He was interrupted by the chatter of the radiation counter. Light splashed in through the tiny ports in a brilliant flare.
"Well, we won't," said Barden helplessly.
"Won't what?"
"Ever catch up with it! Not where it's gone!"
"So—?"
"So we've solved that problem," he said bitterly. "Your informant was right. From what the counter says, that was a vicious number. Well, I guess I am licked, finally. I admit it."
"Somehow," said Edith solemnly, "I know I should feel elated. But I am not. Fact of the matter is, I am ashamed that there is a portion of my brain that tells me that I am proven correct. I ... fervently wish it were not so."
"Thanks," he said. "I wish but one thing."
"What?"
"I'd have preferred to have been aboard that crate!"