"Well, she started around that spin deck after me. I punched into the
computer the maximum order for spin reduction, and started around the
spin deck to keep away from her. Beulah grabbed hold of the computer
with her nose--for support, I guess--when she got over there. She
yanked the whole thing clear off the deck, breaking its cable. _Crucis_
lurched once.
"And I ended up in the compost heap.
"With Beulah way off center, and with that last wild burst from the
jets before they cut off, the ship was gyrating in a way that made
_my_ stomach uneasy. It didn't seem to bother Beulah, though. She just
wanted to be near me. I got out of there fast, and went up onto the
bridge.
"The main computer was out, of course. I couldn't interrogate the
auxiliary computer remotely, so I had to fly that wobbling ship to a
stop by the seat of my pants. I did it, too.
"Then I went back to the cargo compartment and hauled Beulah into the
center. She didn't make any more trouble--she was sorry for what she
had done.
"The coordinates the Prinkip had given me looked almighty close to a
big pond that I didn't recall having seen before, but I was too busy
making a landing with minimum fuel to ask him about it. I finally
fought her down safely with one leg of my tripod actually in the pond,
and clouds of steam rising up around _Delta Crucis_. I call it a pond.
But on a normal-size planet it would be a good big lake.
"Anyway, I had made it safely to Penguin, and my elephant was alive and
healthy. I congratulated Beulah when I untied her, and then I took her
outside to meet the Prinkip. I think I was a little proud of myself,
and of Beulah, and of _Delta Crucis_, too."
* * * * *
I was so stirred by hearing about this successful conclusion of Captain
Hannah's mission that I shook his hand warmly and ordered a round of
drinks for everyone in the room. Fortunately, it was not very crowded
at the time.
"That's not quite the end of the story," said the skipper. "You see,
the Prinkip had built the pond to keep Beulah in. He had somehow gotten
the idea that I was bringing him a whale."