"There's a lot that's peculiar out here on Ganymede, Kevin. I think—"
"Stop thinking and start walking," Teejay told him.
Less than two hours later, they reached the Gordak. A vac-suited man met them at the airlock, and Steve saw LeClarc's face through the glassite helmet.
"I'll bet you were worried," said Teejay.
"Sure," LeClarc answered, drawing a neutron gun from his belt. "See, my Captain, I'm so worried I can hardly think straight. Will the three of you please turn around and march over to the Frank Buck?"
They were too stunned to do anything else.
"Don't mind me," Kevin said, within the Frank Buck. "If I'm confused it's merely because I can't believe this. Not you, LeClarc, not you."
They'd been ushered into the main lounge of the Frank Buck, a ship of about the Gordak's dimensions, but two or three years older. LeClarc stood there with his neutron gun, watching them carefully. In a few moments, Schuyler Barling joined them, a greasy salve covering the discoloration on his jaw. The jaw looked painfully swollen too, and Barling rubbed it speculatively. "I won't forget this," he growled briefly to Teejay, then turned to LeClarc. "Kevin McGann I know, but what about this man?"
"Stedman?" said LeClarc. "You'll want him, because he's the extra-zoo man on the Gordak. If you took McGann and the woman alone, they still might be able to do their work on Carmical's ship. But with Stedman your prisoner as well, their hands are tied over there."