“Well, Chase, you’ve said some hard things about me, but I don’t mind what you are saying now.”
Asher turned once or twice, somewhat in the manner of a dog seeking a better form in the grass, and then sat up for good.
“I don’t seem able to sleep in this queer place. I think I’ll get up and take a look at Charlie Yerkes’ stars.”
So up he got, and dressed, and went out into the night. Ten minutes passed. Through the door of the tent Chase could see him standing immobile. Then Chase wrapped a blanket around himself and emerged from the tent.
“Asher, do I intrude?”
“No, I hoped you’d come. You know their names, and I don’t.”
Chase glanced up. “The names don’t amount to much. That one up there that they call Arcturus is eleven hundred billion miles away. You can’t buy it, and it doesn’t care how rich you are. But almost all the stars in Orion are helium stars, and Marvin has the notion that some day we shall loose the bands of Orion within the stuff called lead. That will be a bigger achievement, a million times over, than anything Charlie Yerkes ever imagined.”
“I wonder whose name will be associated with that supreme triumph?”
Asher was silent.
“My friend, you stand here under the stars and have no notion of how fast the starlight in your gas-engines is failing.”