Category: Pendulum

Extracts from Pendulum

Court of law

The presiding magistrate was Coates-Bender, a member of Rod’s Club. When the defending counsel began a long discourse on the contrition of the accused, he cut him short. ‘I don’t want to limit your freedom...

The lady of the house

The street was not unlike those in the Gostyn Estate, but older; built not long after the war and, he noticed, shoddily. There were cracks in several houses, including the one at whose door he...

Who are you spying for?

They caught him easily. One dropped back, while the other, passing him, slewed round to block his path. He stood, blinking, dazzled by the brightness. The one in front said: ‘It’s a Holy Robey.’ He...

Float him high

The Commander took over again. ‘That’s hard. You a creeping Jesus, and you never get to see the big man?’ His fingers moved to caress the blond boy, gently stroking along the line of his...

A strange and wonderful place

This was a strange and wonderful place. A canyon whose walls were the squared outlines of terraced houses. He saw things in the light from the street-lamp which he was passing, and stopped so that...

The bringer of death

The light of the next street-lamp. The pavement was a world, far below his probing eyes but each detail sharp. A burnt match, a flaw in the flagstone, a small insect travelling slowly across the...

A different weakness

‘How long have you known him?’ Her curiosity must have been strongly roused for her to put the direct question. Jane said: ‘Oh, a few months.’ ‘I should think he’s very different from your Professor.’...