are close enough to jump to Titan, even in a carrier. We'll know for sure when it gets light again. I can check the time from sunset to sunrise against the tables that show how long it takes Hyperion to revolve on its axis." "You make it seem so easy." Eileen sighed. "In a way, I'm not even sure I want to go." "That has a nice sound." Boone held her closer. But she twisted. "No. It--it isn't what you think, Fred." Boone let his arm fall. He frowned into the darkness. "Then why--?" "Can't you guess?" All at once the girl sounded weary; almost bitter. "There's going to be trouble, Fred. Trouble with Krobis. You know that." "Oh." "He won't forget what you did. He'll break you for it. And--and I won't like that." "You ... won't like it?" "You know I won't. You--you saved my life." Boone could feel his muscles tensing. In spite of him, his voice came edged: "Then that's all that's bothering you? You just don't want to see me get in trouble?" "No, no!--Oh, I don't know!" Eileen's words were suddenly stumbling and uneven. "It's just that--well, you showed me something, Fred, when you tried to stop me. How you feel about me. How my work doesn't really matter to you." "I see." Boone's mood turned raw and savage. "Maybe you even figure like Krobis pretended he did--that I was just jealous of your assignment when I barged into this business." "Fred!" And then: "You're trying to hurt me, Fred. I hurt you, so now you want to pay me back." He didn't answer. A moment of silence. At last Eileen said, "I--I think I'll go to bed. I'm still awfully tired. That fever...." Her voice trailed away. Then, after another moment, her shoes whispered on the cradle-plates. Still Boone stared bleakly out into the darkness. The whispering footsteps faded, died. He stood alone, in utter silence. Even the murmur of the breeze in the trees about the ship was stilled. That stillness--it made him frown a little. It wasn't natural, somehow. As a matter of fact, was anything natural in this weird, ice-shelled wonderland? Even the flowers lacked kinship with those he'd known on Earth. Or did they? It came to him in a flash that what he needed now was action. The night, the silence, the bitter disillusion--they'd rasped his nerves in a raw tension. Unless he cut it loose, something would snap. The flowers, then, could serve as an outlet. First, he'd get a light-rod.... Pivoting, he strode back along the carrier guides to the hatch ... started to step through. From the other side came the hiss of a quick-drawn breath. Boone froze. "Eileen...." A tremulous laugh. "Fred, I came back. I--I was afraid." "Oh." He made it curt. "I'm going out as soon as I can find a light." "I've got one." A beam blazed in the black, half-blinding him. "You're going--out--?" "Yes. Down onto the ground. I want a 

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