He paused, looked up into the sky, eyes straining. Was the object growing larger? He ought to measure its distance. Actually, he lacked the spirit to add that trouble to the others. His mind slid back to greater immediacies.
Morale, at least, was high. The men seemed to enjoy being out Saturnway. They were the first humans to penetrate this far, the first to pass the asteroids, the first to see Jupiter like a glowing pebble to the naked eye, the first to see Saturn—like that.
He didn’t think fifty practical, case-hardened, shell-snatching Scavengers would take time to feel that sort of emotion. But they did. And they were proud.
Two men and a half-buried ship slid up the moving horizon as he walked.
He called crisply, “Hello, there!”
Rioz answered, “That you, Ted?”
“You bet. Is that Dick with you?”
“Sure. Come on, sit down. We were just getting ready to ice in and we were looking for an excuse to delay.”
“I’m not,” said Swenson promptly. “When will we be leaving, Ted?”
“As soon as we get through. That’s no answer, is it?”