Alice looked up with a startled expression as Jock Norton came through the ladder hatch into the central cabin of the lifeship.
"But isn't—ah—aren't you—" She let her voice trail away because she didn't quite know how to finish.
He laughed. "I put enough reserve in the tank to take care of the elderly Napoleon. Look, Alice, I want to talk to you without his guff on the side."
"About what?" she asked. "Or shouldn't I ask?" The recent shower and tubbing of her underclothing had given the girl a feeling of confidence.
"About me. You. You and I. Us, you know."
"What can I say?"
He blurted, "What the hell's wrong with me?"
"Why, I—"
"Nuts," he snapped. "I'm not asking you for an explanation."
"Then why put it that way?"