“She always does, Mrs. Ross,” Eddie said, pretending great injury. “Don’t know why I keep coming over here.”
“I know,” Teena spoke up quickly. “It’s because we’re friends, that’s why.”
Eddie knew she was right. They were friends—good friends. They had been ever since Eddie’s family had moved to Oceanview and his father had become head of the college’s atomic-science department. In fact, their parents were close friends, also. Teena’s father was chief engineer for the Acme Aviation Company, one of the coast town’s largest manufacturing concerns.
“Well, I’ll be glad to finish them, Eddie,” Mrs. Ross offered. “I know how boys detest doing dishes.”
“Oh, I don’t really mind, Mrs. Ross,” Eddie said. “Besides, Teena’s making sandwiches to take with us.”
“Another prospecting trip?” Teena’s mother glanced at the Geiger counter which Eddie had set carefully on the dinette table.
“I still think there must be some uranium around here,” Eddie insisted. “And we can find it if anyone can.”
“I agree,” Mrs. Ross said. “But even if you don’t find it, you both seem to enjoy your hikes.”
“Oh, yes, it’s fun, Mother,” Teena replied, wrapping wax paper around a sandwich. “Guess I’m ready. I’ve got a bone for Sandy, too.”
“Don’t go too far out from town,” Mrs. Ross cautioned, as Eddie picked up the Geiger counter. “And stick near the main roads. You know the rules.”