excitement. He joined them, moving slowly, alert for
crew members. There seemed to be none of the latter in the corridors.

Keeping close to the wall, he moved with the crowd until he reached the
rounded niche that marked an escape chamber. As if pushed by the
hurrying throng, he backed into it, the automatic doors opening and
closing to receive him.

The chamber was one of scores stationed throughout the ship as required
by law. The escape chambers contained space suits for personal exit from
the ship in case of emergency. They were never expected to be used. In
any emergency requiring abandonment of the vessel it would be as
suicidal to go into space in a suit as to remain with the ship. But
fusty lawmakers had decreed their necessity, and passengers received a
perfunctory briefing in the use of the chambers and the suits--which
they promptly forgot.

Mel wrestled now with what he remembered of the instructions. He
inspected a suit hanging in its cabinet and then was relieved to find
that the instructions were repeated on a panel of the cabinet. Slowly,
he donned the suit, following the step by step instructions as he went.
He began to sweat profusely from his exertions and from his fear of
discovery.

He finally succeeded in getting the cumbersome gear adjusted and
fastened without being detected. He did not know if the airlock of the
chamber had some kind of alarm that would alert the crew when it was
opened. That was a chance he had to take. He discovered that it was
arranged so that it could be opened only by a key operated from within
the suit. This was obviously to prevent anyone leaving the ship
unprotected. Perhaps with this safeguard there was no alarm.

He twisted the lock and entered the chamber. He opened the outer door
and faced the night of space.

* * *

He would not have believed that anything could be so utterly terrifying.
His knees buckled momentarily and left him clinging to the side of the
port. Sweat burst anew from every pore. Blindly, he pressed the jet
control and forced himself into space.

He arced a short distance along the curve of the ship and then forced
himself down into contact with the hull. He clung by foot and hand
magnetic pads, sick with nausea and vertigo.

He had believed that by clinging to the outside of the hull he could
escape detection and endure the flight back to Earth. In his sickness of
body and mind the whole plan now looked like utter fol