He called out to a constable in an adjacent room: Sighing, Scott passed his handkerchief across the desk and stood up. His answer set the youngster off worse than before. ‘Science fiction,' the big sergeant answered with feeling, ‘is that part of a policeman's lot called "desk-duty"-when crazy lost kids walk into the station in tears to mess up said policeman's life!‘ Now the kid had an inquisitive look on his face. A ‘nut,' Scott decided-but nevertheless a nut in trouble. In any case, the boy was obviously far too worried to be flippant. 'Dad's a snarker,' the answer came quite spontaneously, without any visible attempt at deceit or even flippancy. ‘What does your father do, son? He's a science-fiction writer, eh?- And you're next in a long line?' ‘A "buzz"?' Scott could feel the first twinges of one of his bilious headaches coming on, and so decided to change the subject. ‘No, I don't know!' The policeman shook his head, trying to control his frown. You know…?' The boy looked as puzzled as Sergeant Scott, to say nothing of accusing. ‘No, it's not a place! A longcar is…well, a longcar! Like a buzz but longer, and it goes on the longcar lanes. ‘Is that some place on the north-east coast?' ‘Longcar?' Sergeant Scott cut in, frowning. ‘It's "Eenland!" We came down on holiday from Sunderpool by longcar, and-'
‘No, I've told you,' the kid started to cry again. ‘Now: you say you came down with your father from…from Sunderpool? That's in England?‘
‘All right, let's not start that again.' The policeman put up quieting hands. This town looks like Mondon- but it's not! And…and before I came in here I passed a store called Woolworths-but it should have been "Wolwords"!‘ ‘It's true,' the pallid, red-eyed nine-year-old insisted, hysteria in his voice. Right up until ten minutes ago his intuition had seemed for once to have let him down. Sergeant Scott had known-had been instinctively ‘aware' all day-that this was going to be one of those shifts. But look, son, we've had lost kids in here before, often, and they didn't try on all this silly stuff about names and spellings and all!‘ You're staying with your dad here in the city at a hotel-you went sightseeing and you got separated-I accept all that. ‘All right, all right!' Sergeant Scott noisily submitted.