Page 13 - The Perpetrations of Captain Kaga

Unloading the Warehouse of Nim

“Sir!” he said, raising his voice above the hubbub. “Could you brief
us on the situation as it now stands?”
Colonel Lotfalla fixed him with a reptilian stare. “I will tell you this:
an investigation will be made into everyone’s activities during the past
two weeks. If I discover that one of you is responsible for this mess,
that individual will be up for court-martial.”
To Kaga’s relief, another cadet kept up the questioning. “But, sir,
what is going on out there?”
Lotfalla shifted his petrifying gaze to the new interlocutor. “The
Nworg economy has been disrupted. The carefully balanced cycle of
Appliance collection and distribution is in shambles. A certain group
of Cultivators has located a source of old collected Appliances and
has stolen a large quantity. The Rulers say that the culprits live next
to our base. Therefore we are under suspicion. That is all.
Dismissed.”
As the cadet milled about the corridor, Kaga made his way over to
Lugo. “Come up to my room,” he said out of the corner of his
mouth, in passing. He continued on to his quarters and waited,
tapping his fingers on his desk. Lugo finally slipped furtively through
the door and closed it quickly.
“Now tell me what happened,” demanded Kaga.
“Well, it sort of got out of hand,” began Lugo reluctantly. “I had
installed my jukebox in my room, and was enjoying it immensely,
when I realized you were right, that it would be impossible to conceal
it from Customs when we got back to Radnelac III.”
“That’s not why I objected!”
“No? Anyway, I decided to get rid of the thing before the end of
the term. I went down one night to the motor pool to borrow a car
again, but none was available—a bit of bad luck! I didn’t know what
to do. I had the jukebox concealed in a garbage bag; it wasn’t very
large or heavy, you know. As I was walking back to the dormitory, I
noticed the Cultivator I had been interviewing before; he was
pedaling a sort of cycle-wagon down the road to his home.”
“I hailed him and we had a chat; luckily I had brought along my
Languex. I convinced him to carry me and my sack out to the
warehouse. I didn’t tell him anything about our destination or why I
was going there, and I promised him a whole kilo of pickled peppers

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