obably have planets. There's probably
zillions of planets."

Red felt outweighed and outnumbered. He muttered, "You're crazy!"

"All right, then. I'll show you."

"Hey! Where are you going?"

"Down there. I'm going to ask my father. I suppose you'll believe it if
_he_ tells you. I suppose you'll believe a Professor of Astronomy knows
what--"

He had scrambled upright.

Red said, "Hey. You don't want them to see us. We're not supposed to be
here. Do you want them to start asking questions and find out about our
animals?"

"I don't care. You said I was crazy."

"Snitcher! You promised you wouldn't tell."

"I'm _not_ going to tell. But if they find out themselves, it's your
fault, for starting an argument and saying I was crazy."

"I take it back, then," grumbled Red.

"Well, all right. You better."

In a way, Slim was disappointed. He wanted to see the space-ship at
closer quarters. Still, he could not break his vow of secrecy even in
spirit without at least the excuse of personal insult.

Red said, "It's awfully small for a space-ship."

"Sure, because it's probably a scout-ship."

"I'll bet Dad couldn't even get into the old thing."

So much Slim realized to be true. It was a weak point in his argument
and he made no answer. His interest was absorbed by the adults.

Red rose to his feet; an elaborate attitude of boredom all about him.
"Well, I guess we better be going. There's business to do and I can't
spend all day here looking at some old space-ship or whatever it is.
We've got to take care of the animals if we're going to be circus-folks.
That's the first rule with circus-folks. They've got to take care of the
animals. And," he finished virtuously, "that's what I aim to do,
anyway."

Slim said, "What for, Red? They've got plenty of meat. Let's watch."

"There's no fun in watching. Besides Dad and your father are going away
and I guess it's about lunch time."

Red became argumentative. "Look, Slim, we can't start acting suspicious
or they're going to start investigating. Holy Smokes, don't you ever
read any detective stories? When you're trying to work a big deal
without being caught, it's practically the main thing to keep on acting
just like always. Then they don't suspect anything. That's the first
law--"

"Oh, all right."

Slim rose resentfully. At the moment, the circus appeared to him a
rather tawdry and shoddy substitute for the glories of astronomy, and he
wondered how he had com