I didn't go too far and while my attention was on the distant wall of stone, I was not oblivious to my surroundings. I made certain that Vicky could s...ee me from her perch and that Samantha also had me in her line of sight. Still, it took me by surprise when the report of the big rifle sounded throughout the valley. Instinctively I dropped my binoculars so that they dangled by my neck and brought my carbine up to the ready. As I did, I automatically spun on my heel to see what direction Vicky. I rushed the baby-cuddling women and gave each of them a quick peck on the lips, and then turned to fussing over each of my children, one after the other. Swarta talked with more of the concubines that ran down the stairs, intercepting them before they could throw themselves at me. Laudus joined in to help settle the commotion, giving the newcomers directions to go prepare a feast, once they had their “welcome back” kiss. It was a riotous greeting and we all carried broad smiles. It was true. "Here, take a look at this." Sandy picked up the bottle and peered at the contents through the glass. She resisted the urge to unscrew the lid and smell the liquid. From what she could tell just by looking at it, the bottle was filled with nothing more than a light weight oil as colorless as tap water. She pushed it back across the table to Jim, who promptly put it securely back into the breast pocket of his lab coat. Jim grinned at Sandy as the silence grew. "Well, what is it?" she. Her father worked long hours on their farm, and her mother had vanished long enough ago that the little girl sometimes wondered if she ever existed or if her memory of her was just another thing she imagined. Daddy never talked about mommy, so neither did she. Infact daddy didnt talk about much at all, and with no brothers or sisters around, its a wonder she had any vocabulary at all. Thankfully she was quite adroit at using a radio – she had her own battery-operated portable fm radio that was.