"But that's what—"
Holmes turned away. Like the rest, he'd accepted great age, mentally, as a part of the nature of the fortress. But the collapse of emptied shipping-cases because they were touched was a shock. Where such decay existed, one could not hope to find anything useful for a modern emergency. He vanished.
Pam was indignant. She turned to Sandy.
"I wanted to say that I smelled fresh air," she protested. "And he acts like that!"
Sandy was not listening. She frowned.
"He could lose his way down here," she said shortly. "We'd better keep him in sight. I remember the way from my dream."
They followed Holmes, who did make his way back to the upper levels and ultimately to the ship without guidance. But Pam was intensely indignant.
"We could have gotten lost down there!" she said angrily when they were back in familiar territory. "And he wouldn't have cared! And I did smell fresh air! Not very fresh, but fresher than the aged and dried-out stuff we're breathing now!"
"You couldn't," said Sandy practically. "There simply couldn't be any, except in the ship where the hydroponic wall-gardens keep it fresh."
"But I did!" insisted Pam.