The Wilde Bunch. Barbara Boswell

roaring on the screen.

      A number of very scantily clad young women were running in circles screaming, while a gang of menacing young toughs in black leather terrorized them. It was a veritable festival of blood and mayhem, and Clay and Autumn watched raptly.

      “Hey, kids, what’s on?” asked Mac.

      “A really good movie,” young Clay replied, without turning his attention from the set. “Biker Vampires Go To College.”

      “Ah, an educational film,” Mac remarked dryly.

      “The biker vampires got into the sorority house and hid in the attic till nighttime,” Autumn explained. “When I go to college, I’m keeping a cross and some holy water right beside my bed, just in case. Ohhh!” She hid her face in the pillow as one particularly graphic scene flashed across the screen.

      “Won’t that give them nightmares?” Kara murmured. “It’s so gory, it’s sort of making me queasy.”

      “It’s just fake blood,” Clay piped up reassuringly. “There aren’t any real vampires.”

      “Sometimes real killers pretend to be vampires and drink people’s blood, though,” Autumn interjected with relish.

      Mac winced. “Turn that off and come here and meet Kara. She’s a—uh—a friend of mine.”

      When neither child moved to do his bidding, Mac crossed the room and switched off the set. Two small scowling faces turned to Kara. Clay’s was covered with drying, crusting lesions which had been swabbed with some pinkish lotion.

      “Did I mention that Clay is recovering from chicken pox?” Mac asked a little too heartily. “He was out of school all last week, and will probably have to miss most or all of this week, too.”

      “And you need someone to stay with him while you’re working,” Kara surmised. No wonder he was desperate! Poor Mac had been cooped up with a sick child for a week and was facing the prospect of still another. She was beginning to understand his impulsive action in sending for a wife candidate. She felt genuine sympathy for his plight, but that was certainly not grounds for marriage!