"An anchor man, Mr. Danley, is called that for more than one reason. You
cannot anchor your boat to a rock unless there is an eye-bolt set in it.
And if it already has an eye-bolt, you would have no purpose on that
rock. In a way, _you_ will be the anchor of your boat, since you will be
tied to it by your safety line. If the boat drifts too far from your
rock while you are working, it will pull you off the surface, since it
has more mass than you do. That shouldn't be allowed to happen, but, if
it does, you are still with your boat, rather than deserted on a rock
for the rest of your life--which wouldn't be very long. When the power
unit in your suit ran out of energy, it would stop breaking your exhaled
carbon dioxide down into carbon and oxygen, and you would suffocate.
Even with emergency tanks of oxygen, you would soon find yourself
freezing to death. That sun up there isn't very warm, Mr. Danley."

Peter Danley was silent, but it was an effort to remain so. He wanted to
remind St. Simon that he, Danley, had been a spaceman for nearly fifteen
years. But he was also aware that he was learning things that weren't
taught at Earthside schools. Most of his professional life had been
spent aboard big, comfortable ships that made the short Earth-Luna hop.
He could probably count the total hours he had spent in a spacesuit on
the fingers of his two hands.

"All right, Mr. Danley; let's begin again. Climb along the surface. Use
toeholds, handholds, and fingerholds. Feel your way along. Find those
little crevices that will give you a grip. It doesn't take much. You're
a lot better off than a mountain climber on Earth because you don't have
to fight your weight. You have only your mass to worry about. That's it.
Fine. Very good, Mr. Danley."

* * * * *

And, later:

"Now, Mr. Danley," said Captain Brand, "you are at the end of your
tether, so to speak."

The three men were in a space boat, several hundred miles from Pallas.
Or, rather, two of them were in the boat, standing at the open door.
Peter Danley was far out from it, at the end of his safety line.

"How far are you from us, Mr. Danley?" Brand asked.

"Three hundred meters, Captain Brand," Danley said promptly.

"Very good. How do you know?"

"I am at the end of my safety line, which is three hundred meters long
when fully extended."

"Your memory is excellent, Mr. Danley. Now, how will you get back to the
boat?"

"Pull myse