Thorp leaned down from the bunk above.
"You hurt, Joel?"
"No. Why should I be?"
He was answered by a chuckle.
V
When Joel sat down to breakfast the next morning, Tamis shot him a warning glance from beneath lowered lashes. The pallor of her cheeks was accentuated by her sooty hair. She had the exotic look of some temple harlot strayed through time from ancient Babylonia.
Joel realized suddenly that Professor Liedl was talking to him. "What did you say?" he asked.
"That was a splendid service you performed last night."
"You mean Eriss? But I didn't do it."