Jim had a multitude of services to do for his patrons before the end of the trip. He had a half dozen mild cases of “collision,” resulting from tourists’ carelessly bumping into the walls of their compartments, not realizing their increased powers in “free fall.” On another occasion a traveler had failed to hitch onto a wall ring during a nap and had floated down the corridor half the length of the ship. A child had a minor case of radiation burn when he wandered into a restricted compartment next to the atomic reactor. The trip was nearly over in a few weeks’ time, for the _Hercules_ was traveling the way of the straight line and crossing the orbits of the other planets. The day of landing, Jim and Babe looked out of the port in their compartment at a pearly mist. The sensation of weight had returned with the cutting in of the rocket motors. “How long before we touch down?” Jim asked. “Several hours yet,” Babe replied. “We’ve got to circle the planet several times to brake our speed. If we were to go straight down through this pea soup, the friction would turn us red hot.” Jim was glad when they were dropping at respectable speed directly down. The landing, moments later, in the colony space harbor was made safely. After Jim and Babe had made their rounds readying the passengers for debarkation, a voice came over the wall microphone: “Steward Al Hogan, report to Captain Coppard’s suite right away.” Jim and Babe exchanged anxious glances but did not speak as Babe left the compartment. Jim wondered if his secret had been discovered at this last moment. His concern was more for Babe than for himself. It would be an awful thing for Babe to have to pay the penalty for helping him. To take his mind off his concern, Jim went to the side port for his first sight of Venus. Although the upper layers of the atmosphere were impenetrably dense, the air at ground level was clear except for occasional wisps of vapor floating by. The intense rising heat gave a shimmering effect to the canyon landscape. When Babe returned, he eased Jim’s mind with a grin. “How’d you like to make the cable-car tour with me, Jim?” he asked. “I’m all for it!” Jim said, greatly relieved that Babe had nothing bad to report. “One of the regular cable-car drivers is sick and can’t make the trip,” Babe went on. “Captain Coppard knew I’d had experience driving the car a few times before and asked me if I wanted to make some overtime pay.” “When do we start?” Jim asked eagerly. “In a few hours—after the tourists have had time to rest up from the landing.”