e.

"But I called you back from the airfield," the Major told him without
warmth, "to say that you have done a good job. I have talked to
Washington. Naturally, you deserve a reward."

"I'm doing all right, sir," said Joe awkwardly. "I want to see the
Platform go up and stay up!"

The Major nodded impatiently.

"Naturally! But--ah--one of the men selected and trained for the crew of
the Platform has been--ah--taken ill. In strict confidence, because of
sabotage it has been determined to close in the Platform and get it
aloft at the earliest possible instant, even if its interior
arrangements are incomplete. So--ah--in view of your usefulness, I said
to Washington that I believed the greatest reward you could be offered
was--ah--to be trained as an alternate crew member, to take this man's
place if he does not recover in time."

The room seemed to reel around Joe. Then he gulped and said: "Yes, sir!
I mean--that's right. I mean, I'd rather have that, than all the money
in the world!"

"Very well." The Major turned to leave the room. "You'll stay here, be
guarded a good deal more closely than before, and take instructions. But
you understand that you are still only an alternate for a crew member!
The odds are definitely against your going!"

"That's--that's all right, sir," said Joe unsteadily. "That's quite all
right!"

The Major went out. Joe stood still, trying to realize what all this
might mean to him. Then Sally stirred.

"You might say thanks, Joe."

Her eyes were shining, but she looked proud, too.

"I put it in Dad's head that that was what you'd like better than
anything else," she told him. "If I can't go up in the Platform
myself--and I can't--I wanted you to. Because I knew you wanted to."

She smiled at him as he tried incoherently to talk. With a quiet
maternal patience, she led him out on the porch of her father's house
and sat there and listened to him. It was a long time before he realized
that she was humoring him. Then he stopped short and looked at her
suspiciously. He found that in his enthusiastic gesticulations he had
been gesticulating with _her_ hand as well as his own.

"I guess I'm pretty crazy," he said ruefully. "Shooting off my mouth
about myself up there in space.... You're pretty decent to stand me the
way I am, Sally."

He paused. Then he said humbly: "I'm plain lucky. But knowing you
and--having you like me reasonably much is pretty lucky too!"

She looked at him nonc