"Oh, they're us, all right," Gefty said. "They'd have to be, wouldn't
they?"
"I suppose so. It seems a little confusing. But I was thinking. If you
send them a transmitter call ..."
Gefty shook his head. "The _Queen's_ transmitter isn't too hot, but it
might push a call as far as Evalee. Then we could arrange for a Com-Web
link-up there, and in another ten minutes or so ... but I don't think
we'd better."
"Why not?" Kerim demanded.
"Because we got through it all safely, so we're going to get through it
safely. But if we receive that message now and never go on to Maulbow's
moon ... you see? There's no way of knowing just what would happen."
Kerim looked hesitant, frowned. "I suppose you're right," she agreed
reluctantly at last. "So Mr. Maulbow will have to stay dead now. And
that janandra." After a moment she added pensively, "Of course, they
weren't really very nice--"
Gefty shivered. One of the things he'd learned from Maulbow's ravings
was the real reason he and Kerim had been taken along on the trip. He
didn't feel like telling Kerim about it just yet, but it had been solely
because of Maulbow's concern for his master's creature comforts. The
janandra could go for a long time without food, but after fasting for
several years on the moon, a couple of snacks on the homeward run would
have been highly welcome.
And the janandra was a gourmet. It much preferred, as Maulbow well knew,
to have its snacks still wriggling-fresh as it started them down its
gullet.
"No," Gefty said, "I couldn't call either of them really nice."
Transcriber's Note:
This etext was produced from _Analog_ September 1962. Extensive
research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on
this publication was renewed. Minor spelling and typographical
errors have been corrected without note.