'Help Help Call off your dog'
Macon stopped typing and listened. He could hear barking and the voice sounded very close. He didn't think it could be Edward because Eeward was taking a walk with Porter. But Edward had been behaving strangely for a while, barking and showing his teeht when anyone come to the house, or tried to leave it.
Macon got up, and made his way on his crutches to the porch. Sure enough, it was Edward. He was jumping up and barking madly at the foot of the big tree in the fornt yard. With some difficulty Macon went down the steps and caught the 'Jesus. What went wrong?' Julian asked.
'Nothing!' Macon said, a little too loudly. He lowered hos voice. 'I mean, that's not something I can answere.'
Tge fornt door banged and Edward run into the hall, barking noisily. Rose and Charles came in, carrying groceries in brown paper bags, and came into the living room. macon had to introduce everybody. Julian seemed fascinated.
'Macon leary with a sister and brother too Who would have guessed it Macon Leary with family.'
Rose gave him a polite, puzzled smile, and Macon suggested that she and Charles went to put the groceries away, rather than staning there and holding them. He was afraid that Julian was about to go into his 'Macon Leary' routine. Ever since they had first met, Julain seemed to think Macon was an amusing oddity, someone who was not quite in touch with the modern world.
they had met about twelve years ago, when Macon, wanting to escape from the boredom of the bottle-cap fatory, was trying to become a journalist. He wrote a piece for a local nespaper about trip to Washington, telling readers how foreign the city seewmed, and how to make themselves fee. they were back home in Baltimore. Julian had called him the next day, with the plan for the Accident tourist guidebook - guidebooks for people who would rather be at home in their own living rooms.
macon went to get the work he had done on the new guide for England. 'It's nearly finished, You can take all this, and I'll send the last chapters as soon as I've finished.'
'Good. After this I want to star on the U.S. again.'
Macon sighed. 'So soon?' He thought wearily of yet more trips to Boston and Atlanta and Chicago. . .
'Things are changing every minute, Macon, And who wants to buy an out-of-date guidebook?' Julian said