Lucifer's Hammer by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle:
from the chapter "Hot Fudge Tuesdae: Three"
He whistled as he worked. Spray a book with insect spray, drop it in a
bag, add some mothballs and seal it. Put it in another bag and seal
it. Another. The packages piled up on the floor, each a book sealed in
four plastic envelopes. Presently he got up to put on some gloves. He
came back with a fan and set it blowing past his ears from behind.
That ought to keep the insecticide off his hands and out of his lungs.
[...]
He wheeled a wheelbarrow in from the garage. It was brand-new, the
labels still on it. He resisted the temptation to overload it. He
donned raincoat, boots, hat. He wheeled the books out through the
garage.
Tujunga's modern sewage system was relatively new. The
territory was dotted with abandoned septic tanks, and one of these was
behind Dan Forrester's house. It was uphill. You can't have
everything.
The wind screamed. The rain tasted both salty and gritty.
The lightning guided him, but badly. Dan wrestled the wheelbarrow
uphill, looking for the septic tank. He finally found it, full of rain
because he'd removed the lid yesterday evening. The books went in in
handfuls. He pushed them into the aged sewage with a plumber's helper,
gently. Before he left he broke open an emergency flare and left it on
the upended lid.
He made his second trip in a bathing suit.
From the same chapter:
They sat at the kitchen table. "We don't have long," Mark said. "I
think we saw your raiders."
"They killed Frank Stoner," Joanna
added.
"Who?" Harvey demanded. "What did they look like? Can we track
the bastards?"
"Tell you later," Mark said. "First we get packed up
and moving."
"You'll tell me now."
"No."
Joanna had rested the shotgun
against the table. Harvey picked it up, calmly, and checked the loads.
He pulled one outside hammer back. His firearms training was
excellent: He didn't point it at anyone. "I want to know," Harvey
Randall said.
"They were bikers," Joanna said quickly. "Half a dozen
of them riding escort with a big blue van. We saw them turn out of Fox
Lane."
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