A shadow flicked across Joe's young features. Then he grinned easily.
"Why not? I'm no longer safe among men--"
"But you _can't_ go alone!" she stormed. "You--Father! _I'm going with
him!_"
"Barbara!" Bowen shouted. "What on earth--"
"Not on earth!" she cried, leaping forward. She landed in the narrow
airlock, thrusting Joe back into its metal confines. She whirled back
to her father, grabbing the door's levers to steady herself. "Not
for long!" she added breathlessly. "Don't you see, father? He has to
go--but he _can't go alone_! Someone has to be with him, to take care
of him, to see that he eats his meals and--and I'm going with him!
Goodbye, father! We'll--we'll be back!"
And tugging, panting, she swung the heavy door closed. It swung flush
into the smooth, metal hull.
James Bowen stood transfixed, on the edge of the clearing. Behind him
was the small, white house with the red roof and the little garden
in front, as he watched the sleek, torpedo-shaped spaceship rise
effortlessly from the ground and go skimming across the lake, climbing
higher and higher until it dwindled to a silvery speck in the clear
blue sky and vanished.
Then Bowen's face suddenly took on a new cast. There was a grim,
satisfied light in his eyes as he followed the faint vapor trail up
into the heavens. Slowly he reached a hand in his coat pocket. From it
he withdrew a small metallic object. It was shaped oddly like a pocket
radio, but of a more advanced and intricate design.
He depressed a small switch and the object glowed. About him there
was the snap and crackle of powerful electrical forces. Bowen's voice
suddenly sounded.
"Myytnor Skurle reporting to Headquarters on project Time Stress."
There was a blue crackle in the air about him. Then a distant voice
intoned: "What is your report?"
He stared up at the sky, smiling, now. "I have personally seen Joe
Linger on his way. My daughter accompanies him on the experiment. She
will remain with the Earthman for his lifetime, keeping us informed as
events progress. I believe she is attracted to him--however, that is a
side issue, the main project having been successfully executed. Shall I
return to Sol III?"
Again the blue crackle. "Our compliments, Myytnor Skurle. You may
return."
The crackle faded and he made a further adjustment on the object he
held. The smile was still on his face as he gazed into the sky after
the space ship--and vanished....