Captain Varms, disturbed by the insistence of the buzzers, stumbled into the control room. His eyeballs were red with heavy slumber and his hair rumpled. He picked up the telescribe tape and sleepily looked at it.
“Ah,” he said, as the import of the last item waked him more fully. “This Estrella Verde looks good. How are we heading?”
Estrella VerdeHe scowled when he swung the periscope forward and saw the ruddy dot of Mars ahead. Then, perceiving the laboring of the Kwasind under the burden of her tow, he nipped the instrument around so he could look astern. He wanted to know what was on the line and Sam told him.
Kwasind“Yes, yes,” snapped Varms, testily, “but what’s in it for us? Oh! Some more of your damned sentimentality, eh? Well, here’s the answer to that.”
Before either Sam or B
