other young man is calling her
from the dancing pavilion? And my musical talents are limited. However,
I do read. I brought some books connected with the research I intend to
do on Earth for my degree, and I have spent many happy hours poring over
the thrilling pages of _Extraterrestrial Entomology_ and _Galactic
Arachnida_."

"I came better prepared than you did," she said. "Perhaps I could lend
you some of my books. I have novels, plays, poetry, and one very
interesting volume called _Progressive Education under Rim Star
Conditions_. But," she lowered her voice to a whisper, "I must tell you
a secret about that last one."

"What is it?"

"I haven't even opened it."

* * * * *

They laughed together, her merriment bubbling aloud in her cabin, his
echoing silently inside her mind.

"I haven't time to read a novel," his thought came, "and drama always
bored me, but I must confess to a weakness for poetry. I love to read it
aloud, to throw myself into a heroic ballad and rush along, spouting
grand phrases as though they were my own and feeling for a moment as
though I were really striding the streets of ancient Rome, pushing west
on the American frontier or venturing out into space in the first wild,
reckless, heroic days of rocket travel. But I soon founder. I get swept
away by the rhythm, lost in the intricacies of cadence and rhyme, and,
when the pace slows down, when the poem becomes soft and delicate and
the meaning is hidden behind a foliage of little gentle words, I lose
myself entirely."

She said softly, "Perhaps I could help you interpret some verses."

Then she waited, clasping her hands to keep them from trembling with the
tiny thrill of excitement she felt.

"That would be kind of you," he said after a pause. "You could read,
there, and I could listen, here, and feel what you feel as you read ...
or, if you wished ..." Another pause. "Would you care to come down?"

She could not help smiling. "You're too good a mind reader. A girl can't
have any secrets any more."

"Now look here," he burst out. "I wouldn't have said anything, but I
was so lonely and you're the only friendly person I've come in contact
with and ..."

"Don't be silly," she laughed. "Of course I'll come down and read to
you. I'd love to. What's your cabin number?"

"It hasn't got a number because--actually I work on this ship so I'm
away from the passengers' quarters. But I can direct you easily.