"how are you feeling, boy?" it was kevin mcgann, the battered, unlit pipe clamped tightly between his teeth as he spoke.

steve sat propped up in a bed in the gordak's infirmary, his left leg wrapped in bandages from knee to ankle. "pretty good, i guess. kind of weak, but there's no pain."

"you're lucky the captain got you back here in time. four inches of your calf was cooked third degree, but she carried you back here soon enough to cut it away before deep decomposition, and spray on syntheplasm. you'll be as good as new in a week, and no scar, either. thanks to the captain, boy."

"yeah," steve admitted. "sure. but what i want to know is this: how did it happen?"

kevin shrugged his massive shoulders. "i won't make any accusations, boy, not without positive proof. but i took the liberty to examine your suit, and it looked to me like someone had punctured a small hole almost all the way through. the heat did the rest."

"you mean leclarc?"

"i never said that. but leclarc was the one who got the suits, so he—more than anyone—was in a position to do something like that. further than that i won't carry it. this is not an accusation."

"suits me," steve told him. "and thanks, kevin. but after this, frenchie had better watch his step. are we out in space again?"

"yes. passed brennschluss forty-eight hours ago."

"what?"

"sure. they had you doped up for two days, till the syntheplasm had a chance to set."

"how soon can i get out of bed?"

"depends. if you don't mind hobbling around on crutches, today probably. if you want to wait till you can walk, four or five days. what's your hurry, boy?"

"i've got to take care of that stone worm, remember?"

"say, that's right! no one knew what to do, so they suspended it in a deep freeze until you could go to work. a hideous brute, i might add."

"will you ask the doctor to give me some crutches? swell. first, though, i'd like a good meal. and listen, kevin—i guess teejay saved my life, at that. want to tell her i'd like to see her?"

"of course," said kevin, and left the white-walled infirmary, grinning from ear to ear.

by the time teejay arrived, steve was eating his first solid meal in two days. "hello," he said. he almost found himself adding, "captain"—but he checked the impulse just in time.

"mcgann tells me you're ready to get to work today."

"that's right."

"good. that stone worm won't stay in ice indefinitely—not when it lives on the sun-side of mercury."

"teejay, i want to—well, i want to thank you for saving my life."

the woman opened her cape, reached inside, took a pack of cigarettes from an inside pocket and puffed on one until it glowed. "don't thank me," she said coolly. "it really isn't necessary. you're the only extra-zoo man aboard, stedman, so we needed you. i'd have saved a valuable machine under the same circumstances."

"well, thanks anyway."

"there's one thing more, stedman. as far as i'm concerned, you haven't proven yourself yet. so the same conditions apply to our next landing point."

"where's that?"

"venus, of course. do you think i want to play hop-scotch all over the solar system? well, you finish your meal and give that stone worm a nice comfortable bubble to live in." and teejay departed.