"What effect will that have on the mission? He has only so much fuel!"
"He can waste thirty seconds. After that he is cutting himself short on the leg home."
"The wobble stopped," Major Gormely said quickly.
It was true. The course was slightly erratic but Ackerson had the Starfrost back under control. Wade wiped the back of his hand over his lips. Suddenly he felt tired and old. He wanted to sit down. "Keep trying on the radio, Mike," he said.
He walked over to the small table with the television set on it. He switched it off. He didn't want to look at that empty sand. He lighted another cigarette. Then he reached inside his blouse and withdrew the letter Ackerson had left for him. He didn't want to read it. For the first time he had felt close to the blond man ... felt sorry for him. The letter could say something to change that.
"Why don't you read it, Wade?" the Secretary said.
Wade looked up quickly. The Secretary was smiling with that know-all look of his. Wade reached in his pocket and brought out the pack of cigarettes. Then he caught himself. But the older man hadn't missed the one smoldering in the ashtray.
A tight smile creased Wade's face. He felt like a small boy caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "I know a nice quiet spot in upper New York. Phonecia! There's a nice trout stream beside the only hotel. The people are simple and tolerant. And there is a small, private bar where a man can really relax. I think I'll go up there for a few years when this is all over."
"Now you're reading my mind," the Secretary said.
They both laughed.