"Easy. A coast-guard cutter saw us and picked us up about ten miles
out."
"Gladney," she said quickly, "you've got to help me clear Rat. We've
got to ... why Gladney, you don't mean they got him...?"
"_They_ didn't get him. _Earth_ did. Don't you remember what he said
about Earth being a nice place for us? Centaurians can't endure Earth's
gravity and atmosphere; the Centaurian Embassy is very specially built,
and all Centaurians come to Earth in what are virtually fish bowls.
"Rat was beginning to die even as we dove for the water."
Patti Gray stared at him a moment in frozen horror, then buried her
face in the pillow.
"Some day, he will be remembered, Miss Gray," Gladney whispered. "Some
day, after all the bitterness over Ganymede is forgotten, they'll
remember _why_ Rat left his post, and they'll remember how he drove."