“You didn’t even ask me if you could go,” she scolded. “And you know better than to be getting home at this late hour.” “I—I’m sorry, Mom,” Eddie said meekly. “I didn’t know I would be gone so long.” Mrs. Taylor turned from the stove where she was warming his dinner. “After you eat,” she said firmly, “I want you to go right to bed. No television.” It was a mild enough punishment, Eddie thought, and didn’t argue. His father would not have been so lenient. He looked around. “Where’s Dad?” he asked. “Your father phoned a while ago,” his mother explained. “He’ll be home late. Feed Sandy now; then wash up for dinner.” Eddie opened a can of dog food, went outside, and spooned half of it into Sandy’s dish. Capping the can with a plastic cover, he put it in the refrigerator, then went to wash. After dinner he kissed his mother good night and went straight to his room. He lay in bed, going over in his mind the recent events. He listened for his father’s arrival. He had hoped somehow to evade his early-bedtime punishment long enough to tell his story to his father. But he hadn’t counted on his tiredness. He fell fast asleep long before his father came home. The sound of the car backing out of the driveway awakened Eddie the following morning. He washed and dressed quickly. Perhaps his mother had gone to do a bit of early shopping. It was Saturday. Probably his father would be home for the day. Now might be Eddie’s best chance to tell him what had been running through his mind. Hurrying into the kitchen, he found his mother at the dinette table having a cup of coffee. “Hi, Mom. Where’s Dad?” Eddie asked. “He just drove out, Eddie,” his mother said. “He had to get over to school early.” “But it’s Saturday.” “Saturdays haven’t been very restful for your father lately, have they?” his mother said. “He has an appointment with some people from Washington D.C. this morning.” “About the stolen radioisotope?” Eddie wondered aloud. “Might be,” his mother said. “He didn’t say, and I didn’t ask.” “Didn’t ask?” “Eddie,” his mother said firmly, “the theft of that isotope is pretty serious business. Your father is handling it the best he can. He’ll tell us what he wants us to know. It is not our part to be asking questions. You try to remember that, dear.” Eddie didn’t say anything. He knew his mother was right. He was greatly disappointed, though, that he hadn’t had the chance to talk to his father. Eddie was finishing breakfast when Teena telephoned. “We’re going to Cedar Point today, aren’t we?” she asked. “I—I guess so,” Eddie said. “You guess so? But Mr. Anderson is holding a boat for us. This is Saturday, you know.” “I know.” “Well, we should get started,” Teena insisted. “It’s some row out to Cedar Point.” “Hold on a minute,” Eddie said. “I’ve got to ask Mom.” He turned and explained their plans to his mother. “It’s all right, Eddie,” Mrs. Taylor said. “But no getting home late like yesterday, understand?”