"This," punned Kingman, "will freeze 'em out!"
His final act before relaxing completely was to have the huge duplicator build a small but comfortable house, complete with furniture and an efficient heating plant. Then he settled down to wait for developments.
"So what brings you out to Venus Equilateral?" asked Don.
"Christmas," said Barney. "We—Christine—thought that it might be nice to spend Christmas with old friends in a climate less violent than Mars."
"Well, we're all tickled pink," nodded Arden.
"Frankly," grinned Jim Baler, "my charming sister has set her sights on your bachelor playmate."
"I think it is mutual," said Arden. "After all, Walt has had a lot of business to tend to on Mars. He used to use the beams to conduct business—in fact he still does most of it by communications when it isn't Mars—but give him three ten-thousandths of an excuse and he's heading for Canalopsis."
"I noted with interest that Christine was quite willing to help him work."
"Fat lot of work they'll accomplish."