Jim opened his mouth to reply but only a wordless croak came out. The door swung open, and a husky steward with a young face “swam” in. At sight of Jim a surprised look crossed his features.
“What are you doing here?” he blurted. “Where’s Mr. Bowers?”
Jim felt as though he were in a crazy dream. The steward was floating toward him like a phantom in a nightmare, while he himself was like a desperate fish without fins in this strange sea of weightlessness.
“I don’t know Mr. Bowers,” Jim managed to reply, then went on to explain what had happened.
The steward looked at him skeptically, his round face attempting to judge him. “Is this the truth?” he asked.
Jim nodded and showed the bump on his head. Then he waited tensely for the verdict.
“Somehow I believe you,” the steward said sympathetically.
“Thanks,” Jim returned. He quickly decided that he liked the young steward with the surprisingly deep voice.
The steward looked thoughtful. “We’ve got to figure out a way to keep you from being discovered until we return to Earth. That way, you’ll have had time to help out and pay your way. It’ll go easier with you when you turn yourself in.” Then he frowned. “What about your family, though? They’ll surely be worried about you.”
“I don’t have a family,” Jim told him. “I’m an orphan, and I’ve been on my own for two years. Don’t you think I ought to make a clean breast of everything to the captain now and hope he’ll believe me?”