"I'll weigh her," the blonde offered.
Cornith shrugged. "It's okay with me. But when you claim you weigh a
hundred and twenty-three pounds, with no ounces lacking, I'm going to
do the weighing."
Lucy's cheeks took on a rosy shade. Apparently preoccupied with her
own thoughts, she made no reply. She followed the blonde girl out of
the room and Cornith sat on the edge of the desk to wait. He wished
now that he had not posed the problem. He could think of a thousand
reasons why it would be interesting to be married to such an intensely
alive creature. And he wasn't deceived about what were termed her bad
qualities. They were the result of a training pattern. They were not
her basic personality and they were not deeply ingrained. In fact, she
could be, and was, everything he wanted in a woman. He had made up his
mind to ask her to marry him even if she failed to solve the problem,
when she and the blonde returned.
* * * * *
There were faint beads of moisture on the lobes of Lucy's ears, and the
rose-colored dress hung awry. "Didn't have time to dry thoroughly, and
had to jump into my clothes. Hurry! We're going to be married. Right
now!"
"How much do you weigh?"
"One twenty-two, fourteen and three-quarter ounces. But I'll weigh one
twenty-three within twenty minutes."
Cornith shook his head. "Stubborn," he told himself. "Bluffing. Lying.
I ought to teach her a lesson."
"I'm going to put a clause in the ceremony," he said aloud, "that if
you don't weigh exactly a hundred and twenty-three pounds, we're not
legally married."
"You're so clever," she smiled. "I was going to do that myself."
"Game, anyway," Cornith mused, as he followed her hurriedly out to the
chute and up to the roof.
"We'll get married and then you can weigh me," she said. "And if I
don't weigh one twenty-three--" Her brow puckered. "Gee! I hope I've
got it figured right."
"If you don't weigh a hundred and twenty-three, it won't be legal,"
Cornith insisted. "I'm going to put in that clause."
A look of pain showed in her features for an instant, then it was gone
and she led the way to a sky-taxi.
"There's a hurry-up marrying place ten minutes away," she said. "Same
altitude. Near sea level. We can get married in a hurry there."