Scotty stepped in as peacemaker. "Barby won't mind," he said. "After all, Jan Miller will be here in a few days."
After completion of The Electronic Mind Reader case Hartson Brant had persuaded Dr. Walter Miller, an expert who had worked with the Spindrift staff, to join the Foundation permanently. That meant Barby would have Miller's daughter, Jan, as a companion, and Barby was delighted beyond words. The boys were pleased, too. Not only was Jan nice to have around, but her presence—they hoped—would mean less trouble from Barby when they were going off somewhere.
The Millers would move into one of the new cottages behind the orchard, next to Parnell Winston, the staff cyberneticist. Howard Shannon, expert in the natural sciences, and his family would be their other neighbors.
At the moment, however, Shannon and Tony Briotti, the staff archaeologist, were away on an expedition in the Sulu Sea. Rick and Scotty had been keenly disappointed at being left behind. But Dr. Gordon's offer of a new job had cheered them up considerably.
"Shouldn't Dr. Gordon be arriving?" Barby asked.
Scotty looked at his watch. "He should. But he didn't give any definite time."
Barby poked at a sling stone with one slipper. "Where are you supposed to go?"
"Somewhere in Nevada, Dad says," Rick replied.
"I thought Dr. Gordon was at White Sands Proving Ground in New Mexico."
"So did I," Scotty remarked. "The telegram was the first I knew about his working in Nevada."