with haggard face somehow comforted. But old Gramp Land turned sadly away.

"A name on a stone is poor exchange for my boy," he muttered. "I'm gettin' old."

That evening, in the old house up on the ridge, they were subdued and silent at dinner. The table was too big, and they looked around too often as if listening for a familiar limping step and a cheerful voice.

Carlin was doubly oppressed because of the thing that he had not yet told them. He hated, somehow, to break the news.

"There's something they found out when they made our psycho-records for the trial," he said finally. "Mine showed that I had no instability of coordination, no star-sickness any longer."

"You mean, you're cured?" said Harb, surprised. "Why, that's fine. I never thought of it, but you made the trip Sunward all right, so I should have known."

"The psychos say," Carlin told them, "that some people out in the galaxy now and then approximate much closer to the original Earth stock than the average. Such people respond rapidly to Earth-treatment. I'm one of them, it seems." He added uncomfortably, "I can go back home to Canopus now, though I'll have to work at a desk job for a year. The only thing is that there's a ship for Canopus tonight, and there won't be another for weeks."

"You're not going tonight?" exclaimed Harb. "Not as soon as that?"

Carlin felt a little heartsick. "I wish I didn't have to, so soon. But there's nothing for me to do here now that I'm all okay."

He had somehow expected Marn to protest too. But she did not. She only said quietly:

"I'll drive you down to the spaceport."

"I think I'd rather walk down," Carlin said slowly. "I don't know why, but I would. It's not far and I sent my bags on down."

"Then I'll walk a little of the way with you," said Marn.

Twilight had changed into soft summer darkness by the time Carlin had exchanged a last old-fashioned hand grip with Harb and Gramp Land, and started down the road with Marn.

She went only around the first turn of the old road with him, and then stopped.

"Good-by, Marn," he said, but she only averted her face.

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