“It can’t be!” Patch cried in amazement. “Garry, we must be seeing a mirage or something! How could Katrinka...?”
“It’s Katrinka all right!” Garry said, as the robot drew close enough to be fully recognized. “But I don’t understand it. I don’t understand it at all! Katrinka crashed with the Carefree and poor Ben! But even if she didn’t crash, how is it she’s wandering around out here on the moon?”
“And what could make her start moving toward us?” Patch asked, as the mystery deepened. “You’ll never make me believe she’s really human, although at times it seemed that she was.”
The big robot stopped in front of the boys and remained still. Garry and Patch felt almost as if they should say “Hello,” because indeed it was like meeting an old friend.
After a few moments of remaining stock still, Katrinka turned and started shuffling off with great long strides.
“What’ll we do, Garry?” Patch asked. “Follow her? But that would be silly! She’s still an unthinking machine.”
“I don’t know, Patch. This whole thing seems very strange, although it may be that she was merely thrown clear when the Carefree crashed and somehow her works were activated by the jolt. And yet I have the feeling that she almost knows what she’s doing, as if she wants us to follow her.”
“Now you’re talking spooky,” Patch said. “You don’t really believe that Katrinka can think!”
“I don’t know what to believe,” Garry replied. “But I sure would like to follow her a little way to see just what she’s going to do next.”
“But our air, Garry! We don’t have enough to waste on playing ‘follow the leader’!”