I am not of the Brons, but I go because
of a promise." Gunnar shrugged and his face appeared sad and seamed.
"My Freida and the boys will be here today. I want you to meet them. I
have spent over half my days a-wandering, Jack Odin, but now I have a
sick feeling inside me. And I think to myself if I could go back to the
farm with Freida and the boys, I could work there, and die an old, old
man--as my father and his father did before me. But the wanderlust is
heavy upon me. Freida understands. And I swore that I would go after
Grim Hagen--and after Maya. But this way, I die up there among the stars
some day, and no one unless it be you and Maya will think of Gunnar."

Odin slapped his arm across Gunnar's shoulders. "You are chief among the
Neeblings. Stay here with your family. I will go out there to the stars,
and I will always remember Gunnar. Faith, man, you owe us nothing. The
debts are ours--"

But Gunnar shook his head. "I swore by my sword. And I go."

* * * * *

A few hours later, they stood at the water's edge and waited for Freida and
the boys. It was not long before a boat hove into sight. And soon Gunnar
was helping Freida and the three sons upon the landing.

Family meetings always made Odin ill at ease. He stood there, shuffling his
feet.

Freida was a short, broad woman, with big breasts and broad hips. Her eyes,
the palest blue, were still beautiful. Odin guessed that when she was young
her face had matched her eyes. But the face was worn and the hand that she
offered him was calloused. She was dressed in linsey-woolsey, and the
overalls of the three sons were also home-spun.

The three lads, miniature copies of Gunnar, stood there solemnly. Each wore
a new straw hat with a black and red band around it. They were barefooted.
Odin guessed that the hats had been bought special for the occasion.

* * * * *

For the next three days Odin was kept busy by Ato. There were a
million things to go on the ship. The Brons had done a wonderful job
of warehousing. All was packaged and tagged. A place for each box or
machine was already marked and numbered on the prints of The Nebula.
The tunnel had been cleared for two lanes of trucks and tractors.
Steadily the line of laden cars moved down to the ship and steadily
another line came back for more supplies.

Odin was assigned to superintend one of the warehouses, and he was both
annoyed and pleased