out?"

"I'll take you on as my protege. Make a decent gambler out of you. Set
you up. We can go travelling together, see the world again. You've been
to space; you can tell me what it's like out there. And----"

"Hold on," Alan said sharply. "You've got things mixed up a little bit.
I'm going to Procyon on the _Valhalla_ at the end of this week. I
appreciate everything you've done for me, but if you think I'm going to
jump ship permanently and spend the rest of my life----"

"You'll stay on Earth, all right," Hawkes said confidently. "You're in
love with the place. You know yourself you don't want to spend the next
seven decades of your life shuttling around in your old man's starship.
You'll check out and stay here. I know you will."

"I'll bet you I don't!"

"That bet is herewith covered," Hawkes drawled. "I never pass up a sure
thing. Is ten to one okay--your hundred against my thousand that you'll
stay?"

Alan scowled angrily. "I don't want to bet with you, Max. I'm going back
on the _Valhalla_. I----"

"Go ahead. Take my money, if you're so sure."

"All right, I will! A thousand credits won't hurt me!" Suddenly he had
no further desire to listen to Hawkes talk; he rose abruptly and gulped
down the remainder of his drink.

"I'm tired. Let's get some sleep."

"Fair enough," Hawkes said. He got up, touched a button in the wall, and
a panel slid back, exposing a bed. "You sack out here. I'll wake you in
the morning and we'll go looking for your brother Steve."

_Chapter Ten_

Alan woke early the next morning, but it was Rat, not Hawkes, who pulled
him out of sleep. The little extra-terrestrial was nibbling on his ear.

Bleary-eyed, Alan sat up and blinked. "Oh--it's you. I thought you were
on a silence strike."

"There wasn't anything I wanted to say, so I kept quiet. But I want to
say some things now, before your new friend wakes up."

The Bellatrician had been silent all the past evening, tagging along
behind Alan and Hawkes like a faithful pet, but keeping his mouth
closed. "Go ahead and say them, then," Alan told him.

"I don't like this fellow Hawkes. I think you're in for trouble if you
stick with him."

"He's going to take me to the Atlas to get Steve."

"You can get to the Atlas yourself. He's given you all the help you'll
need."

Alan shook his head. "I'm no baby. I can take care of myself, without
_your_ help."

The little alien creature shrugged. "Suit yourself. But I'll tel