Then, tottering on his feet, gasping for what little air remained within his oxygen tank, he waited.
Two men came out of the plane. Gramp staggered to meet them.
They helped him in and brought in the other two.
Gramp tore off his helmet and breathed deeply. He helped Jurg Tec to remove his helmet. The senator, he saw, was coming around.
'Dog-gone,' said Gramp, I did somethin' today I swore I'd never do.'
'What's that?' asked Jurg Tec.
'I swore,' said Gramp, 'that if I ever had a chance to help a Marshy, I wouldn't lift a finger. I'd just stand by and watch him kick the bucket.'
Jurg Tec smiled.
'You must have forgot yourself,' he said.
'Dog-gone,' said Gramp, 'I ain't got no will power left, that's what's the matter with me.'