Kerim apparently did. She went pale, then said hesitantly, "Well ... the
sealed cases Mr. Maulbow brought out from the Hub with him had some very
expensive instruments in them. That's all I know. He's always trusted me
not to pry into his business any more than my secretarial duties
required, and of course I haven't."

"You don't know then what it was he brought up from that moon a few
hours ago--those two big cases he stowed away in the vault?"

"No, I don't, Gefty. You see, he hasn't told me what the purpose of this
trip is. I only know that it's a matter of great importance to him."
Kerim paused, added, "From the careful manner Mr. Maulbow handled the
cases with the cranes, I had the impression that whatever was inside
them must be quite heavy."

"I noticed that," Gefty said. It wasn't much help. "Well, I'll tell
_you_ something now," he went on. "I let your boss keep both sets of
keys to the storage vault because he insisted on it when he signed the
charter. What I didn't tell him was that I could make up a duplicate set
any time in around half an hour."

"Oh! Have you--?"

"Not yet. But I intend to take a look at what Mr. Maulbow's got in that
vault now, with or without his consent. You'd better run along and get
dressed while I take him up to the instrument room."

"Why move him?" Kerim asked.

"The instrument room's got an overall safety field. I've turned it on
now, and if something starts banging us around again, the room will be
the safest place on the ship. I'll bring his personal luggage up too,
and you can start looking through it for the keys. You may find them
before I get a new set made. Or he may wake up and tell us where they
are."

Kerim Ruse gave her employer a dubious glance, then nodded, said, "I
imagine you're right, Gefty," and pattered hurriedly out of the
stateroom. A few minutes later, she arrived, fully dressed, in the
instrument room. Gefty looked around from the table-shelf where he had
laid out his tools, and said, "He hasn't stirred. His suitcases are over
there. I've unlocked them."

Kerim gazed at what showed in the screens about the control console and
shivered slightly. She said, "I was thinking, Gefty ... isn't there
something they call Space Three?"

[Illustration]

"Sure. Pseudospace. But that isn't where we are. There're some
special-built Navy tubs that can operate in that stuff if they don't
stay too long. A ship like the _Queen_ ... well, you and I and
everythin