He acquiesced. We descended to the lower room of the turret and
clambered down the spider ladder to the upper deck level. The head of
the arriving incline was near us. Preceded by two carriers who were
littered with hand luggage, George Prince was coming up the incline.
He was closer now. I recognized him from the type we had seen in
Halsey's office.
And then, with a shock, I saw it was not so. This was a girl coming
aboard. An arc light over the incline showed her clearly when she was
half way up. A girl with her hood pushed back; her face framed in
thick black hair. I saw now it was not a man's cut of hair; but long
braids coiled up under the dangling hood.
Dr. Frank must have remarked my amazed expression. "Little beauty,
isn't she?"
"Who is she?"
We were standing back against the wall of the superstructure. A
passenger was near us--the Martian whom Dr. Frank had called Miko. He
was loitering here, quite evidently watching this girl come aboard.
But as I glanced at him, he looked away and casually sauntered off.
The girl came up and reached the deck. "I am in A22," she told the
carrier. "My brother came aboard a couple of hours ago."