eans don't get uppity."

Margot laughed and dropped a vidcast tape on the table in front of
Ramsey. He read it and did not look up. There was a description of
himself, a description of the Vegan girl, and a wanted bulletin issued
on them. For assaulting the Chief of Irwadi Security, the bulletin said.
For assaulting a drunken fool, Ramsey thought.

"Well?" Margot asked. This morning she wore a man-tailored jumper which,
Ramsey observed, clashed with the Sirian-archaic furniture. She looked
cool and completely poised and no less beautiful, if less provocatively
dressed, than last night.

Ramsey returned question for question. "What about the ship?"

"In a Spacer Graveyard, of course. There isn't a landing field on the
planet we could go to."

"You mean we'll take off from a Graveyard? From a junk-heap of battered
old derelict ships?"

"Of course. It has some advantages, believe it or not. We'll work on the
ship nights. It needs plenty of work, let me tell you. But then the
Graveyard is a kind of parts department, isn't it?"

Ramsey couldn't argue with that.

They spent the next three days sleeping and slowly going stir-crazy.
They slipped out each night, though, and walked the two miles to the
Spacer Graveyard down near the river. It was on the other side of the
river, which meant they had to boat across. Risky, but there was no help
for it. Each night they worked on the ship, which Ramsey found to be a
fifty-year old Canopusian freighter in even worse condition than Margot
had indicated. The night was usually divided into three sections. First,
reviewing the work which had been done and planning the evening's
activities. Then, looking for the parts they would need in the jungle of
interstellar wrecks all about them. Finally, going to work with the
parts they had found and with the tools which Ramsey had discovered on
the old Canopusian freighter the first night.

* * * * *

As they made their way back across the river the first night, Ramsey
paddling slowly, quietly, Margot said:

"Ramsey, I--I think we're being watched."

"I haven't seen or heard a thing. You, Vardin?" Vardin was the Vegan
girl's name.

Vardin shook her head.

Ramsey was anxious all at once, though. Things had gone too smoothly.
They had not been interfered with at all. Personally, things hadn't gone
smoothly with Ramsey, but that was another story. He found himself
liking Margot Dennison too much. He fo