"Over my dead body. He'd take too much weight. And I don't want to get mixed up with any more Chameleon Tigers. They might not all have such nice, sad eyes. If we bring Fido on here, we drop him off at the nearest zoo. I won't go near YAP. One Fido's enough."
"We ought to do something for him, Ed."
"Thanking him's too much. I'm not going to cart purple spheres around the galaxy. We'd be the laughing stock of the century. He stays here!"
He punched a button fiercely and swung the ship into a sharp curve. "Where'll we set? This place all looks the same."
"Just put her down," advised Arch. "I'll bet Melancholy gets there in ten minutes."
"How much?"
"Fifty."
"You're on." The ship whirled down from the sky and slid along the sand. Archie opened the escape hatch and waited. Five minutes later the purple sphere mounted a nearby rise and sidled down into the valley. It halted fifty feet from the ship and watched Archie with sad eyes.
"You lose, Ed," announced Archie.
"Damn monster," snorted Ed. "Thank it and let's get out of here."