the
telephone. Get him to come. He will do it for you. I
will send the
helicopter." There was anger in the voice, command in
the

MADELEINE
L'ENOLB
words, naked pleading in the eyes. Another strand of
pale
gold hair fell forward, unheeded.
"I'll call," Adam said, "but he may not be
there."
"The private line hi your office," Cutter
snapped at the
manager.
They went down the hall, into the elevator, through the
lobby: the oily little manager; the uniformed police
officer;
the detective (still ignored); Cutter, his
ponderous body
quivering; Adam.
In the lobby the guests were milling around.
"But her arm was ripped off, I saw it-was
"She will bleed to death before anything can be
done-*
"Nonsense, it was only a scratch, they said so-was
"It wasn't her arm, it was her leg-was
The police officer shouted for quiet. "Please do
not
concern yourself. The girl is all right She disobeyed
rules
by swimming in the ocean when the lifeguard was not
there; she would never have been allowed to go out so far.
If you will be sensible there is no danger whatsoever."
The manager echoed him, wringing his hands anxiously.
"Everything is all right. There is no cause for
alarm. She went out too far." He scurried around
to Adam, grasping
his hand in an effusion of gratitude. "My
dear
young
man-was
"Fool. Come," Cutter said.
The manager put the call through. Charles answered the
phone, called his mother. "It's Adam."
"Yes?" Mrs. O'Keefe said. "What is it,
Adam?"'
"Is the doctor there?"
"No. He's in the village with Poly and
Father Tallis.
What is it? What happened? Can I help?"
"Kali has been hurt by a shark. Do you know when
they'll be back?"
"Some time this evening. I don't know just when.
Adam, are you all right?"
The warmth and concern in her voice shook Adam so
that he had to lean on the desk for support. But he
said,
"I'm fine, and I'll be home as soon as I
can."
Cutter, who was breathing heavily behind him, said as
he hung up, "In the village?"

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
"Yes."
Cutter snapped at the manager. "Get the
helicopter
ready." To Adam. "Go to the village and get
him."
The police officer held up his hand, speaking
to Adam.
"There will have to be a statement from you."
The detective finally got in a word. "To absolve
the ho
tel of any blame."
Typhon Cutter's thin voice rose in an
angry squeak. "I
am
the hotel. There is no question of blame. She broke
hotel rules.
My
rules." Controlling the soaring pitch of his
voice he asked Adam, "Why did you have this
stuff-
whatever it is-on you?"
"You know there have been sharks here. I had the knife
with me when Kali and I saw the shark before."
The phone on the manager's desk rang and Cutter
pushed the little man aside to reach for it. "Yes? . .
.
Yes." He put the receiver down. "The helicopter
is ready.
Bring O'Keefe to her."
Adam said humbly, "I'll try."
"You will do more than try. I will go with you."
"No." Adam's voice was firm. "I'll go
alone. Stay with
Kali. She may need you."
For a moment Typhon Cutter chewed his
lip. "Very
well. The pilot is one of my men. If
O'Keefe doesn't come
he will have my instructions to-was
Adam cut through the threat by walking deliberately
past Typhon Cutter and out of the manager's
office. Again
the procession moved through the lounge, Adam silent,
closed in, indifferent to the curiosity, the manager
and the
detective responding excitedly to the heightening
tension
of the guests, assuring them that all was well, everything
was perfect, the young man was a hero.
The helicopter waited on the roof.
The manager pumped Adam's hand. "Thank you.
Muito
obrigado.
Thank you."
As the boy started to climb into the helicopter he
paused. "My passport."
Typhon Cutter said, "When you send O'Keefe
back."
"No more of that. Now." Adam stood his ground, staring
at Cutter's ravaged face. "Do you
want Dr. O'Keefe?"

MADELEINE I/Engle
The manager, the detective, the police officer
murmured. Typhon Cutter reached into his breast
pocket and handed
over the passport.
Adam climbed into the helicopter. He did not
look back. Not in time, not in space. His mind was
exhausted
to the point where it was bliss to allow it to drift with the
noise of the rotors, to relax in the silence of the
pilot.
When the helicopter hovered over the village
Adam
looked down and saw a scurrying of dark shapes.
The vil
lage emptied, men and women disappearing into the
jungle, into the huts. The pilot set the machine
down on the greensward in front of the central hut.
As Adam climbed out he saw the pilot reaching for
his gun, but he
felt no fear.
Virbius emerged from his hut, raising his hand in
greet
ing.
Adam, too, raised his hand. "Is Dr.
O'Keefe here?"
The old man spoke slowly, tremulously, with
great ef
fort. "You-wish-speak?"
"Please."
The old man beckoned and Dr. O'Keefe and
Canon Tallis came out of the hut, Dr.
O'Keefe bending his tall frame to pass through the
doorway. As Adam started to
speak Dr. O'Keefe called, "Poly-was and she
came out with
Temis.
Adam told what had happened, while Poly
translated for Virbius and Temis. When the boy
had finished Dr.
O'Keefe questioned him, then stood, as though still listen
ing. Then he looked at Canon Tallis, and their
eyes met
for a long moment. Dr. O'Keefe nodded.
"Daddy!" Poly cried. "You're not going!"
"Yes. I will have to see the arm for myself. Then, if it
is
as bad as it seems, I will have to tell
Typhon Cutter of the
dangers, and then, if he still wishes me to, I will
try."
Poly ran to her father and caught his hands in hers.
"But you wouldn't try if you didn't think you could do
it,
would you?"
"No."
"But why are you going, daddy? Why?"

THE ARM OF THE STARFISH
Canon Tallis drew Poly away from her father.
"Ask
Adam why, Poly."
But she was silent. They stood, looking, while
Dr.
O'Keefe climbed into the helicopter, still stood
looking,
half-deafened by the noise of the rotors, until it
had
droned away, until the night sounds of the village
could be
heard again. Without a word Virbius sat on the
green
sward, crosslegged, looking out to the
harbor. Canon Tallis
sat by him, gesturing to Adam. The two girls
stood to
gether, facing the men. Temis raised her hand,
looked at
the spread-out fingers, dropped it to her side.
Virbius spoke.
Poly said, "He wants to know if you think daddy
did
right to go."
"Adam?" Canon Tallis asked.
Adam was silent, looking at the village, at the
men re
turning from the jungle, at the women and children
emerging from their huts. Evening was coming quickly.
The sun had already dropped with the sudden fierceness of
the jungle, and the sky over the island was suffused with
great streaks of color: rose, raspberry,
deepening to
mauve, to indigo. Above a date palm a star
began to
pulse, at first faintly, then growing in brilliance.
In the
darkness of the surrounding brush fireflies flickered.
"Adam?" Canon Tallis asked again.
"I think he had to go," Adam said unwillingly.
He be
gan to shiver and realized that, like it or not, he would
again be able to feel heat and cold, sunlight and moon
light.
At a word from the old man, Temis slipped into the
hut.
"But why!" Poly demanded passionately.
"Why
did he
have to go?"
Adam was silent while Temis came out and draped
a
softly woven robe about him. Then he said,
heavily, "Be
cause of Joshua."
"But she killed Joshua!" Poly cried. "Why
should daddy help her now? I don't want to help
her! Adam should have
let the shark kill her!"
Adam was silent

MADELEINE I/Englb
"Father!" Poly cried.
Canon Tallis said quietly,
"Suppose it had been Adam
the shark attacked?"
Tears began to roll down Poly's cheeks. "But
Adam's
good, and she's-was
Adam stood up, holding Temis" robe about his
shoul
ders. He could not say what he had to say sitting
down. "I
killed Joshua, too."
"But-was
"Be quiet, Poly," Canon Tallis commanded.
Adam let the robe drop as he clenched and
unclenched
his fists. "If I hadn't used the knife, or if
we didn't try to
help Kali now, it would be justice, wouldn't it?"
Verbius nodded, saying the English word,
"Justice,"
nodding again.
"But Joshua-was Adam said. "Joshua-was he
broke off.
"It's Joshua I'm thinking about!" Poly cried.
"It was what he always said," Adam choked out, "about
the sparrow. Even Kali would be a sparrow
to Joshua. If you're going to care about the fall of the
sparrow you can't pick and choose who's going to be the
sparrow. It's
everybody, and you're stuck with it." He sat down and
put
him arms about his knees and his head on his arms.
Virbius spoke. When he had finished there was
silence
until he spoke again, rather crossly, to Poly.
She trans
lated.
"He says it is not enough if you pray neither for nor
against. He says he will go to his gods and pray.
For."
Virbius stood up, tremulously, and went
into his hut.
Adam did not know how long he sat there with his head
down. When he looked up Temis had gone and
Poly had
turned away.
Canon Tallis looked at Adam, smiled
briefly, but did
not speak. Night was coming, but to Adam, as he
returned
the canon's smile, everywhere there seemed
to be light.
At last Poly reached over and took his hand in
hers. "I
see that daddy had to go," she said. And then, "I
love you,
Adam."
He held her hand tightly. "I love you, too,
Poly."