Presently, Cousin Aurelia regained her senses, shivered, and said, "It's too awful for words. If it were not for Betty, I would surely have left long ago. As it is, I shall go where you go, to protect her, of course."
Then she permitted Betty to help her to her feet and out of the room.
"Solomon!" Charles called loudly.
"Yassuh, Marse Charles."
"Set the table for two," Charles commanded. "I shall dial the dinner myself."
He felt very adventurous and masterful. Dialing dinner without aid was fine training in self-reliance.
Six weeks later, the three of them stood on the bridge of the space freighter Beautiful Joe, watching Sugar Plum as the vessel entered an orbit around it.
But Charles Edward Button didn't feel at all masterful, or even adventurous.
They stood next to Possett, the skipper, a great, hairy man with gold teeth, a bad squint, and an air of gloomy cunning about him. After her first look at Possett, Cousin Aurelia had locked herself in her cabin, allowing no one but Betty to approach her, and threatening to subsist on the half-dozen cases of Dr. Stringfellow's Vegetable Remedy she kept under her berth. Charles, however, had been sure that Possett's heart was both kindly and chivalrous.