ead.

"Be a real doll if she was human, Roberts, a real doll."

Min and I played gin rummy that night but we kept forgetting to mark
down the score. We kept thinking of _Frank_ falling away from the
asteroids and counting the minutes until he saw his mech girl friend.

Around noon the next day the big servo checked in, signed the register
and headed straight for 22A. The two Minor Planets inspectors kept out
of sight until Frank shut the door, then they watched through the SHA
vents until Frank had the assembly job finished.

"You two better be witnesses," Roberts said to us. "Wynn, keep your gun
ready. You know what to do if they get violent."

Roberts counted three and kicked the door open.

"Freeze you mechs! We got you in the act, Nineteen. Violation of company
rules twelve and twenty-one. Carrying of Contraband Cargo, and Robot
Fraternization."

"This finishes you at Minor Planets, Nineteen," growled Wynn. "Come
clean now and we might put in a word for you at Robot Court. If you
don't we can recommend a verdict of Materials Reclamation--the junk pile
to you."

Frank acted as if someone had cut his power. Long creases appeared in
his big neoprene chest as he slumped hopelessly in his chair. The
frightened girl robot just clung to his arm and stared at us.

"I'm so sorry, Elizabeth," the big servo said softly. "I'd hoped we'd
have longer. It couldn't last forever."

"Quit stalling, Nineteen," said Wynn.

Frank's head came up slowly and he said: "I have no choice, sir. I'll
give you a complete statement. First let me say that Rationaloid Robot
Elizabeth Seven, #DX78-947, Series S, specialty: sales demonstration,
is entirely innocent. I plead guilty to inducing Miss Seven to leave her
place of employ, Atomovair Motors, Inc., of disassembling and concealing
Miss Seven, and of smuggling her as unlawful cargo aboard a Minor
Planets freighter to these premises."

"That's more like it," chuckled Roberts, whipping out his notebook.
"Let's have the details."

"It all started," Frank said, "when the California Legislature passed
its version of the Robot Leniency Act two years ago." The act provided
that all rationaloid mechanisms, including non-memory types, receive
free time each week based on the nature and responsibilities or their
jobs. Because of the extra-Terran clause Frank found himself with a good
deal of free time when he wasn't flying the asteroid circuit.

"At first humans resented us walking aroun