pen to share
the latter characteristic."

The two looked up guiltily and waited.

"Now don't stop eating, for I'm not through talking," she said. "That
magneto-ionic effect canceler you dreamed up would probably cancel the
six hundred forty pound magneto-ionic effect pull you dreamed up--if
such a thing existed.

"What I want to know ... don't stop eating until you've decided
whether you're going to let me in on your game or not ... is what
really does exist? I might be of some help, you know."

"But--" Mike and Ishie simultaneously choked over their food, looked
at each other, and then Mike blurted out, "but how could _she_ know?"

"Don't worry," said Millie. "I'm probably the only one. It takes a
person with little conscience and much imagination--takes a thief to
catch a thief, I mean--yes, I think I mean that quite literally.
Besides, I can help with some of that glassware that disappeared out
of my supplies several days ago. Oh yes, I knew it was gone and where
it went--but I figured any purpose you had was a good one, Ishie.

"But for how I personally canceled the idea of your magneto-ionic
effect from the flare--it just happens that last night I was curious
while everybody was asleep. When Bessie first came on duty this
morning, I offered to relieve her while she had a cup of coffee, and I
got a half-hour all by myself with the Cow. The captain wasn't up yet.
Her console's so simple anyone with a basic knowledge of computers and
cybernetics could figure her out.

"Practically the first question I asked--something about our
orbit--the Cow told me that the information was top secret, and to get
it I must go to the proper channel and identify myself as Mike. I
started to intercom you, Mike, to tell you that your machinations were
showing, but Bessie came back about then. I hung around to see what
would happen, and pretty soon Bessie asked the Cow about the same
question--but instead of getting the same answer, the Cow told her
that an external magneto-ionic field was pulling us out of line.

"So I went up to your engineering place. I rather thought you'd like
to know what the Cow had told me--but Dr. Ishie was there, and so
instead I went about my own business until I could figure things out.

"Now I couldn't figure things out. But I could figure there's a monkey
wrench somewhere--and since the two of you have been sticking together
like Siamese twins, I know it will be perfectly all right to ask you
in f