Shortly before the landing of the Sirius he seemed to have made up his mind. “How do you intend to dispose of the harvestship after it has finished its job?” he inquired.
Rhodan gazed quizzically at his friend. “I’ve given orders to let the ship stand by at the rim of the Galaxy. It’ll wait there till we need it again. We’ve got to make sure that the spores of the lichen won’t infest any other planets.”
“H’m… near the stars at the border.”
“Why?”
“May I know… uh… the position?”
“Why, Reggie?”
Bell looked embarrassed. He squinted at Pucky, who sat on the couch with crossed legs, munching a carrot. “Oh, I just wondered,” Bell gulped. He had forgotten that Pucky never missed monitoring his thoughts.
“Wow, fatso!” the mousebeaver suddenly squealed and laughed shrilly. He dropped his carrot and clapped his hands in sheer delight. “Bell wants to go to Rabotax and beg a robot to trim his fat belly! It’s getting to him, hee hee, he wants the slim figure shower!”
“Pucky!” Bell’s voice sounded outraged and imploring at the same time.
The mousebeaver stopped laughing. He slipped off the couch, went to Bell and took his hand, shaking his head slowly. “I’m sorry, Reggie; but all the shower can do is to nullify the effect of the spores so that the weight of your body is normal again. You see, Rabotax can’t help you. But there is another treatment for you.”
“Yeah?” Bell put all his fervent hope in one word. He bent down to Pucky, who advised him solemnly: “Yes, there is hunger and exercise!”
Bell grimaced as if somebody had poured a bucket of cold water over his head. But Pucky was not so heartless as to persist in torturing his good friend for the sake of sweet revenge. He showed that he could be forgiving. “By the way, Reggie, why do you want to lose weight? Did anybody say you are fat? I did? I was only kidding you. You aren’t overweight. I’m sure every girl in Terrania would be chasing you if you’d only look a little friendlier. I’m sure they would.”
A smile slowly spread over Bell’s face. “Do you mean it, Pucky? Honest?”
Pucky nodded sincerely . He waddled back to the couch, winking at Rhodan, and jumped back on his favorite seat. “Of course, fatso. Would I say it if I didn’t mean it?”
Bell thought for a moment, then he shared the infectious merry laughter which had broken out but was no longer intended to be at his expense alone.