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Updated: June 29, 2025
Van Rycke passed along the corridor on his way to the hydro, Sinbad at his heels. But in a moment the cat was back, leaping up on Dane's knee. He did not curl up, but rubbed against the young man's arm, finally reaching up with a paw to touch Dane's chin, uttering one of the soundless, mews which were his bid for attention. "What's the matter, boy?" Dane fondled the cat's ears.
Van Rycke grunted an assent and Dane dropped the cat in the small hammock which was his particular station, fastening the safety cords. For once Sinbad made no protest but rolled into a ball and was promptly fast asleep. For a moment or two Dane thought about this unnatural behavior and wondered if he should call it to the Cargo-master's attention.
Since the room seemed a comfortable conference chamber, Dane thought that their status must now be on a higher level than that of Patrol Posted outlaws. But he was also sure that if they attempted to walk out of the building that effort would not be successful. Van Rycke sat stolidly in his chosen seat, fingers of both hands laced across his substantial middle.
Tipped out of its cage the Hoobat scuttled forward, straight for the panel which opened on the large cargo space and there waited, as if for them to open the portal and admit the hunter to its hunting territory. Across the lock of the panel was the seal set in place by Van Rycke before the spacer had lifted from Sargol. Under Dane's inspection it showed no crack.
"Until the shadow of the shield is not." They had until noon. Van Rycke arose and Dane gathered up his chief's possessions. With the same superiority to his surroundings he had shown upon entering, the Cargo-master left the enclosure, the Eysies following. But they were away from the clearing, out upon the road back to the Queen before the two from the Company caught up with them.
Van Rycke, with a slight change of dress, could have been a Company man in the higher ranks or so the casual observer would have placed him, until an observer marked the eyes behind those sleepy drooping lids, or caught a certain note in the calm, unhurried drawl of his voice.
There were volunteers for nursing and Tau, unable to be in two places at once, finally picked Weeks to look after his crewmate in the engineering section. There was doubling up of duties. Tau could no longer share with Mura the care of the hydro garden so Van Rycke took over.
"There was just the wood we stowed it according to chart." Van Rycke grunted once more. "Feeling top-layer again?" "Yes, sir. Any orders, sir?" "No. Blast-off's at six." "Yes, sir." Dane left the cabin, closing the panel carefully behind him. Would he or could he he thought drearily, get back in Van Rycke's profit column again? Sargol had been unlucky as far as he was concerned.
Odd it wasn't an unpleasant odor at least to him it wasn't just sharp and pungent. He sniffed again and was vaguely surprised to discover that it was less noticeable now. Perhaps the wood when taken out of the sunlight lost its scent. They packed the lower hold solid in accordance with the rules of stowage and locked the hatch before Van Rycke returned from his meeting with the storm priests.
When he was done Van Rycke asked a direct question of the medical officer: "What effect would catnip have on a Salarik?" It was only then that Dane grasped the enormity of what he had done. They had no way of gauging the influence of an off-world plant on alien metabolism. What if he had introduced to the natives of Sargol a dangerous drug started that cub on some path of addiction.
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