't bring, don't
exist!"

Roger smiled and stuck out his hand. "All right, Mr. Shinny! I want a
set of papers--space papers! Made out in any name, so that I can get out
into space again. I don't care where I go or on what, or how long I'm
gone. I just gotta blast off!"

"You want papers for the astrogation deck, or control, or as a power
pusher?" asked Shinny.

Roger thought a moment. "Better make them for the control deck," he
said.

"Credits," said Shinny. "You have any credits?"

"How much?" asked Roger.

"One hundred now," said Shinny, and then added, "and one hundred when I
deliver."

"Guaranteed papers?"

"Positively!" snorted Shinny. "I don't sell things that ain't good! I'm
an honest man!"

Roger reached inside his jersey and pulled out a small roll of crumpled
credit notes. He counted off one hundred and handed them over to Shinny.

"When do I get the papers?" asked Roger.

"Tomorrow, same place, same time," answered Shinny.

"What's the name of this place?" asked Roger.

"Cafe Cosmos."

Roger picked up his glass of sweet water, raising it in a toast to the
little man in front of him. "Until tomorrow, Mr. Shinny, when you come
here with the papers, or I come looking for you with bare knuckles!"

"You don't scare me!" snapped Shinny. "I'll be here!"

Roger tilted his chair back and smiled his casual smile. "I know you'll
be back, Mr. Shinny. You see, I really mean what I say. And more
important, _you_ know I mean what I say!"

Shinny got up. "Tomorrow, same time, same place," he said, hurrying out
the door.

Roger finished the bottle of Martian fizz, suddenly very depressed. He
didn't really want the false papers. He just wanted to get away from the
deadly humdrum existence on Spaceman's Row. He walked wearily back to
his scrubby little bedroom to wait for night to come. He hated to go
back to the room, because he knew he would think about Tom and Astro and
the Space Academy. Now he couldn't allow himself to think about it any
more. It was past. Finished.

"You got _who_?" asked Loring.

"I said I got the best astrogator in the deep for ya!" snapped Shinny.

Loring looked at Mason and then suddenly burst out laughing, dropping
his head on the table.

"What's the matter with you?" demanded Shinny. "You got space fever or
something?"

Mason, sitting quietly in the dirty hotel room, was grinning from ear to
ear.

"So you got Manning for us, eh?" repeated Loring at last. "I wanta t