FullReads

Ceres has a pretty respectable gee pull for a planetoid: Three per cent of Standard. I weigh a good, hefty five pounds on the surface. That makes it a lot easier to walk around on Ceres than on, say, Raven’s Rest. Even so, you always get the impression that one of the little rail cars that scoots along the corridors is climbing uphill all the way, because the acceleration is greater than any measly thirty centimeters per second squared.

Jack didn’t say another word until we reached the Viking, where Ravenhurst had thoughtfully made reservations for adjoining rooms. Then, after we’d registered, she said: “We could at least get something to eat.”

“That’s not a bad idea. We can get something to line our stomachs, anyway. Steak?”

She beamed up at me. “Steak. Sounds wonderful after all those mushy concentrates. Let’s go.”

* * * * *

The restaurant off the lobby was just like the lobby and the corridors outside–a big room hollowed out of the metal of the asteroid. The walls had been painted to prevent rusting, but they still bore the roughness left by the sun beam that had burnt them out.

We sat down at a table, and a waiter brought over a menu. The place wouldn’t be classed higher than a third-rate cafe on Earth, but on Ceres it’s considered one of the better places. The prices certainly compare well with those of the best New York or Moscow restaurants, and the price of meat, which has to be shipped from Earth, is–you should pardon the gag–astronomical.

That didn’t bother me. Steaks for two would go right on the expense account. I mentally thanked Mr. Ravenhurst for the fine slab of beef when the waiter finally brought it.

While we were waiting, though, I lit a cigarette and said: “You’re awfully quiet, Jack.”

“Am I? Men are funny.”

“Is that meant as a conversational gambit, or an honest observation?”

“Observation. I mean, men are always complaining that girls talk too much, but if a girl keeps her mouth shut, they think there’s something wrong with her.”

“Uh-huh. And you think that’s a paradox or something?”

She looked puzzled. “Isn’t it?”

“Not at all. The noise a jackhammer makes isn’t pleasant at all, but if it doesn’t make that noise, you figure it isn’t functioning properly. So you wonder why.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I had noticed a man wearing the black-and-gold union suit of Ravenhurst’s Security Guard coming toward us from the door, using the gliding shuffle that works best under low gee. I ignored him to listen to Jack Ravenhurst.

“That has all the earmarks of a dirty crack,” she said. The tone of her voice indicated that she wasn’t sure whether to be angry or to laugh.

“Hello, Miss Ravenhurst; Hi, Oak.” Colonel Brock had reached the table. He stood there, smiling his rather flat smile, while his eyes looked us both over carefully.

He was five feet ten, an inch shorter than I am, and lean almost to the point of emaciation. His scarred, hard-bitten face looked as though it had gotten that way when he tried to kiss a crocodile.

“Hello, Brock,” I said. “What’s new?”

Jack gave him a meaningless smile and said: “Hello, colonel.” She was obviously not very impressed with either of us.

“Mind if I sit?” Brock asked.

We didn’t, so he sat.

“I’m sorry I missed you at the spaceport,” Brock said seriously, “but I had several of my boys there with their eyes open.” He was quite obviously addressing Jack, not me.

“It’s all right,” Jack said. “I’m not going anywhere this time.” She looked at me and gave me an odd grin. “I’m going to stay home and be a good girl this time around.”

Colonel Brock’s good-natured chuckle sounded about as genuine as the ring of a lead nickel. “Oh, you’re no trouble, Miss Ravenhurst.”