As Garry’s thoughts roved, his eyelids began to feel heavy and the clutch of sleep was groping for him. He finally drifted off into slumber, only to wake—he didn’t know how many hours later—with a parching thirst. He sat upright in his bunk and threw back the covers that cloaked him like a sweat-box. He found that he was breathing heavily and then suddenly remembered the end of a nightmare he had been having.
As he sat in the quietness and darkness, he began to relax, and his heartbeats slowed to normal. But he was still very thirsty. He remembered that there was a water fountain in the hallway outside the dormitory.
Slowly and carefully, so as to make no noise to disturb the others, Garry left his third-level bunk and made his way down the metal ladder to the floor. A dim night light, kept burning all the time, showed the way to the door. Garry pressed the button, and the door slid open silently.
Garry went out into the faintly lighted hallway. He shivered as he made his way along the corridor. It was not that he was cold but that it was so creepy and lonesome with everything so quiet. The fountain was like a white ghost crouching against the wall a couple of dozen feet away. Garry made his way toward it. He leaned over it, pressed the lever, and felt the icy stream against his dry lips.
“Boy, that’s good,” he said to himself, and he drank and drank as though he hadn’t had water in all his lifetime.
When he finally got his fill, he rubbed his sleeve across his mouth and turned to start back toward the dormitory.
Then it seemed that all the blood flowed out of his head in one wild rush. His heart began to thump rapidly, and his legs went weak.
It was due to a startling sight that faced him.
A huge woman was lumbering toward him down the dim corridor. There was something strange and unreal about her face and her awkward movements that gave Garry chills.
Garry started running. He slammed into the water fountain, bruising his side. But he kept moving, and so did the woman stalker.
Garry knew that the corridor was in the shape of a square and that if he kept turning corners he would arrive back at the dormitory. He wondered why a woman should frighten him, and it embarrassed him when he thought what the others would say when they found out. But the creature was so hostile—and somehow monstrous in her looks—that Garry was sure she meant to attack him.
As he ran, Garry did not even look back to see if his adversary were still in pursuit. Finally, he turned the last corner and saw the dormitory straight ahead at the end of the corridor. He looked back around the corner in the direction from which he had just come. He’d outdistanced her. She wasn’t even in sight.
By now his nerves were a little calmer, although his heart still drummed faster than usual. He began walking briskly, every now and then casting a look back over his shoulder.
There was the dormitory at last. He felt a little silly now, as he reached for the button to open the door. He decided that he would not tell the others of his run and his fright lest they tease him about the incident. He would just tell them that he hadseenthe strange woman but would not reveal the embarrassing circumstances. He still wondered who she could be, especially since Captain Eaton had not even mentioned her before.
Just as Garry pressed the door button, he heard a metallic clanking behind him.
There was the woman, coming very fast, the dim lights revealing the dark hollows of her eyes. Garry saw her tight-lipped mouth, her hugeness—fully as tall as Mr. Klecker and almost as broad, it seemed.
The unexpectedness of it caused Garry to cry out for the first time. As the door of the dormitory slid back, he scrambled inside, hurriedly pressed the button closing the door, then sank back against it, panting.
The bright lights went on in the room. Garry’s eyes blurred in the sudden sharp brilliance. When they came into focus, Garry saw everyone sitting straight up in their bunks, their eyes squinting and staring at him in amazement.
After a few tense moments, Captain Eaton asked from his bunk, “Garry, what’s the matter?”
“A woman—a big woman’s out there!” he blurted. “She was after me!”
Garry heard the men begin to laugh.
“Garry, that’s Katrinka,” the captain explained. “She wouldn’t hurt a thing. Shecouldn’t. She’s notbuiltthat way.”
“Notbuiltthat way?” Garry echoed. “What do you mean? She’s built pretty strong I think!”
Captain Eaton chuckled. “She’s a robot, Garry.”
“A robot!” Garry said. “So that’s why she looks so different!”
“Yes, I made her as lifelike as possible,” Captain Eaton went on, “but I’m afraid I’m no Michelangelo as a sculptor.”
“Youbuilther?” Garry asked in surprise.
“Yes. We needed someone to do our chores—you know, the things that men dislike doing in the nature of housework and cleaning up. But she’s quite controllable, Garry. She wouldn’t have harmed you. Something must have slipped in her mechanism so that she became activated. It happens once in awhile. I’ll go take a look at her.”
“You don’t have to go far, Sir,” Garry said, rubbing away the sweat that had gathered on his forehead. “She’s right outside the door.”
As the captain climbed from his bunk and slipped into his robe, Garry avoided the eyes of the others in the dormitory. He had done just what he had hoped he would not do—shown his fear of a harmless robot. He knew they must think him squeamish, but they were not laughing now.
Patch seemed to have been the only one who was not aroused by the excitement. Garry could see that he was still asleep in his bunk.
Captain Eaton passed Garry, opened the door, and went outside. Garry followed a few steps behind.
The robot still looked menacing to Garry. It stood, big and dark and unmoving, in the dimness of the corridor.
Captain Eaton faced Katrinka and spoke in a clear, loud voice: “Closet! Closet!”
Garry heard a humming sound coming from the robot. It shuffled about slowly on its ponderous feet and started walking away.
“She’s obeying!” Garry gasped.
“Yes, she’s all right,” Captain Eaton replied. “Probably just a crossing of the wires in her mechanical brain that activated her. Maybe a slight lurch of the ship did it. I’ll look her over thoroughly in the morning.”
“I don’t see how you did it,” Garry said, still amazed. “How can a machine like that take orders like a person, just as if it had a brain like us?”
“Katrinka’s brain is made up of electrical impulses in certain codes,” Captain Eaton replied. “There is a code disk for everything that she is able to do. For instance, there is one for making up the bunks, every step in that operation. There’s one for washing the dishes, mopping the floor, and so on. When I have the time, I make her even smarter by adding new codes and duties.”
“But all you said was the word ‘closet,’ and off she went,” Garry said.
“That was the code for her heading for the closet down the corridor where she stays when we have no need for her. When she goes inside the closet, an automatic switch will cut off her mechanism, and she will remain dormant until we need her. Just as if I gave you an order to go somewhere and your muscles would carry you to that place, so it is with Katrinka. The code words I give her activate the wires that control her movement in a certain way, whatever that activity is.”
Garry nodded. “I understand it, but it sure must be a complicated thing the way she works.”
“It’s complicated, all right,” Captain Eaton agreed. “Katrinka represents many years of scientific study, long before I ever thought of venturing into space. It was a hobby of mine, in between my duties as a teacher and head of a space shipping corporation. My first models were very clumsy and crude, but I have developed them over the years and have finally come up with Katrinka, my finest yet. Many people are interested in her—manufacturers and the government too.”
The next morning Garry told Patch about Katrinka, and Captain Eaton gave them permission to watch him check out the robot.
After breakfast the three went to the closet where the robot was kept. The captain pressed the door button, and the door slid open, revealing the hulking monster that had frightened Garry the night before. Even now, Garry felt chills along his spine.
Captain Eaton spoke one word, “Follow,” and then turned on his heel, heading on down the corridor. The boys tagged along and were amazed to see and hear Katrinka clomping behind.
“Sheisfollowing, Garry!” Patch said.
“Yeah, and I still don’t understand it,” his friend replied, with a shake of his head.
“Why, that’s the easiest command of all I’ve given her to do,” Captain Eaton said. “The word ‘follow’ activates a sort of radar device in her and makes her follow the closest moving object. I believe that was what happened when she chased you last night, Garry. Something slipped, causing her to follow that particular action.”
The captain chuckled. “She could have pursued you all night, but she never would have come closer than three feet.”
TheCarefree’s skipper entered a doorway leading off the corridor. “Here’s my workshop. I’ll have a look at Katrinka’s workings now,” he said.
The shop was untidy, cluttered from top to bottom with electronic parts, tools, and metal plates.
Captain Eaton gave Katrinka the command to stop and then with a screw driver removed a large plate from her back. He nosed about inside the robot for several minutes, making adjustments within the complicated network of wires and miniature parts. Then he replaced the plate.
“Just a couple of wires got too close,” he said. “She won’t be chasing you any more, Garry.”
“That’s a relief,” Garry replied with a nervous smile. “I wouldn’t want to go through that again, even if sheisharmless!”
“I’ll show you how I build commands into her system,” the captain said. “Let’s have a simple command, fellows.”
“I know,” Garry replied. “Have her lift up Patch.”
Patch backed off hastily. “Oh no you don’t!” he objected.
The master of theCarefreelaughed. “Be a sport, Patch. She’s very gentle. She won’t hurt you,” he said.
Patch thought a moment, then replied, “Okay, if you promise it will be all right.”
“I promise,” the captain said, and he set to work.
He brought out tools and equipment of every kind. Then he removed some plates from various parts of the robot’s body. But instead of tinkering around inside, as he had done before, he opened up a big chart and began working from it, using pencil and paper.
“What are you doing, Captain?” Garry asked after a few moments.
“This is a map of Katrinka’s system, like the diagram of a radio or TV,” was the reply. “I have to figure out what connections I must bring together. You see, I must give her several actions that make up the command we have given her. There must be the action of walking over to Patch, of bending certain parts that serve as her muscles, and finally the action of lifting him up. Then I must activate these through the use of spoken words.” The captain worked for about an hour. The last thing he did was to take a small disk out of stock and drill holes in it at very carefully measured positions. Then he slipped the disk into place inside the robot.
“Now let’s try her out,” the captain said.
Captain Eaton faced the robot and spoke in a loud clear voice: “Lift.”
Patch remained where he stood, but Garry could see that he was a little nervous as Katrinka began lumbering toward him. The robot stooped over and lifted the boy in her big metal arms. She stood motionless, holding him in a firm grip as Patch began to struggle impatiently after about fifteen seconds.
“Tell her to put me down, Captain,” Patch begged.
The captain winked at Garry mischievously. “My goodness, Patch, I forgot to give her a command to release you!”
Patch began struggling vigorously, but he could not escape the robot’s iron grip.
“Hey, somebody, get me out of this!” Patch cried, his face reddening from his exertions.
Seeing that his fun had gone far enough, Captain Eaton barked out, as if he were a military commander: “Atten-tion!”
The robot’s arms slipped straight down to her sides, and her body stiffened rigidly. Patch tumbled unharmed to the floor.
Patch sat up. He turned and looked up at Garry and the captain. Fear still showed in his eyes, but, as he saw the playful smile on the captain’s face, a grin spread over his own.
The captain laughed out loud. Then Garry joined in.
Finally, Patch himself began laughing, having enjoyed the harmless experiment even if the captainhadplayed a little joke on him.
Although Ben seemed to be one of the busiest persons aboard theCarefree, he still took time out to chat with the boys early that afternoon.
“Have you been at the orphanage all your lives?” Ben asked Garry and Patch.
“Almost that long,” Garry replied.
“Our parents were good friends,” Patch added. “All four of them were killed at one time in a rocket-plane crash near Salt Lake City. We were only three then and were placed in the orphanage at the same time.”
“How long have you been in space, Ben?” Garry asked.
“Oh, about eight years now, off and on. I started when I was in my teens. I was a sort of cabin boy aboard the old Mars exploration ship, theJules Verne. We spent a year there. Boy, what a life! It was like living in a deep freeze. Since then I’ve traveled to Venus, Luna—the moon, you know—and there’s no counting the trips I’ve made among the satellites.”
“How did you get in with Captain Eaton and theCarefree?” Patch wanted to know.
“A few years ago I took time to go to school and learn space-ship engineering and design,” Ben replied. “My teacher was Captain Eaton—or Professor Eaton, as he was called then. He was also a millionaire and president of Space Shipping Incorporated. He helped build the sturdiest ships ever to fly the solar system. I graduated stone broke and had to go back to flying the spaceways.
“I thought I’d never be an engineer or designer, but then Professor Eaton got in touch with me and said he was going to design a space ship for his own use. He said I was the best pupil he had ever taught and asked if I would work with him on the project. Of course I jumped at the idea. We assembled the ship out here in space, and I’ve been with him ever since.”
“Captain Eaton is a grand person, isn’t he?” Garry asked.
A fond look came into Ben’s dark eyes. “He’s the wisest, kindest, and most generous person I’ve ever known or heard about. You may think he selfishly spends all his money for his own enjoyment as he cruises the spaceways, but that isn’t the case. He gives far more than he spends out here to charities and churches back on earth. And he has built countless scientific libraries, but he’s too modest to let them be named after himself.”
“TheCarefreeis such a big ship, Ben,” Patch said, “that I don’t understand how it can be run by so few men.”
“It’s due to the captain’s genius,” Ben explained. “Practically everything you can think of is automatic, and our batteries are constantly recharged by sunlight. Of course, once in a while something goes wrong, and we have to dock at a repair satellite. And we also have to refuel about every six months at a service station. But we don’t use very much fuel ordinarily because we mostly just cruise about in the ‘satellite zone,’ as it’s called.”
Ben had to go back to work, and the boys joined Captain Eaton in the library, where he was waiting for a TV newscast to come on.
Garry and Patch got the shock of their lives at the first feature to come over the telecast. For the subjects werethemselves.
They quickly discovered that they were the most celebrated missing persons on earth. The orphanage had first reported their absence, and then Mr. Mulroy had given his version of their disappearance. It seemed that Mr. Mulroy was in very hot water because he had not made sure that the boys had gotten off theOrionbefore the blast-off. In fact, he was in such hot water that he faced court-martial unless Garry and Patch were found.
“Well, I guess the vacation is over, Patch,” Garry said sadly. “We can’t let Mr. Mulroy be court-martialed for what we did.”
“We’ve got to tell them where we are, haven’t we?” Patch replied. “Although I’d giveanythingto stay aboard theCarefree—that is, if Captain Eaton would have us.”
“I’d like nothing better than to have you two stay on,” the captain said. “But you must consider Mr. Mulroy and all the police forces who are working to uncover the mystery of your disappearance. Right, fellows?”
“Yes, Sir,” they both agreed reluctantly.
“We must make full use of the time left you to finish seeing the marvels of theCarefree. I said I’d show you the observatory today. What do you say we go there now? I’ve got some double-star photos I want to check on.”
The boys liked the idea and went with their host along the zero-gravity tunnel toward the observatory.
The observatory was a “bubble” attached to theCarefree’s center tube or axle, just a short distance from the air lock through which Garry and Patch had first entered the ship. The observatory was such that it never rotated with the tube or the rest of the ship. In this way its telescopes could always keep focus on objects in space.
Three pairs of magnetic shoes clicked along the metal floor of the observatory as Captain Eaton led the boys to the reflector telescope, whose big six-inch eye was pointed out into space. Captain Eaton looked over a camera which was attached to the eyepiece of the telescope. Then he unfastened the camera and took it off.
“The picture has been exposed long enough,” the skipper said. “It takes a pretty long time for a photograph to be made in the heavens, you know. But when you give it full exposure, it shows you much more than your naked eye can do.”
Garry studied a satellite chart on the wall. “I didn’t know there were so many satellites whirling around the earth. So many different kinds and sizes too!” he said.
“Yes, there are many more than one would imagine,” the captain agreed. “Here, let me show you some of them on the chart. The pictures you see are exactly the way each satellite looks, and they are all drawn in proportion.”
Garry and Patch studied the chart with its multitude of different shapes and sizes. There were satellites that resembled drums and others like round balls. Some were torpedo shaped, and some were circular and flat like “flying saucers.” There were giant satellites, wherein people lived and worked, and many of them were in the shape of huge revolving wheels. Some of them had no regularity at all, appearing to Garry to resemble more than anything else huge space insects, bristling with antennas and sun mirrors.
“As you probably know, fellows,” Captain Eaton said, “the Von Braun Space Station is our largest satellite of all. But there are a few others that approach it in size. For example, here is Quartermaster 10, the biggest of the depot satellites that furnish supplies to men who live in the world of the artificial moons. Here is a big fueling satellite, and over here is another big one—Spaceharbor—which is really a network of smaller moons joined together. This is a shipyard satellite where space ships are built and repaired. TheCarefreewas built in Spaceharbor.”
“Gee, with so many of those things orbiting earth every minute of the day, it seems that space ships are always in danger of hitting one of them,” Patch remarked.
“That is a very real danger,” Captain Eaton said, “especially for us, since we usually cruise in that area above earth called the ‘satellite zone.’ For this reason, every person on pilot duty is responsible for knowing the position of every satellite within dangerous range of theCarefree. This requires constant study and figuring of orbit paths. It really is the biggest job the pilot has to do, because generally theCarefreeis on automatic pilot and runs itself, you might say.”
“What are some of these smaller satellites?” Garry asked.
“Well, there, there, and there are some of the observation satellites called ‘Tiros.’ They are used to photograph part of the earth for different reasons. Some of the reasons are prediction of weather, mapping, and for military purposes to see that the countries of the world do not start arming themselves for aggression.”
“The Tiros moons were first put into orbit in the 1960’s, weren’t they?” Garry asked.
Captain Eaton nodded. “Also these, Garry—the Transit satellites, which are used for navigation, both in space and on earth. This odd-looking little moon over here is one I’m sure you’ve heard about. It is WAS, which means weather-alteration satellite. Know what it does?”
“Sure,” Garry replied. “It’s used to seed storm clouds with chemicals. If the seeding works, hurricanes and tornadoes can be broken up before they cause damage. I believe they were first put into orbit in the late 1960’s.”
“Very good,” the captain complimented. “Of course there are many other kinds of man-made moons, some too technical to explain. But, in spite of their great number and complexity, each has its use, and they are a tribute to man’s great achievements in the world of science. One of our big jobs aboard theCarefreeis to see that they remain in orbit, doing their duty for the people of earth. If we should ever change their orbit, for instance by colliding with one of them, we not only would destroy their usefulness but we would, in all likelihood, destroy theCarefreeas well.”
Garry did not even want to think about the possibility of such a disaster.
After the visit to the observatory, the captain asked the boys if they would care to try out the swimming pool.
“Hey, would we!” Garry and Patch said together.
A few minutes later, as they were heading down the corridor toward the gym, they passed Mr. Klecker walking along stiffly—in full dress of course—and carrying a stack of books.
“Hello, gentlemen,” the tall man greeted them cordially, and the boys returned his greeting.
As he passed, Patch whispered to Garry, “Bet those books are about the circus.”
Garry smiled and nodded.
The boys had learned that Mr. Klecker had a hobby. He was very much interested in the circus of the old days. He had many books on the subject, and whenever he talked to anyone it was about the circus.
Garry and Patch had heard from the others that Mr. Klecker still looked after the captain as if he were serving him in his mansion. He would lay out his clothes for him and attend to other small details. Once in awhile Mr. Klecker would be called on to assist in things of a mechanical nature, but he hated to get out of his full dress and don greasy coveralls.
The boys proceeded to the gym. They were anticipating a good time. But something of a decisive nature was to happen which would have an important bearing on their future life aboard theCarefree.
“Beat you into the pool,” Patch called a little while later.
He dashed out of the dressing room and dove, with hands outstretched, into the water. Garry followed right behind, tumbling into the spray left by Patch’s dive.
“Say, this is nice and warm!” Garry said. “And we’ve got it all to ourselves!”
A little way back from the pool’s edge, Mac and Isaac were lifting weights. This exercise was to help them keep in good physical trim.
Garry and Patch swam and splashed to their hearts’ content. It was the most fun they had had in a long time. They knew no one would ever believe their story of swimming in a pool in deep space! It was almost too difficult for them to believe themselves. But they did not care if they were never believed.
They frolicked in the water for about an hour and then climbed up on the pool’s edge to catch their breath for a few minutes.
“Boy, I could spend twenty-four hours a day in there,” Patch said, flicking water from his face.
“I could too, almost,” Garry agreed. “But I would be satisfied if I could spend twenty-four hours a day aboard theCarefreedoing anything. Gee, it’s going to be hard leaving here to go back to the orphanage.”
“Yeah,” Patch said sourly. “Gee whiz, Garry, why can’t they let a couple of guys live the way they want to?”
“We can someday, when we are old enough,” Garry said. “But the only way we could get around having to go back now would be for Captain Eaton to adopt us.”
“Say, that’s the answer!” Patch replied excitedly. “Why don’t we ask him?”
“I don’t think it’s as easy as that, Patch. In the first place, I don’t thinkweshould askhim. He knows how much we like theCarefree, and he may have thought of adoption. But he should be the one who suggests it.”
“Maybe we could drop a hint or something,” Patch said.
“I don’t think they’d let him adopt us, Patch. Don’t forget, when they find out where we are, they’ll think we stowed away aboard theOrion, and that would ruin any chances we might have had.”
“But we didn’t deliberately stow away!” Patch protested.
“I know that, but how can we get them to believe us? I don’t think they’d even consider adoption at this time, and I think Captain Eaton must feel that way too.”
Patch sighed. “Maybe later, then. Maybe someday Captain Eaton will want us back. Gosh, I hate to leave here, though.”
“Life won’t be the same any more,” Garry said. “Nothing can ever be as exciting as the adventure we’ve had.”
They heard footsteps approaching and looked up to see Captain Eaton coming their way. Missing now was his usual sunny smile. He carried a piece of paper in his hand.
“Well, fellows, the answer has come,” Captain Eaton said, and his voice was laden with dejection. “I radioed that you two had been picked up, and they’ve already replied.”
Garry hated to ask, “Wh—what did they say?”
“Just as I suspected. We must return to the Von Braun Space Station.”
“I was hoping we had afewmore days at least,” Patch groaned.
“I think that the sooner we straighten this matter out, the better it will be for everyone,” Captain Eaton replied. “And another thing, you boys are still A.W.O.L. from the orphanage, you know. However, it will take a couple of days for us to work out a navigation plan and get a clearance approach to the station. Sorry, fellows. I wish you could have stayed on with us indefinitely, but....”
As the captain’s voice trailed off, Garry had a flicker of hope. The captain was looking at them as if debating something in his mind. Would he bring up the subject of adoption?
But, saying nothing further, the captain turned and began walking toward the outer door of the gym.
Then he seemed to think of something else and came back. The boys held their breath hopefully. Would he mention adoption now?
“There’s something else they told me that I thought you’d want to know,” the captain said. “I told them the story of your being stowaways accidentally, just as you told me. They checked back and found that the elevator attached to theOrionwas defective, as you said, and they are convinced of the truth of your story. As a result, Officer Mulroy has been cleared of any negligence.”
“I’m glad to know that, Sir,” Garry said.
Once more the captain left them, but this time for good.
“Well, that’s that,” Patch commented unhappily. “No adoption. When he came back I thought he....”
“I was hoping too,” Garry replied, “but we’ve got to go back, and that’s all there is to it.”
Mac and Isaac came over, still breathing hard from their exercises.
“We couldn’t help but overhear the bad news,” Mac said. “We’re going to hate to see you fellows go.”
“Yes, that’s right,” Isaac added.
“Thanks,” Garry replied. “We were getting to like this old ship.”
“In a way I’d almost like to go with you,” Mac said, with a faraway look in his eyes.
Garry guessed that the Scotsman was a little homesick. His hunch proved correct, because Mac began to reminisce about his homeland. He described the heather on the hillsides, the flowing streams, and the green vales. And yet, Mac admitted finally that space was still a good second home to him, and he enjoyed his life in the deeps.
Isaac had no home he would rather live in than theCarefree. As he talked about his good friends aboard ship and the kindly captain, Garry noticed the softness of the big man’s eyes.
Garry had heard that Isaac was really quite a sentimental fellow. Whenever he learned of a tragedy over the TV, it would depress him. Later, the boys were to learn that Isaac had a secret liking for good poetry.
Both Mac and Isaac seemed genuinely sorry that the boys were having to leave. It made Garry and Patch feel good that they were so popular, but it made them a little sad, too.
The next morning Garry and Patch woke earlier than the others and were heading toward the washroom.
Suddenly Garry stopped and caught Patch by the arm. “Patch, do you hear that? There’s noise coming from the laundry room up ahead!”
Patch listened and heard the sound of splashing and a machine laboring hard.
“Yeah,” Patch said. “Let’s see what’s going on!”
Running, Garry led the way into the laundry room. But then he wished he had not been coming so fast. His feet skidded on the floor, that was covered with thick soapsuds, and he skated several feet forward on his bottom. Patch, coming right behind, could not help laughing at his friend’s misfortune. But then he too went down and skidded alongside Garry.
“Hey, what goes on here!” Garry gasped, trying to get to his feet. The entire floor was a miniature sea of soapsuds.
In his efforts to get up, Garry’s feet slid apart, and he hit the floor again. Patch had no better luck than Garry. When this happened, both boys broke into laughter.
They struggled several times to their feet, half playing all the while, but did not succeed in keeping their feet until the fourth attempt. Then they held onto one another to steady themselves. Only now did they see what was causing the strange disorder.
They looked over at the big washing machine against the wall and saw Katrinka standing over the open tank, pitching clothes right and left out of the machine and into the air! It was as if she were having the time of her life.
“Look, Patch—Katrinka!” Garry burst out laughing once more. “She’s gone crazy! Something must have flipped in her mechanism again.”
The machine was still making mountains of suds, and they were flooding out of the top like a flow of white lava. Katrinka’s metal wrists clanged against the edge of the machine as she went up and down with her flinging motion, making a rhythmic clatter.
“Hey, can’t we give her some words to make her stop this?” Patch spoke loudly to be heard over all the noise. “She’ll wreck the place!”
“I remember one of the commands,” Garry said. Then loudly he called out: “Atten-tion! Atten-tion!”
“She’s not paying any mind!” Patch said.
“She must be short-circuited again,” Garry said. “Let’s go for Captain Eaton!”
“I hate to wake him up after the hard day he had yesterday,” Patch said, as he returned along the corridor with Garry, “but this is an emergency.”
It turned out that they did not have to wake the captain. He met them, clad in his robe, at the door of the dorm, having already been aroused by the commotion going on down the corridor.
Captain Eaton yawned. “It’s Katrinka, isn’t it? Ben set her for laundry duty this morning, but I guess her wires got crossed again.”
The boys cautioned Captain Eaton to be careful about going into the slippery room. The captain promised he would be careful and promptly fell down as soon as he walked through the door. Garry and Patch tried to help the captain to his feet, but only succeeded in falling again themselves. They scrambled around, slipping and sliding. Then slowly learning how to become expert at moving about in soapsuds, they finally managed to stand up and stay up.
Carefully, the three made their way toward the washing machine where Katrinka was still merrily flipping clothes through the air. But by now she was out of ammunition and was merely flailing her metal arms. The captain used the command, “Atten-tion!” several times, trying to stop Katrinka’s wild actions, but he had no better luck with this than Garry had had.
Captain Eaton moved forward over the slippery floor and groped for the control knob on the robot’s back. But then, losing his footing, he hung on to the robot to keep from falling again. This brought Katrinka crashing down onto the floor along with the captain himself.
Garry and Patch each offered the captain a hand and presently managed to get him upright again. Garry had a hard time keeping a straight face. Captain Eaton’s face was red, and his beard was straggly and sudsy. His soggy bathrobe stuck to his thin legs, giving him the appearance of a saddened, snow-covered elf.
In the meanwhile, Katrinka was still having her fun, swinging her arms gaily against the floor as she lay on her back.
“We’ve got to turn her over,” Captain Eaton said, crawling nearer the robot. “Be careful of her arms. She can knock you over with them.”
Garry thought he saw how the job could be done.
“Let’s both grab her right leg, Patch,” he said. “Then we’ll give a good heave-ho and flip her over on her stomach. Careful you don’t slip.”
They did as Garry had suggested, yanking fiercely on the robot’s leg and flipping the metal creature over, face down. But the motion also brought Garry and Patch down in the soap again, this time getting the suds all over their faces, causing them to make wry grimaces and blow away the froth from their lips even as they laughed.
But what was funniest of all to Garry was when he saw Captain Eaton suddenly see an opening and scramble furiously, on all fours, over to the flailing robot. He threw himself upon her back, fighting her as a cowboy would wrestle a steer. He finally subdued her with a turn of the switch on her back, which he was at last able to grab and twist.
Worn out by his exertions, the captain simply flopped back on his hands in the soapy billows, sighing heavily. Then the good-natured man caught Garry’s eye and smiled. The smile turned into laughter, and presently all three of them joined in.
The captain later determined what had happened. He found out that Katrinka, in doing her washing chores, had gotten water into her electronic parts, and this had caused trouble in her mechanism. Captain Eaton made the repair easily, and the robot maid was once more in proper working order.
The boys were with the captain while he was making the repairs on Katrinka in the workshop. When the captain had put away his tools, he sent the robot on her way. Then he looked at Garry, as he washed his hands at the sink, and said in a sad voice, “Fellows, I’ve received a docking date at the Von Braun Space Station. We’ll dock at 2100 tomorrow night. That isn’t much time left, is it?”
“No, Sir, it isn’t,” Garry replied unhappily.
The captain did not look up again.
Garry half expected him to say something else, but, instead, he remained silent. Garry tugged at Patch’s sleeve, motioning for them to go.
The boys made their way slowly toward the door of the workshop. As Garry pressed the button to open the sliding door, Captain Eaton spoke again.
“Wait—just a minute.”
The boys turned. Garry gulped. He could see the sadness in the elderly man’s eyes.
“Boys, I haven’t told you how much I’ve enjoyed having you with us for this short time,” the captain said, holding his dripping hands over the sink, not bothering to dry them.
Garry had a lump in his throat. “We’ve enjoyed it too, haven’t we, Patch?”
“Sure thing,” Patch murmured.
Captain Eaton continued: “You two have been a great big lift in our lives. It’s been so long since we’ve seen young fellows, and you’ve made us feel younger ourselves once more. I think you know how we feel about your leaving us. But I don’t want to get sentimental about it and make you feel worse. So this won’t be good-by. We’ll see each other again—I know we shall.”
Garry cleared his throat, trying to dissolve that lump. “You’d better dry your hands, Sir.”
Captain Eaton smiled, reaching for a towel. “Oh, of course,” he said.
“We’ll miss all of you very much, Sir,” Garry said, before starting through the door. “TheCarefreehas been like a home to us.”
The boys were silent as they went on to the dormitory. They were overcome by sadness at having to leave the ship and her friendly people.
As the boys were getting together the clothing and toilet articles they had been given, Patch remarked to Garry, “Maybe the captain doesn’t like us enough for adoption. He may not care for the idea of being saddled with us permanently.”
“I hope it’s not that,” Garry answered, “but I still can’t think of any other reason, now that the stowaway business is straightened out.”
Patch didn’t answer. He had no explanation either.