"I didn't know that Triworld News was interested in the wedded life of the Channings. Why doesn't Triworld wait until we find out about it ourselves?"
"Triworld does not care to pry into the private life of the newly wed Channing family," laughed Doug. "We, and the rest of the system, do not give a damn whether Mrs. Channing calls you Bunny-bit or Sugar-pie—"
"Sweetums," corrected Arden with a gleam in her eye.
"—we've got something big to handle. I can't get a thing out of the gang at Canalopsis, they're all too busy worrying."
"And so you came here? What do you expect to get out of us? We're not connected in any way with Canalopsis."
"I know," said Doug, "but you do know space. Look, Channing, the Solar Queen has been missing since yesterday morning!"
Don whistled.
"See what I mean? What I want to know is this: What is your opinion on the matter? You've lived in space for years, on Venus Equilateral and you've had experience beyond anybody I can reach."
"Missing since yesterday morning," mused Channing. "That means trouble."
"That's what I thought. Now if you were running the spaceport at Canalopsis, what would your own private opinion be?"