“I’m afraid there’s one more strike against you, though, Jim,” Babe said.
“What’s that?”
“You’ve ‘bumped’ the most important man in the space tourist business, and that isn’t good.”
“What do you mean?” Jim asked.
“I mean this suite was Mr. Bowers’, the owner of Venus Space Tours, Incorporated.”
“Why didn’t he come aboard in time for the blast-off?” Jim wanted to know.
“Mr. Bowers depends on the stewards to let him know just ahead of time because he usually has a lot of last-minute things to do.”
“I didn’t even know who he was!” Jim said. “Wow, what a mistake to make!”
“Lucky for the Hercules, though,” Babe remarked, “your weight has canceled out his. There’s another rub, though. Mr. Bowers may have the Miami port radio us that you’re aboard. That would expose you for sure.”
Jim had an idea that his career as a spaceman was going to be extremely brief.