From the direction of the sick room came the sounds of three voices, each trying to outscream the other.

The substitute assistant listened to this for a while, and, as he did so, a new thought struck him.

He remembered a story he had read in a magazine years before.

He crossed to the pantry, found an empty bottle, rinsed it at the sink, stepped again to the pantry, and, entering it, closed the door behind him.

There he busied himself with the molasses jug, the soft-soap bucket, the oil can, the pepper shaker, and a few other utensils and their contents.