He walked briskly through the outer door.
"This is the hardest part of the year, especially now. Suppose he did come back," Beryl said plaintively.
"You don't have to worry," Stern assured her. "Clyde himself said that if he didn't come back the second year, he might not make it at all." Stern opened his gold case now and offered Beryl a cigarette.
She shook her head. "But he made two trial runs in it first and came back."
"That was for a short distance only—that is, a short distance astronomically. Figuring for Mars was another story. Maybe he missed the planet and ..."
"Oh, don't! It's just not knowing that I can't stand."
"Well," he said drily, "we'll know in—" he stopped and looked at his wristwatch—"in just about fifteen minutes."
"I can't wait," she moaned.
He put his arm around her. "Relax. Take it easy and stop worrying. It'll just be like last time."