It had not worried him. Marianne was the sort of girl who never would get clearly fixed in her mind the distinction between a planet and a star. He had not noticed this before, but it and similar matters had come up on the one date he had had alone with her.
And she had referred to his uniform as "cute."
He began to understand, from Marianne, why most Patrol officers do not marry until their mid-thirties, after retirement.
The clock in Pikes Peak Station showed thirty minutes until up-ship. Matt began to worry that Tex's casual way might have caused the other three to miss connections, when he spotted them in the crowd. He grabbed his jump bag and went toward them.
They had their backs toward him and had not seen him as yet. He sneaked up behind Tex and said in a hoarse voice, "Mister-report to the Commandant's office."
Tex jumped into the air and turned completely around. "Matt! You horse- thief, don't scare me like that!"
"Your guilty conscience. Hi, Pete. Hello, Oscar."
"How's the boy, Matt? Good leave?"
"Swell."
"Here, too." They shook hands all around.