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And Joh
He would laugh and say, "At first I thought it was the devil," and he would whoop with laughter to show how glad he was to be alive.
Skeeter Patton, after making sure that Joh
That was the strangest thing of all. Linda should have been overjoyed, should have been hanging on to Joh
"Doc," said Joh
Doc Evans shook his head. "Sorry, son. She seems scared to death of you; keeps saying it ain't right you should be living. A dead man ought to stay dead."
"I don't understand that at all," said Joh
"She's in a state of shock, son," said Doc Evans. "Why don't you try to see her tomorrow, when she'll probably be recovering? After all, it ain't every day a tender young girl sees her boyfriend rise from his death bed."
Doc Evans spoke to Doc Grandtoul. "You've created quite a sensation, to put it mildly. How do you plan to cap what you did tonight?"
Grandtoul lifted his hands, and the crowd fell silent. He looked impressive as Lucifer himself with the light streaming out from a window of the Lucky Lode on his pale handsome face and glistening off his hair and eyes, which were black as malapai rock. His rich baritone boomed out, "Friends, I came to you out of the desert with this miraculous means of revitalizing the dead. I intend eventually to go East. I expect to find fame and fortune there. But I'm in no hurry for it. I don't want to sound like a preacher, but I really am more interested in benefiting mankind than in gaining all the wealth of the world. It makes me happier to think about reuniting you with your beloved dead than in making personal gains. Your happiness is mine.
"So, tomorrow, after I've rested, I'll explain more of what I intend to do. I can't promise you all the dead in your cemetery will be brought back to life. That depends on how they died and how long they've been dead. But I can assure you that if any of those who were taken away from you can be brought back by my revitalizing machine, they will walk once more among you.
"And, to show you my heart is in the right place, I assure you that I will not take one red cent for doing this. I will do everything for free. So you can see that I am not some charlatan who intends to take you for all you have. Good night!"
He walked away with Joh
Late next morning Linda Beeman walked into the lobby of Mrs. Lundgren's hotel. She wanted to speak to Joh
Linda spoke to everybody in the crowded lobby. Half of Acheron seemed to be waiting to talk to the doctor. All seemed to be very nervous. As Linda was the last to come, she wasn't called upstairs until noon.
When she entered Joh
"Joh
"You're not desperate to talk to me?" said Doc Grandtoul. "You're the first."
He rose. "Come along, Skeeter. We'll wet our whistles at the Lucky Lode. Watch that bag, Joh
Linda spoke before the doctor could close the door behind him. "Is it true that tomorrow you're going to raise the dead?"
"I'm no miracle-maker," he answered. "Those who are well-preserved will benefit by the scientific means I use. Those who are not, well" -- he bowed his head for a second and then continued -- "tomorrow I will bring life to the departed and joy into the hearts of the bereaved."
He smiled, bowed, and left. Joh
"I'm all over the shock now," she said. She paused, breathed deeply as if to gain strength for what she was going to say, and then spoke. "Joh
"Right?" he said. "Of course! Why, if it wasn't for him I'd be six feet under! You wouldn't like that, would you?"
"No," she said. "Only..."
"Only what? What's eating you? I thought you loved me!"
Linda sat down and frowned as if she were thinking deeply. Finally, she said, "Of course I love you. Didn't I tell you so a week ago? And weren't we going to a
"What about it?" he said. "You didn't marry him. And you're going to marry me, right?"
"Roy Canton is dead," she said quietly, her wide blue eyes fixed on his face. "He died of fever less than a week after we a
Joh
Suddenly, Linda began weeping. "I don't know what I want!" she sobbed. "When Roy died, I thought I'd die, too. Then I met you. And I fell in love. I wasn't being unfaithful to Roy. You can't be unfaithful to the dead. They're gone; they're never coming back. You're living and can't go on acting as if the dead were just away on a short visit and will be home next week. But now, now, I don't know! I love you, but I never quit loving Roy. And if he comes back, then I won't know what to do! I'll have two living men that I love. And... and I don't know what to do!"
Joh
"No, you don't!" said Linda fiercely. "That wouldn't be fair!"
"What am I supposed to do?" said Joh
"If somebody had asked me that yesterday I'd have told him I love you as I love the living. And Roy as I love the dead. But now..."
"In other words," said Joh
Linda began crying again. Joh
And then he shouted, "There's no use crying, Linda! Roy isn't going to come back from the dead!"
Linda rose from the chair and took a step towards Joh
"What do you mean?"
Joh
"What do you mean by saying he isn't going to come back from the dead?"
"I'll give it to you straight, Linda," said Joh
Linda gave a little shriek and swayed back and forth for a minute. Joh