"Forget it," said McCauley.
"I—didn't have you figured right," said Fallon shakily. "I thought you were ... just the usual kind of character. I ... I know better now. I'd—I'd like to ... well ... you're likely to need somebody to help you. Maybe you don't think so, but if you knew you could count on me...."
Fallon's voice practically clicked off, and McCauley realized that he was terrified. The man was afraid to say something, but he was more afraid not to.
"What would I need you for besides your duty?"
Fallon hesitated, licked his lips, and then said desperately:
"Soames and Hathaway—they almost got theirs. I've been thinking. If ... accidents happened to us ... to all but you...."
"Go on," said McCauley, frowning.
"We're ... sending most of the stuff to Mars," stammered Fallon. "B-but we're keeping the atom fuel on the ship. It's w-worth a lot. If something happened to most of us ... why ... two men could take the ship back to Earth and land it anywhere they wanted to. And if ... if a person had contacts, that atom fuel would be w-worth a lot. Millions."
McCauley was jolted.
"Suppose," he said grimly, "that you tell me the rest of your idea."