Five o'clock. A clock sang softly somewhere in the house, in a quiet, musical voice, "Five o'clock ... five o'clock. Time's a wasting. Five o'clock," and purred away into silence.
Zero hour.
Mrs. Morris chuckled in her throat. Zero hour.
A beetle-car hummed into the driveway. Mr. Morris. Mrs. Morris smiled. Mr. Morris got out of the beetle, locked it and called hello to Mink at her work. Mink ignored him. He laughed and stood for a moment watching the children in their business. Then he walked up the front steps.
"Hello, darling."
"Hello, Henry."
She strained forward on the edge of the chair, listening. The children were silent. Too silent.
He emptied his pipe, refilled it. "Swell day. Makes you glad to be alive."
Buzz.
"What's that?" asked Henry.