"No, not you. They've got to be looking for you. But they probably just
think I'm an old fool"--he laughed--"and maybe they're right. At any
rate, at least I can go down there and wander around a bit. Everybody
knows I'm harmless. As long as it doesn't look like I'm going anywhere,
I don't think they'll bother with me. At least not right now. If
they're busy with the countdown, they're not going to trouble with a
deranged old man. I'm small potatoes."
"Isaac, you're a very big potato." She wanted to hug him. "But you're
also just about the most wonderful man I know. I love you to death.
Just be careful, please?"
Now it was his turn to smile, the old face showing its wrinkles more
than ever. "I'm not dead yet. And with any luck I won't be for a
while." He looked at his watch. "By the way, when do you think those
friends of his are likely to show up?"
'They didn't say, but I expect they might get here in a couple of
hours."
"Well, Dr. Andros, we're not licked yet. With any luck there won't even
be a launch. Maybe the weather. In the meantime, why don't I check the
empty storage bays in Launch. Just a hunch." He rose and kissed her,
then began to shuffle down the hill.