the
ride. That's fine, but I'm not satisfied with it. I want to earn my
fare. You stay and run the ship because you know how and I don't. I'll
find out what's wrong."

"But you won't know what to do, Anti." There was no answer. "All
right," he said in defeat. "Both of us ought to go. Jordan, you stay
at the controls."

Anti led the way because Docchi couldn't get around her. Determinedly
he shuffled along. There was a trick to magneslippers that he had
nearly forgotten. Slowly it was coming back to him--shuffle instead of
striding.

It was a dingy, poorly lighted passageway in an older ship. Handicap
Haven definitely didn't rate the best equipment that was produced. On
one side was the hull of the ship; on the other, a few small cabins.
None were occupied. Anti stopped. The passageway ended in a cross
corridor that led to the other side of the ship.

"We'd better check the stern rocket tubes," he said, still unable to
see around her. "Open it up and we'll take a look."

"I can't," said Anti. "There are handles, but the thing won't open.
There's a red light, too. Does that mean anything?"

His heart sank. "It does. Don't try to open it. With your strength,
you might be unlucky enough to do it."

"That's a man for you," said Anti sharply. "First he wants me to open
it, and then he tells me not to."

"There's a vacuum in there. The combustion cap has been retracted.
That's the only thing that will actuate the warning signal. You'd die
in a few seconds if you somehow managed to open the lock to the rocket
compartment."

"What are we waiting for? Let's get busy and fix it."

"Sure, fix it. You see, Anti, that didn't happen by itself. Someone,
or something, was responsible."

"Who?"

"Did you see anyone when we were loading your tank in the ship?"

"Nothing. I heard Cameron shouting, a lot of noise. All I could see
was what was directly overhead. What does that have to do with it?"

"I think it has to do with a geepee. I thought they all dropped
outside. Maybe there was one that didn't."

"Why a geepee?" she asked blankly.

"In the first place, no man is strong enough to move the combustion
cap. But if he should somehow manage to exert super-human effort, as
soon as the cap cleared the tubes, rocket action would cease. The air
in the compartment would exhaust into space and anyone in there would
die."

"So we have a dead geepee in there."

"A geepee doesn't die. Not even become inactive; it doesn't ne