The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Woman's Place, by Mark Irvin Clifton

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net

Title: A Woman's Place

Author: Mark Irvin Clifton

Illustrator: EMSH

Release Date: June 16, 2010 [EBook #32833]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A WOMAN'S PLACE ***

Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net

A Woman's Place

By MARK CLIFTON

Illustrated by EMSH

[Transcriber Note: This etext was produced from Galaxy Science Fiction
May 1955. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S.
copyright on this publication was renewed.]

[Sidenote: Home is where you hang up your spaceship--that is, if you
have any Miss Kitty along!]

It was the speaking of Miss Kitty's name which half roused her from
sleep. She eased her angular body into a more comfortable position in
the sack. Still more asleep than awake, her mind reflected tartly that
in this lifeboat, hurtling away from their wrecked spaceship back to
Earth, the sleeping accommodation was quite appropriately named. On
another mental level, she tried to hear more of what was being said
about her. Naturally, hearing one's name spoken, one would.

"We're going to have to tell Miss Kitty as soon as she wakes up." It was
Sam Eade talking to Lt. Harper--the two men who had escaped with her.

"Yes, Sam," the lieutenant answered. "What we've suspected all along is
pretty definite now."

Still drowsing, she wondered, without any real interest, what they felt
they must tell her. But the other level of her mind was more real. She
wondered how she looked to these two young men while she slept. Did she
sleep with her mouth open? Did her tiara slip while she snored?

* * * * *

Vividly, as in full dreaming, she slipped back into the remembered scene
which had given birth to the phrase. At some social gathering she had
been about to enter a room. She'd overheard her name spoken then, too.

"Miss Kitty is probably a cute enough name when you're young," the catty
woman was sayi