"I must have needed sleep," Rick said weakly. Questions crowded into his mind. He asked the most important ones first. "How's the spacemonk? Did you get the Earthman?"
"The Prince is fine," John Gordon answered. "Yes, Rick, we got the Earthman. He gave himself away when we realized you were in the rocket. Now, no more questions. We'll be back again tomorrow and the doctor says we can talk more."
"Just one more question," Rick pleaded. He couldn't sleep without knowing. "Who is the Earthman?"
"Frank Miller."
And that was it, for the time being. Not until he was improved enough for Scotty and Gordon to spend most of the day with him did Rick get the whole story. They brought the spacemonk. The little creature petted Rick, then snuggled down and went to sleep against his side.
The landing had been cruel misfortune. The brakes were not strong enough to take the strain put on them. Worried because Rick had not signaled for a second time, Jerry had brought the rocket in faster than planned. Pegasus had buried its nose in the foothills.
Rick had suffered an amazing variety of bruises, coupled with internal damages, three broken ribs, and a dislocated right shoulder. On his right arm he had a permanent scar as a memento of the landing. A metal projection had given him a bad wound and cut an artery. He had lost considerable blood by the time the first-aid team was able to get him out and apply a tourniquet. He had also suffered concussion.
John Gordon described what had happened in the blockhouse.
"I just yelled your first message out loud. Jerry was staring at the radar screen at the time. He reached over and switched the equipment back on, then took control. At first we didn't know who was in the rocket. Then we took a quick nose count. You and two or three others were missing, but none of you had definite assignments, anyway. I was pretty sure it was you, knowing your ability for getting into trouble, but it wasn't until we got the message about the Earthman with your initials that we were really sure."
"When did you find out Frank Miller was the Earthman?" Rick asked.