Free The Planet Savers Including the Waterfall by Marion Zimmer Bradley Page A

but as she looked at him he began to stir, and sniffed at her.
           "So you sleep too, still?"
           "I suppose the others are out in the clearing," Heather said, stirring. "Judy said she wanted to test some of the nuts on the trees for edible carbohydrates--I notice her test kits aren't here. How are you feeling, Marco?"
           "Better," he said, stretching. "I think maybe I get up for a minute today. Something in this air and sun, it does me good."
           "It's lovely," she agreed. She too was conscious of some extra sense of well-being and euphoria in the scented air. It must be the higher oxygen content .
           She stepped into the bright air, stretching like a cat in the sunshine.
           A clear picture came into her mind, bright and intrusive and strangely exciting; Rafe, drawing Camilla into his arms ... . "That's lovely," she said aloud, and breathed deeply, smelling the curious, somehow golden scent which seemed to fill the light warm wind.
           "What's lovely? You are," said Ewen, coming around the tent and laughing. "Come on, let's walk in the forest--"
           "Marco--"
           "Marco's better. Do you realize that with all these people I've hardly spoken to you alone since before the crash?"
           Hand in hand, they ran toward the trees; MacLeod, coming from the edge of the forest, his hands filled with ripe round clear greenish fruits, held out a handful.
 
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           His lips were dripping with their juice. "Here. They're marvelous"
           Laughing, Heather bit into the round smooth globe. It was bursting with sweet, fragrant juice; she ate it all, greedily, and reached for another. Ewen tried to pull it away.
           "Heather, you're mad, they haven't even been tested yet--"
           "I tested them," MacLeod laughed, "I ate half a dozen for breakfast and I feel wonderful! Say I'm psychic, if you like. They won't hurt you and they're chock full of every vitamin we know on Earth and a couple we don't! I know , I tell you!"
           He caught Ewen's eye, and the young doctor, a curious awareness growing in him, said slowly, "Yes. Yes, you do know, of course they're good. Just as those mushrooms--" he pointed to a greyish fungus growing on the tree, "are wholesome and full of protein, but those--" he pointed to an exquisitely-colored golden nut, "are deadly, two bites will give you a hell of a bellyache and half a cup will kill you--how the hell do I know all this?" He rubbed his forehead, feeling the odd itch through it all, and took a fruit from Heather.
           "Here, we'll all be crazy together then. Marvelous! Better than rations any day... where's Judy?"
           "She's all right," MacLeod said, laughing. I'm going off and look for some more fruits l"
           Marco Zabal lay alone in the shelter-tent, eyes closed, half-dreaming through closed lids of the sun on the Basque hills of his childhood. Far away in the forest it seemed that he heard singing, singing which seemed to go on, and on, high and clear and sweet. He got to his feet, not stopping to draw any garment about him, disregarding the warning pounding of his heart. An incredible glow of well-being and beauty seemed to surge through him. The sunlight was brilliant on the sloping clearing, the trees seemed to hang darkly and protectively like a beckoning roof, the flowers seemed to sparkle and glitter with a brilliance that was like gold, orange, blue; colors he had never seen before danced and sparkled before his eyes.
           Deep in the forest came the sound of singing, high, shrill, unbelievably sweet; the pipes of Pan, the lyre of  Orpheus,
 
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    the call of the sirens. He felt his weakness fade; his youth restored.
           Across the clearing he saw three of his companions, lying on the grass laughing, the girl kicking flowers into the air with her bare toes. He stood enraptured, watching her,