"N ... no, nothing." As he spoke, the minute hand moved again and Tee
started nervously, upsetting his drink. He sat for a moment watching the
bartender mop up the spreading liquid, then abruptly got up and tossed a
half-credit piece on the bar. He hurried outside, steeling himself to
keep from running. He paused just outside the door.
_Stand still_, he told himself. _Mustn't run! Mustn't run! No use
anyway. If I only knew when. If I just could stop and rest. If I had the
time ... Time! Time! That's what I need. Light-years of time ... But
when? When? If only I could be sure._ He looked up slowly at the murky
canopy of clouds. _If I only knew when!_ He looked indecisively up and
down the field, then squaring his shoulders resolutely, set out for the
administration building.
At this hour the office was deserted except for a wispy-haired little
man who sat at a desk fussing with some papers. He looked up
questioningly as Tee came in.
"Is my ship re-charged and provisioned?" asked Tee.
"Uh, what's the name please?"
"Tee Ormond. I own the _Starduster_."
The clerk pulled a card from a file on the desk and studied it. "Ah,
yes, the _Starduster_."
"I'd like to pay my bill and clear the _Starduster_ for immediate
departure."
"Uh, very good, Mr. Ormond." He consulted the card again. "That'll be
fourteen hundred and eleven credits." He beamed. "We included a case of
Ruykeser's Concentrate, compliments of the management." He handed a
circular to Tee. "This is a list of our ports and facilities on other
planets. Our accommodations are the finest, and we carry a complete line
of parts." He smiled professionally.
"What about my key?" asked Tee, pulling out his wallet.
"Uh, let's see, number thirty-seven." The clerk started for a numbered
board hanging on the wall. He never got there.
Tee whipped a stun-gun from inside his jacket and waved it at the
clerk's back. It caught him in mid-stride, and unbalanced, he crashed
heavily to the floor. Tee glanced briefly down as he stepped over the
paralyzed form, avoiding the accusing eyes, and snatched the magnetic
key off the hook. He forced himself to walk calmly across the field
toward the hangar that housed the _Starduster_.
A uniformed guard stopped him at the hangar door. "May I see your
clearance, sir?" he asked, politely.
Tee hesitated for a moment. "Oh, I'm just going to get something out of
my ship," he said, smoothly. "The clerk said it was roj."
"The clerk said? But he can't--" The guard tensed. "Mind if I check,
sir? Orders, you know." He bent his head slightly as he pressed a knob
on his wrist radio. As his eyes turned downward, Tee swung the stun-gun
in an arc that ended on the back of the guard's head. As he leaped into
the _Starduster_ he was sorry for a moment that he hadn't had time to
recharge the gun, and hoped he hadn't struck too hard.
[Illustration]
* * * * *