"'Still, he should be able to do the job, all right.'
"Their faces went blank and they both stared off into space as if they were concentrating as hard as they could. Suddenly, with no warning and no noise, a young man of about fifteen or so was standing beside them with his hands on his hips. He wore a kilt and a singlet of some soft, shiny material, but no shoes.
"'Well, if it isn't Mike and Aloysius,' he said conversationally. 'Boy, are you two going to get it when you show your faces around home. Dad's been looking for you.'
"'The older boy turned and stuck his hand out at me. 'Captain Hannah, sir,' he said. 'My name's Jim Monahan. I must apologize for the brats. They bother everybody. They have asked me to help get you out of your difficulties.'
"'I must have set the wrong Jump pattern,' I stammered. 'It's incredibly lucky that I came back out of Limbo in a place where I could ask for help. If you can give it to me, I would be most grateful.'
"'Well, sir,' said Jim, 'your appearing here isn't quite as incredible as you might think. Dad says that several of you Bumblejumpers....' He stopped and looked embarrassed. 'I'm sorry, sir. Several of you who have made errors in your Jump setting have ended up here.'
"'Not in our swimming hole,' asserted Aloysius.
"'In this general area of space. Dad calls it the delta of a psionic river. He says that we who are psionic adepts should stop bouncing back and forth between here and the established sectors so much, or we'll groove the psionic channels so much that everybody who goofs will end up here. And we may even increase the probability of goofing.'
"'I just want to get back to where I can recognize the stars,' I told the boy.