etent at handling it.

While the formalities were in progress, the ship surged and fell and
swayed and surged again. Cochrane said ruefully:

"I hate to ask you to work under conditions like this, Babs."

Babs grinned. He flushed a little.

"I know! When you were working for me I wasn't considerate."

"Who am I working for now?"

"Us," said Cochrane. Then he looked guiltily at Alicia. He felt
embarrassment at having said anything in the least sentimental before
her. Considering Johnny Simms, it was not too tactful. Her cheek, where
it had been red, now showed a distinct bruise. He said: "Sorry,
Alicia--about Johnny."

"I got into it myself," said Alicia. "I loved him. He isn't really bad.
If you want to know, I think he simply decided years ago that he
wouldn't grow up past the age of six. He was a rich man's spoiled little
boy. It was fun. So he made a career of it. His family let him. I"--she
smiled faintly, "I'm making a career of taking care of him."

"Something can be done even with a six-year-old," growled Cochrane.
"Holden--. But he wouldn't be the best one to try."

"He definitely wouldn't be the best one to try," said Alicia very
quietly.

Cochrane turned away. She knew how Bill Holden felt. Which might or
might not be comforting to him.

The communicator again. The pictures of foot-high furry bipeds on the
glacier planet had made a sensation on television. A toy-manufacturer
wanted the right to make toys like them. The pictures were copyrighted.
Cochrane matter-of-factly made the deal. There would be miniature
extra-terrestrial animals on sale in all toy-shops within days.
Spaceways, Inc., would collect a royalty on each toy sold.

The rockets boomed, and lessened their noise, and wavered up and down
again. Then there was that deliberate, crunching feel of the great
landing-fins pressing into soil with all the ship's weight bearing down.
The rockets ran on, drumming ever-so-faintly, for a little longer. Then
they cut off.

"We're landed again! Let's see where we are!"

They went up to the control-room. Johnny Simms stood against the wall,
sulking. He had managed his life very successfully by acting like a
spoiled little boy. Now he had lost any idea of saner conduct. At the
moment, he looked ridiculous. But Alicia had a bruised cheek and
Cochrane could have been killed, and Holden had been in danger because
Johnny Simms wanted to and insisted on acting like a rich man's spoiled
little boy.