‘Not to the pig, son.’
‘ “The pig?” What pig? There are no pigs in this case; there isn’t a pig on Mars. If we —’
‘Herbert! Have you anything to add?’
‘I — ‘ The young prosecutor slumped. ‘Sorry Dad, I got excited. We rest’
The judge turned to Hazel. ‘He a good boy, but he’s impetuous — like yours. I’ll make a lawyer out of him yet.’ He straightened up. ‘And the court rests — ten minutes out for a pipe. Don’t go away.’ He ducked out.
The twins whispered and fidgeted; Hazel caught the eyes of her son and daughter-in-law and gave them a solemn wink. Judge Warburton returned in less than ten minutes and the bailiff shouted for order. The judge stared at the prisoners. ‘The court rules,’ he said solemnly, ‘that the bicycles in question are “articles of production” within the meaning of the tariff code. The prisoners are acquitted and discharged. The clerk will release the delivery bond.’
There was very scattered applause, led by Hazel. ‘No demonstrations!’ the judge said sharply. He looked again at the twins. ‘You’re extremely lucky — you know that, don’t you?’
‘Yessir!’
‘Then get out of my sight and try to stay out of trouble.’
Dinner was a happy family reunion despite the slight cloud that still hung over the twins. It was also quite good, Dr Stone having quietly taken over the cooking. Captain Vandenbergh, down on the same shuttle, joined them for dinner. By disconnecting the TV receiver and placing it temporarily on Meade’s bunk and by leaving open the door to the twins’ cubicle so that Captain Vandenbergh’s chair could be backed into the door frame, it was just possible for all of them to sit down at once. Fuzzy Britches sat in Lowell’s lap; up till now the flat cat had had its own chair.
Roger Stone tried to push back his chair to make more room for his knees, found himself chock-a-block against the wall ‘Edith, we will just have to get a larger place.’
‘Yes, dear. Hazel and I spoke to the landlord this afternoon.’
‘What did he say?’
Hazel took over. ‘I’m going to cut his gizzard out. I reminded him that he had promised to take care of us when you two got down. He looked saintly and pointed out that he had given us two more cots. Lowell, quit feeding that mop with your own spoon!’
‘Yes, Grandma Hazel. May I borrow yours?’
‘No. But he did say that we could have the flat the Burkhardts are in, come Venus departure. It has one more cubicle.’
‘Better,’ agreed Roger Stone, ‘but hardly a ballroom — and Venus departure is still three weeks away. Edith, we should have kept our nice room in the War God. How about it, Van? Want some house guests? Until you blast for Venus, that is?’
‘Certainly.’
‘Daddy! You wouldn’t go away again?’
‘I’m joking, snub nose.’
‘I wasn’t” answered the liner’s captain. ‘Until Venus departure — or all the way to Venus and then back to Luna, if you choose. I got official approval of my recommendation this afternoon; you two can drag free in the War God until death or decommission do you part. How about it? Come on to Venus with me?’
‘We’ve been to Venus,’ announced Meade. ‘Gloomy place.’
‘Whether they take you up or not,’ Hazel commented, ‘that’s quite a concession to get out of Four-Planets. Ordinarily that bunch of highbinders wouldn’t give away a bucketful of space.’
‘They were afraid of the award an admiralty court might hand out,’ Vandenbergh said drily. ‘Speaking of courts, I understand you put in a brilliant defense today, Hazel. Are you a lawyer, along with your other accomplishments?’
‘No,’ answered her son, ‘but she’s a fast talker.’
‘Who’s not a lawyer?’
‘You aren’t.’
‘Of course I am!’
‘When and where? Be specific.’
‘Years and years ago, back in Idaho — before you were born. I just never got around to mentioning it.’
Her son looked her over. ‘Hazel, it occurs to me that the records in Idaho are conveniently far away.’
‘None of your sass, boy. Anyway, the courthouse burned down.’
‘I thought as much.’