ple. "Didn't mean to do that," he apologized
again, feeling embarrassed.

Arkalion merely lay there.

"I said I'm sorry."

Arkalion still slept. It seemed inconceivable, for Temple's elbow
pained him considerably. He bent down, examined his inert companion.

Arkalion stirred not a muscle.

Vaguely alarmed, Temple thrust a hand to Arkalion's chest, felt
nothing. He crouched, rested the side of his head over Arkalion's
heart. He listened, heard--nothing.

What was going on here?

"Hey, Arkalion!" Temple shook him, gently at first, then with savage
force. Weightless, Arkalion's body floated up off the bed, taking the
covers with it. His own heart pounding furiously, Temple got it down
again, fingered the left wrist and swallowed nervously.

Temple had never seen a dead man before. Arkalion's heart did not
beat. Arkalion had no pulse.

Arkalion was dead.

Yelling hoarsely, Temple plunged from the room, soaring off the floor
in his haste and striking his head against the ceiling hard enough to
make him see stars. "This guy is dead!" he cried. "Arkalion is dead."

Men stirred in the companionway. Someone called for one of the armed
guards who were constantly on patrol.

"If he's dead, you're yelling loud enough to get him out of his
grave." The voice was quiet, amused.

Arkalion.

"What?" Temple blurted, whirling around and striking his head again. A
little wild-eyed, he reentered the room.

"Now, who is dead, Kit?" demanded Arkalion, sitting up and stretching
comfortably.

"Who--is dead? Who--?" Open-mouthed, Temple stared.

* * * * *

A guard, completely at home with weightlessness, entered the cubicle
briskly. "What's the trouble in here? Something about a dead man, they
said."

"A dead man?" demanded Arkalion. "Indeed."

"Dead?" muttered Temple, lamely and foolishly. "Dead...."

Arkalion smiled deprecatingly. "My friend must have been talking in
his sleep. The only thing dead in here is my appetite. Weightlessness
doesn't let you become very hungry."

"You'll grow used to it," the guard promised. He patted his paunch
happily. "I am. Well, don't raise the alarm unless there's some
trouble. Remember about the boy who cried wolf."

"Of course," said Temple. "Sure. Sorry."

He watched the guard depart.

"Bad dream?" Arkalion wanted to know.

"Bad dream, my foot. I accidentally hit you. Hard enough to hurt. You
didn't move."

"I'm a sound sleeper."

"I felt