Albrekt's sleep that night was more carefree than it had been since the By Jove! pulled free from its satellite orbit around Mars. There was still danger, of course. He had to be on the alert for a desperate attempt to disarm him, or an effort to overcome him in the control room by tampering with the ship's machinery, despite Carrel's surrender. But it was less likely now.

Relations were on a much more cordial basis from then on. Their conversation returned, almost, to the friendly terms of the earlier portion of the trip.

"Ever been to the outer planets before, Albrekt?" Carrel asked casually one day, munching a beef sandwich.

"I spent ten years at the base, before they sent me back to work on Mars and Earth," Albrekt replied. "I was born on Earth. My father took me out to the base when I was a boy."

"The base?" repeated Carrel, even more casually.

"On Rhea," said Albrekt deliberately. His faint smile recognized the attempt to elicit information. "Now, figure some way to tell them back on Mars!"

He thought Carrel flushed slightly, but could not be sure.

"Ever been to Venus?" asked Carrel.

"Never that far in, I'm afraid," answered Albrekt.

"I don't suppose you passed quite this close to Jupiter on your other trips?" said Carrel.

"How should I know?" demanded Albrekt. "I'm no spaceman. I don't know how close to Jupiter we're going now. I don't remember anything said about Jupiter on my trips."

"They'd have opened the ports and let all of you see, if you were going within several million miles of it," said Carrel. "Qoqol's figured it out. We're going pretty close this time."

"You want me to open the ports and let you see Jupiter?" asked Albrekt sarcastically.

"Something more serious than that," answered Carrel gravely. "It's the radiation."

Albrekt pushed himself back from the table and stared quizzically at Carrel.

"You wouldn't take advantage of my ignorance to rib me a little, would you now, Carrel?" he chided gently. "I studied elementary astronomy, you know."

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