A bell clanged in the control turret of the _Liberty_, and Captain Hugh Warren, seated in the pilot's swivel, turned to his friends. "Well, I'm afraid that's the signal. All ashore that's going ashore." [Illustration: "Short circuit!" roared Gary. "For God's sake...!"] Tsalnor and his retinue left. A few minutes later the _Liberty_ was once again tenanted only by those making the return trip to the solar universe. To an Earth free now forever of the dangers which had threatened it. Dr. Bryant sighed. "And so," he said, "begins the long journey home." "Only," grinned Lark O'Day, "it won't be such a long journey. We've got the Jovians' quadridimensional co-ordinates for a space warp that will drop us a couple of hours from Earth. All set over here, Hugh." "Right!" Warren called from his banks. "All right, folks, here we go!" And he depressed the green stud. Lark rose. "Leaving me," he drawled, "with nothing to do for the next couple of hours. Unless," he spoke to Pen-N'hi hopefully, "unless maybe you'd like to take a little stroll out on the observation deck?" "Yeah," chuckled Flick, "and watch the fourth dimension whizzing by? That ought to be a lot of fun, Miss Penny." "It all depends," chuckled Warren, "on who you're watching it with. I was just about to suggest something of the same sort. How about it, Nora? Suppose you and I--" * * * * * But Gary interrupted him. This was a new and different Gary Lane from the curt young man who, for months past, had been too preoccupied with a life-and-death struggle to pay a proper amount of attention to matters which were a part of his personal and private life. Gary said, "Oh, no you don't, Hugh! Not so fast. I got here first." He reached out and folded the arm of Nora Powell into his own. He said, "Nora and I have a few matters to discuss. _Business_ matters." The girl looked at him astonished. "B-business, Gary? At a time like this--_business_?" Gary said seriously, "Very important business that has been delayed altogether too long. A--a matter of a merger, you might say." Nora sighed. Whether it was with relief, or whether there was in that sigh a hint of acquiescence to follow was hard to tell. But she smiled and nodded. And: "In that case," she said, "I have no choice. I have to do what my boss tells me, Hugh. I'll go with you, Gary." And they left the bridge. Muldoon snickered. "Business!" he snorted. "Business my hat! _Biological_ business, if you ask me!" And Warren shook his head dejectedly. "Oh, well," he shrugged. "What the hell! _Somebody's_ got to stick around to drive the ship...."