"What else could we do?"
"I see what you mean, Frank. If you could have made it, [p. 75] and missed getting shot by some trigger-happy guard—where a frontier isn't even supposed to exist—they probably would have held you for a while, and then let you go."
"About the rest of the Bunch?" Frank Nelsen prompted.
"The Kuzaks got to the Belt okay—though they had to fight off some rough and humorous characters. Storey reached his Mars. Charlie Reynolds and Two-and-Two got to Venus, and hooked up with the exploring expedition. Tiflin? Who knows?"
"Ramos?"
"Ah—a real disappointing case, Frank. Darn wild idiot who ought to be probing the farther reaches of the solar system, got himself a job in a chemical plant in Serene. A synthesizing retort exploded. He was burned pretty bad. Just out of the hospital when I last left. It was on account of a woman that he was on the Moon at all."
"Eileen, the Queen of Serene? Gimp!—is that so, too?"
"Yep—sort of. Our Eileen. Back in Jarviston, Ramos found out that she was there. She's a good kid. Even admits that she hasn't got much competition, on a mostly—yet—masculine world... Well, I guess we start rolling, eh? I didn't want to jolt any of you poor sick people, so I camped. Let's get you all into Archers, for which I have a few spare parts left. Then, after we roll up this sealed, air-conditioned tent of a familiar material, we can be on our way."
"Just let's watch Rodan—that's all," Frank Nelsen warned.
"Sure—we'll keep him good and dopey with a tranquilizer..."