Then, when he decided that it was safe enough to pause and tell her how to manage better, the sight of her outraged scowl through the face-plate made him think better of it.
By the time we reach the ship, she'll have learned, he consoled himself.
It was a long mile, even at the pace human muscles could achieve on Ganymede. They took one short rest, during which Tolliver was forced to explain away the dangers of slides and volcanic puffballs. He admitted to having exaggerated slightly. In the end, they reached the spaceship.
There seemed to be no one about. The landing dome had been collapsed and stored, and the ship's airlock port was closed.
"That's all right," Tolliver told the girl. "We can get in with no trouble."
It was when he looked about to make sure that they were unobserved that he caught a glimpse of motion back toward the city. He peered at the spot through the dim light. After a moment, he definitely recognized the outline of a tractor breasting a rise in the ground and tilting downward again.
"In fact, we have to get in to stay out of trouble," he said to Betty.
He located the switch-cover in the hull, opened it and activated the mechanism that swung open the airlock and extended the ladder.
It took him considerable scrambling to boost the girl up the ladder and inside, but he managed. They passed through the airlock, fretting at the time required to seal, pump air and open the inner hatch; and then Tolliver led the way up another ladder to the control room. It was a clumsy trip in their spacesuits, but he wanted to save time.