Stardust Read Online Free Page B

propping him up and hiding him from the rest of the car. “Do you need a bathroom?”
    Lasner shook his head. “Heart. Get me out of here.” His mouth tight, a grimace.
    “Don’t move. I’ll get a chair.”
    But Lasner was already stepping forward, leaning on Ben. “Next car,” he said hoarsely. “Before he sees.”
    They started toward the other end, away from the crowd moving into the dining car, away from the restrooms, each step heavy as lead, his whole weight falling on Ben. Only the bartender seemed aware of them, a blank expression taking in another one-too-many. At the end of the car, another gasp and shudder as Ben fumbled with the door handle.
    “I’ll get a doctor.”
    Lasner sank into a porter’s jump seat, his face tight with strain. “No, make some excuse,” he said, short of breath, waving toward the dining car. “Make some excuse. With Katz. Before he comes looking. Then come back.”
    Ben opened the top of the window, a rush of air.
    “Lean back,” he said. He started to undo Lasner’s tie. But did it matter? It occurred to Ben for the first time, a moment of panic, that Lasner might really be in trouble. The chimes went again. In the next car over, people were sitting down to dinner.
    “I have pills,” Lasner said, as if that answered anything. “Come back. After.” He looked over at Ben, eyes large. “Please.”
    The word, so completely unexpected, had the force of an order. Ben nodded.
    “Just try to breathe normally. Don’t force it, okay?” Which came from where? An old first aid manual? How to tie a tourniquet.
    He waited until Lasner had taken a breath—steady, not a rattle— then hurried back into the club car. And what excuse could he make? An agent expecting dinner. Ben looked into the dining car. Not there yet. No one he recognized, in fact. The Major must be hosting the bond drive table in the other dining car. Maybe a private party. Behind him, he heard the bathroom door close with a whoosh.
    “There you are. Sol asked me to wait. Look, he’s sorry but he has to beg off dinner. Miss Goddard came back for him. You know Sol, hecan’t say no to her.” This all in a rush, as if he were short of breath. “He said he’ll make it up to you. It’s just—”
    “What? Just now ?”
    Ben shrugged. “I think she didn’t want to be alone with the Major. Sol couldn’t say no.”
    “No,” Katz said, evidently used to excuses.
    “He said he’d make it up to you.”
    He left Katz standing in the dining car, wondering how, and raced back through the club car, pushing past the crowd at the bar. Lasner hadn’t moved, leaning against the window, holding on to the rail underneath, still white.
    “All right, now let’s get you a doctor.”
    “Next one,” Lasner said, pointing down the corridor toward a drawing room car, presumably his own. He leaned again on Ben. “No porters. They tip them.”
    “Who?” Ben said as they started to move. Was Lasner becoming confused? Did that happen?
    “Polly. All of them. They tip the porters.”
    Meaning Paulette? Ben glanced at him, then let it go. “The pills are in your room?”
    Lasner nodded, clutching the handrail as they moved down the car. “What did you tell him?”
    “That Miss Goddard sent for you.”
    “He buy it?”
    “I think so. You shouldn’t even be moving.”
    “So they can lay me out in the club car? We’re almost there.”
    It was a two-chair drawing room, top of the line, the settee already extended and made up, crisp white sheets folded over at the head. Ben lay him down, taking off his tie, his shoes, then suddenly went shy, not ready to draw the pants off the bird-like legs.
    “Dopp kit,” Lasner said, pointing to the bathroom.
    Ben rummaged through the leather case and pulled out a brown pill bottle. Hillcrest Pharmacy. As needed. He splashed some water in a glass.
    “These?”
    Lasner took two, then lay back, half closing his eyes, as if he expected instant results. Ben stood for a minute,