way.

"Looks like you're going to be fit as a fiddle," he said. "I'll be back
in a few minutes. Mrs. Waters told me on the way in she was pouring me a
cup of coffee."

Fred remained motionless until the doctor had left the room. Then he
slipped out of bed and went to the door. On the other side of it was a
living room. A swinging door of the type that opens into kitchens was
just swinging closed. No one was in sight. Quickly Fred stole across to
the door. He put his ear close to it and listened.

"Dr. Harvey speaking," he heard the doctor say. "Connect me with
thirteen please."

"Is he going to be all right?" Mrs. Waters' anxious voice sounded.

"I think so," the doctor said calmly. "Hello? Thirteen? Who's speaking?
Oh, hello, Giles. Dr. Harvey. Do you have a vacancy? Observation, yes."

"Oh dear," Mrs. Waters said unhappily.

"It will be for the best," Captain Waters said. "They'll know how to
take care of him."

Fred waited for no more. He went back to the bedroom. His clothes were
in the closet. In seconds he had them on. He could tie his shoes and
button up later.

He unfastened one of the screen doors and stepped out onto a flagstone
path that wound around the corner of the house toward the front. There
were people on the sidewalk, but none very near. It would be hours
before dark, and there was no place to hide.

There were two cars parked at the curb. One was a police car, the other
a black Chrysler sedan, probably the doctor's car. The police car had
the key in the ignition. Fred didn't hesitate. He jerked open the door
and slid behind the wheel. Mrs. Waters' anxious voice sounded, calling,
"Fred! Where are you?" Then the starter was whirring. The motor caught.

As he shot away from the curb, Fred caught a glimpse in the rear view
mirror of Captain Waters running down the walk from the house.

As he took the first corner, touching the siren button briefly, he
wondered why he had run. It had been an impulse. Maybe it was the wrong
one. Maybe he could accomplish what he had to do better in some kind of
institution. Maybe not.

He compressed his lips grimly. The die was cast now. He would abandon
the police car someplace, then slip quietly out of town on foot. He
would be caught if he tried to go home. He had no money except a few
dollars in change.

Maybe this was all part of the new pattern that seemed to possess him.
He kept the siren going, not trusting his ability to avoid traffic. Its
mad sc