He shivered and his hand loosened its hold, dropped away. He was afraid to hasten death. He wanted to put it off. He was afraid of death… horribly afraid.
The stars mocked him and he seemed to hear hooting laughter from somewhere far away. Curiously, it sounded like his own laughter….
"I'LL make it easy for you, Manning,” Chambers said. “I know that all of us are guilty. Guilty in the eyes of the people and the law. Guilty in your eyes. If we had won, there would have been no penalty. There's never a penalty for the one who wins."
"Penalty,” said Greg, his eyes half smiling. “Why, yes, I think there is. I'm going to order you aboard the Invincible for something to eat and to get some rest."
"You mean to say that we aren't prisoners?"
Greg shook his head. “Not prisoners,” he said. “Why, I came out here to guide you back to Earth. I hauled you out here and got you into this jam. It was up to me to get you out of it. I would have done the same for Stutsman, too, but…."
He hesitated and looked at Chambers.
Chambers stared back and slowly nodded.
"Yes, Manning,” he said. “I think I understand."