"Steve!" came the call. Hagen whirled instantly and held up a hand to Lois; he turned and started to cross the space between them but Lois waved him back. She cupped her hands to her lips and called: "You'll be at the brawl Saturday?" "Yes," he called back. "You gotta date?" Lois shook her head. Steve beat upon his chest, then polished his fingernails on the lapel of his leather space jacket. Lois nodded, shaking her auburn hair vigorously. Then she turned and headed towards the office building, and Steve went on towards the mess. Steve Hagen was feeling positively cheerful. * * * * * He was still there when Halligan came limping in, to land uncertainly in his accustomed spot. Like the rest, Steve went out to see the man, and they all waved him home, surrounding him and pelting him with both hand-shakes, mild insults and warm greetings. Halligan replied to the insults stoically, grinned at the rest, and peered around the group until he saw Steve. Then he shouldered his way through. "Steve," he said seriously, "I did not mean anyth--" Hagen smiled. "Naturally," he said, accepting Joe Halligan's hand. "I'd have been no use to you and I know it. I'll need some more practise." Halligan laughed. "I need coffee, have some on me?" "I'll go along for the walk," said Steve. "But I'm loaded to the space-valves right now." "Come on then, and watch a hungry man tear into a steak." "I hope you're hungry enough for stew." Halligan grunted. "Watch a hungry man tear into a plate of stew, then." Everybody laughed, and in the midst of it, Steve asked: "Aren't you going to check in?" "I suppose regulations call for it," said Halligan cheerfully. "But Cap'n Charlemagne knows the score, and the commish has heard it from him. Both of them know I'm in safely; also, they'll both feel that an hour of relaxation will do both me and the service more good than an hour of recounting the same tale. I'll go in later." The crowd began to disperse, and Steve followed Halligan towards the messhall. "You can stand some practise," mentioned Joe. "And you'll get it. But I'll take you on for a round or two if you like." "I'd like," nodded Steve. "And thanks." "No thanks necessary," said Halligan. "Just repayment; that was a fast job of wiping out that streamer that caught me." "I didn't think--" Halligan laughed. "Of course," he said cheerfully, "what I'm really after is for you to get experience enough to prevent it. Now, you see, after a year or so of vortex-fighting, you'll develop some sort of second-sight or other, and the next guy that runs in the way of a streamer, you'll know what to do about it before the poor bird gets clipped. And if not, you'll not wait until the guy gets out of the way before you squelch it; your aim will be good enough to shave the paint off the hull before the vortex streamer gets it." "I was afraid to cut too close."