ace
I landed."

"True, but our grid coordinates are not exact. It will be a few years
before we're able to look at a log and locate within ten feet of where a
ship has been." The doctor spread out a large photomap. There were
several marks on it. He fastened a stereoscope viewer over Bolden's eyes
and handed him a pencil. "Can you use this?"

"I think so." His fingers were stiff and he couldn't feel, but he could
mark with the pencil. Kessler moved the map nearer and the terrain
sprang up in detail. In some cases, he could see it more clearly than
when he had been there, because on the map there was no fog. Bolden made
a few corrections and the doctor took the map away and removed the
viewer.

"We'll have to stay away from these places until we get a cure. Did you
notice anything peculiar in any of the places you went?"

"It was all mountainous country."

"Which probably means that we're safe on the plain. Were there any
animals?"

"Nothing that came close. Birds maybe."

"More likely it was an insect. Well, we'll worry about the host and how
it is transmitted. Try not to be upset. You're as safe as you would be
on Earth."

"Yeah," said Bolden. "Where's the pet?"

The doctor laughed. "You did very well on that one. The biologists have
been curious about the animal since the day they saw one in a native
camp."

"They can _look_ at it as much as they want," said Bolden. "Nothing
more on this one, though. It's a personal gift."

"You're sure it's personal?"

"The native said it was."

The doctor sighed. "I'll tell them. They won't like it, but we can't
argue with the natives if we want their cooperation."

Bolden smiled. The animal was safe for at least six months. He could
understand the biologists' curiosity, but there was enough to keep them
curious for a long time on a new planet. And it was his. In a remarkably
short time, he had become attached to it. It was one of those rare
things that Man happened across occasionally--about once in every five
planets. Useless, completely useless, the creature had one virtue. It
liked Man and Man liked it. It was a pet. "Okay," he said. "But you
didn't tell me where it is."

The doctor shrugged, but the gesture was lost in the shapeless
decontagion suit. "Do you think we're letting it run in the streets?
It's in the next room, under observation."

The doctor was more concerned than he was letting on. The hospital was
small and animals were never kept in it. "