Question! his mind demanded: Is this reality?
Answer: Of course. What else?
I've been too long away from cities, he thought. Too many silent nights in the desert, too many high flights in cold blue air. Too long away from Glory?
He felt guilty and depressed at the thought. It wasn't the way for a man to feel. Not before the great adventure. Still, he couldn't avoid an almost homesick longing for the deep darkness of the desert and the silver ship waiting there.
Soon, he thought. Three days; three days and a few hours.
He felt a tug at his arm.
"Pete!" Glory was smiling up at him, half-aggrieved, half-loving. He looked again at the garishly painted sign.
RIDE THE ROCKET!
"Let's ride it, Pete," Glory said. "Let's!"
There was something in her smile that touched him. Pride? That, and love and youth. To her, he was the man. For her, and for all the world. The one who was going to reach out beyond the far horizon and touch the sky and bring back a pot of gold for everyone.