Read "Pattern for Conquest" by George O. Smith online for free on Textopian. Full text with search, annotations, highlights, and AI-powered reading aids.
"It was all sort of whirligig, like," explained Patricia. "We didn't get home until along toward the not-so-wee large hours of the morning."
"I know," responded her father dryly. "The whole gang of you were raiding the icebox at five."