"I don't know." McFeen's lean, ill-humored face was more than usually morose. "Listen, Alice...."
"Well?"
"That isn't the worst of it. I found a hole in the mesh of their cage."
"You're trying to frighten me," Alice said pitiably after a second. "There couldn't be a hole in beryllium mesh."
"There was, though. I had to patch it up the best way I could. And ... and ... Alice, there was an eroded spot in the side of the hull."
"You mean there was a spot eaten into on the side of our ship?"
"Yes. I plated it over with the auto-weld. It was near their cage."
The comb snapped in Alice's hand. She stared at McFeen. "I told you!" she said finally. Her voice had risen several notes. "I told you it was dangerous! You wouldn't listen to me. You knew everything.
"When I said maybe there was a reason why the Biologic Survey wouldn't release any Hyra to fight the blight on Varro, you said the Survey was nothing but a bunch of fat-cat office-holders who had to make a lot of fool regulations to look like they were earning their salaries. You talked big about how it was your duty to help the poor bosula ranchers on Varro fight the blight. You tried to pretend money wasn't the reason why you were smuggling the Hyra out to them. You knew all the answers, everything would be all right! Oh, you were Mr. Know-it-all!
"Now we're in deep space with an eroded hull. In deep space! I told you something would happen! I to—"