Slap! He batted her across the cheek with his open hand and she
staggered from the blow. "No back talk, young lady! Now, git!"
The trucker half rose from his seat, his fists clenched, but it was
over too quickly for him to intervene. And after all, he reflected
later while eating the pradolan roast, the man was her father.
* * * * *
With some misgivings, Brack checked into the hotel. It was a tiny
installation--perhaps nine or ten rooms. His own cubicle was a drab
affair, with neither entertainment screen nor sleep-inducer.
He had just tested the 7/8G-bed with disgust when there was a buzz at
the door. It was Esther, holding some linens.
"They have you doing everything around here," Brack said with empathy.
"What are these?"
"Towels. You use them after you wash."
"Boy, this sure is ancient!"
Esther's eyes betrayed deep torment. "I know. I would do anything to
get away from this place."
She put the towels in a rack. The trucker was lying on the bed,
contemplating the girl's deft, graceful movements.
"Listen," he said, "why wait for a passenger ship? Why not arrange
secretly with one of the cargo ships that stop here? I know if I was
inbound--"
"Don't even say it!" she expostulated. "It's very kind of you, but
certainly you've heard of the Pledge Act? My father could prosecute
any cargo ship, no matter where it landed in the planets. You know,
unlicensed transport of people."
She paused to look at herself in a mirror above the washstand. Brack's
eyes were on her bare, marble-white shoulders, her finely sculptured
bosom. She sighed.
"No, my only chance is to get away from the Dryodean System altogether.
If I go to another star--where the Pledge Act wasn't even heard of--"
She brushed back her long blond hair with an unconscious gesture, like
a maiden getting out of a degravity pool.
Brack said thoughtfully: "Esther, if you're really determined to get
away from here, maybe I can help you. I'm taking a cargo to Hesdin.
Your old man couldn't reach you there, or prove anything against me,
either."
The girl's moonstone eyes flared up in hope, but she hesitated. "I
don't have very much money. I couldn't make it worth your while,
financially."
"That part is unimportant. The thing for you to consider is the
situation on Hesdin-2. It's a new colony; life there is pretty
primitive."