"Oh! I beg your pardon. Have another steak. How are you doing?"
"Pretty well, on the whole, sir."
"Don't be afraid to ask for dispensations. You'll find that everyone around here understands your situation."
"Thank you, sir."
"I mean it. Don't play 'iron man.' There's no sense in it."
After breakfast, Matt fell in step with Armand. "Say, Pete, I see why Oscar carried your bag yesterday. Excuse me for being a stupe."
Pete looked self-conscious. "Not at all. Oscar has been looking out for me-I met him on the trip down from Terra Station."
Matt nodded. "I see." He had no expert knowledge of interplanetary schedules, but he realized that Oscar, coming from Venus, and Pete, coming from one of Jupiter's moons, would-have to change ships at the artificial satellite of Earth called Terra Station, before taking the shuttle rocket down.
It accounted for the two boys being well acquainted despite cosmically different backgrounds. "How do you feel?" he went on.
Pete hesitated. "As a matter of fact, I feel as if I were wading in quicksand up to my neck. Every move is an effort."