out

blinked painfully

right back in through the aft engine lock. Vernet stayed outside to see what would happen upstairs. How do you feel now, Grevan?”
“I feel exactly all right!” he stated and discovered that, aside from the fact that every molecule in him still seemed to be quivering away from contact with every other one, he did, more or less. “Don’t I look it?”
“Sure, sure,” said Freckles soothingly. “You look fine!”
“And what was that with the drives again? Oh— I remember!”
They’d caught on, of course, just as he’d known they would! That the all-important thing was to keep the Dominator from getting the information it had gained back to CG.
“How bad a mess is it?”
“Vernet said it might take a month to patch up. It wouldn’t have been so bad if somebody hadn’t started the fuel cooking for a moment.”
He swore in horror. “Are you lame-brains trying to blow a hole through the planet?”
“Now, that’s more like it!” Freckles said, satisfied. “They’ve got it all under control, anyhow. But I’ll go down and give them a hand. You’d better take it easy for an hour or so!”
“Hold on, Freck!” he said, as she started for the door.
“Yes?”
“I’d just like to find out how big a liar you are. How many members are there to this Group?”
Freckles looked at him for a moment and then came back and sat down on the couch beside him. She pushed the white hat to the back of her head, indicating completely frank talk.
“Now as to that,” she said frowning, “nobody really ever lied to you about it. You just never asked. Anyway, there’ve been ten ever since we left Rhysgaat.”
Grevan swore again, softly this time. “How did you get her past the CG observers at the spaceport?”
“We detailed Klim and Eliol to distract the observers, and Priderell came in tucked away in a load of supplies. Nothing much to e