* * * * * He could see what it was. "Hate cake," he said. "Can't eat it." "You'll eat this. Canalberry shortcake." "Canalberry?" he asked, wrinkling his face. He smelled it and changed expressions in the middle of a wrinkle. Resolutely, he turned away from it and saw Ethan clearly, perhaps for the first time. It was the old man who had tried to bribe him a few days ago. They weren't as innocent as they seemed. What were they trying to do? "Ain't you even going to taste it?" she urged. He shuddered suspiciously. It smelled good, though he had told the truth about hating the stuff. Under other circumstances, he might have nibbled at a piece for politeness' sake. "Can't. Doctor's orders." "Diabetic? Didn't think they let them in space-service," said Amantha. "Funny, it's the same with Ethan. He can't eat sweets, either." She looked at her creation. "Seems a shame to bring it so far to somebody who can't touch it. Do you mind if I cut myself a slice?" "Go ahead, Grandma." "Amantha," she corrected him and brought out a knife and two small plates. He wondered if there was any significance. _Two_ plates. She laid a slice on the plate and poked at it with a fork that was also in the package. She put the fork down and picked up the cake. "It don't taste right unless you eat it the way it was meant to be," she said. He watched her in anguish. His nose quivered and his stomach rumbled. He shouldn't have let them in. A crumb fell to the floor and Amantha reached for it. She straightened up, a berry in her hand. "Canalberries," she said. "They're nearly all gone. Used to be you could hardly go anywhere without stepping in them." She crushed the berry and the rich aroma swept devastatingly through the air. "Sure you won't have some?" she asked, slicing the cake and placing it in front of him. When he finished that, he cut another, and another, until the cake was gone. The pilot settled logily in a chair and dozed off. Amantha and Ethan watched him in silence. The pilot got up and began to stretch lazily without seeming to notice them. The laziness disappeared and the stretch changed into a jerk that seemed to elongate his body. He sprang out of the compartment and went leaping down the corridor. When he came to the hatch, he didn't hesitate. The ladder was too slow. He jumped. He landed on the sand, sinking in to his knees. He extricated himself and went bounding over the field. "Never saw canalberries take so long," muttered Amantha. "Don't know what's wrong. Nothing's as good as it used to be." She shook off her hat and closed the airlock. "You don't need those nose plugs any more, Ethan. Come on, let's see if you remember." * * * * * Several hours later, she twirled unfamiliar knobs and, by persistence and beginner's luck, managed to get the person she wanted.