n."

"Then--then give us a lottery!"

Pietro managed to break in over the yells of the rest of the crew. "I
was about to suggest calling for volunteers, Captain Muller. I still
have enough faith in humanity to believe...."

"You're a fool, Dr. Pietro," Muller said flatly. "Do you think Grundy
would volunteer? Or Bullard? But thanks for clearing the air, and
admitting your group has nothing more to offer. A lottery seems to be
the only fair system."

He sat down heavily. "We have tradition on this; in an emergency such
as this, death lotteries have been held, and have been considered
legal afterwards. Are there any protests?"

I could feel my tongue thicken in my mouth. I could see the others
stare about, hoping someone would object, wondering if this could be
happening. But nobody answered, and Muller nodded reluctantly. "A
working force must be left. Some men are indispensable. We must have
an engineer, a navigator, and a doctor. One man skilled with
engine-room practice and one with deck work must remain."

"And the cook goes," Grundy yelled. His eyes were intent and slitted
again.

Some of both groups nodded, but Muller brought his fist down on the
table. "This will be a legal lottery, Mr. Grundy. Dr. Napier will draw
for him."

"And for myself," Napier said. "It's obvious that ten men aren't going
on to Saturn--you'll have to turn back, or head for Jupiter. Jupiter,
in fact, is the only sensible answer. And a ship can get along without
a doctor that long when it has to. I demand my right to the draw."

Muller only shrugged and laid down the rules. They were simple enough.
He would cut drinking straws to various lengths, and each would draw
one. The two deck hands would compare theirs, and the longer would be
automatically safe. The same for the pair from the engine-room. Wilcox
was safe. "Mr. Peters and I will also have one of us eliminated," he
added quietly. "In an emergency, our abilities are sufficiently
alike."

The remaining group would have their straws measured, and the seven
shortest ones would be chosen to remove themselves into a vacant
section between hulls without air within three hours, or be forcibly
placed there. The remaining ten would head for Jupiter if no miracle
removed the danger in those three hours.

Peters got the straws, and Muller cut them and shuffled them. There
was a sick silence that let us hear the sounds of the scissors with
each snip. Muller arranged them so the visib