‘Nothing especial today — except one thing: we need to buy, or by preference rent, a scooter. We’d like to explore a bit.’
Fries shook his head. ‘Friend, I wish you hadn’t asked me that. That’s one thing I haven’t got All these sand rats booming in here from Mars, and even from Luna, half of ’em with no equipment They lease a scooter and a patent igloo and away they go, red hot to make their fortunes. Tell you what I can do, though — I’ve got more rocket motors and tanks coming in from Ceres two months from now. Don and I can weld you up one and have it ready to slap the motor in when the Firefly gets here.’
Roger Stone frowned, ‘With Earth departure only five months away that’s a long time to wait’
‘Well, we’ll just have to see what we can scare up. Certainly the new doctor is entitled to the best — and the doctor’s family. Say —”.
A miner tapped him on the shoulder. ‘Say, storekeeper, I —’
Fries’ face darkened. ‘You can address me as “Mr Mayor!”‘
‘Huh?’
‘And beat it! Can’t you see I’m busy?’ The man backed away; Fries fumed, ‘ “One Price” I’m known as, to my friends and to my enemies, from here to the Trojans. If he doesn’t know that, he can call me by my title — or take his trade elsewhere. Where was I? Oh, yes! You might try old Charlie.’
‘Eh?’
‘Did you notice that big tank moored to City Hall? That’s Charlie’s hole. He’s a crazy old coot, rock-happy as they come, and he’s a hermit by intention. Used to hang around the edge of the community, never mixing — but with this boom and ten strangers swarming in for every familiar face Charlie got timid and asked could he please tie in at civic center? I guess he was afraid that somebody would slit his throat and steal his hoorah’s nest. Some of the boomers are a rough lot at that’
‘He sounds like some of the old-timers on Luna. What about him?’
‘Oh! Too much on my mind these days; it wanders. Charlie runs a sort of a fourth-hand shop, and I say that advisedly. He has stuff I won’t handle. Every time a rock jumper dies, or goes Sunside, his useless plunder winds up in Charlie’s hole. Now I don’t say he’s got a scooter — though you just might lease his own now that he’s moored in-city. But he might have parts that could be jury-rigged. Are you handy with tools?’
‘Moderately. But I’ve got just the team for such a job.’ He looked around for the twins, finally spotted them pawing through merchandise. ‘Cas! Pol! Come here.’
The storekeeper explained what he had in mind. Castor nodded. ‘If it worked once, we’ll fix it’
‘That’s the spirit Now let’s go test that coffee.’
Castor hung back ‘Dad? Why don’t Pol and I go over there and see what he’s got? It’ll save you time.’
‘Well—’
‘It’s just a short jump’,’ said Fries.
‘Okay, but don’t jump. Use your lines and follow the mooring line over.’
The twins left. Once in the airlock Pollux started fuming. ‘Stow it,’ said Cas. ‘Dad just wants us to be careful.’
‘Yes, but why does he have to say it where everybody can hear?’
Charlie’s hole, they decided, had once been a tow tank to deliver oxygen to a colony. They let themselves into the lock, started it cycling. When pressure was up, they tried the inner door; it wouldn’t budge. Pollux started pounding on it with his belt wrench while Castor searched for a switch or other signal. The lock was miserably lighted by a scant three inches of glow tube.
‘Cut the racket,’ Castor told Pollux. ‘If he’s alive, he’s heard you by now.’ Pollux complied and tried the door again — still locked.
They heard a muffled voice: ‘Who’s there?’
Castor looked around for the source of the voice, could not spot it. ‘Castor and Pollux Stone,’ he answered, ‘from the Rolling Stone, out of Luna’
Somebody chuckled. ‘You don’t fool me. And you can’t arrest me without a warrant. Anyhow I won’t let you in.’