The scout and the ship fell toward each other at tremendous speeds: the ship loomed huge, like a great silver cigar, then like a curved wall, then like a metal hand someone was holding up just outside the portholes so that you could not see out. It seemed to Nils that it was inevitable that they crash. Erskine flipped the ship over, but there was no discomfort because neither he nor Nils had any weight to be displaced. And then Nils saw him flip the toggle that turned on the scout's magnetic grapple. There was a scrape and a jarring bump that sent Nils floating out into weightlessness. And the scout had arrived home. The scout was swung into the ship by powerful motors, and after the ringing of the bell which signified that the scout's berth was filled with air, the two men emerged from the small craft and went into the ship. Captain Davis was there to greet them. "Good trip," he told Erskine. "Borgmann, I'll bet you're happy to get aboard ship again." He shook hands vigorously. "We have a good hot dinner waiting for you, and then a bath and a soft bed. You'll see Dr. Carpenter in the morning." And, after months on the raft, life on board _Proserpine_ was a luxury. The food was good; even though it, like that on the raft, came from cans, it was prepared with more artistry. There were no facilities for bathing on the raft, and the streaming water of the shower and rich suds of the soap was a real sensuous delight. And the beds--well, the bunks on the raft were good, but there was something about the beds on the ship that were so eminently sleepable that Nils dropped off immediately, not even thinking about the physical examination. * * * * * It was the first thing he thought of, however, when he woke up in the morning. And he was worried. It seemed, today, very real and inescapable; last night the idea had been so new that he had not really been fully aware of what it might mean. And immediately after breakfast he was subjected to it. The doctor was thorough; Nils had to give him credit for that. And at the end, he said, "Well, Borgmann, it looks like a vacation for you." Nils had been dreading those words so much that they were really not much of a surprise to him. But still there was a dejection that he could not overcome. He said, "What are the chances of my getting one more lion before I have to quit?" The doctor was surprised. "Generally the men are glad enough to get off Uranus. We'll have enough trouble getting one of _Proserpine's_ crewmen to go down there and take your place." "I know," Nils said, "but with me it's different. I want one more chance at a lion." "Well," the doctor said, "you'll have to take that up with Captain Davis. But, my recommendation is that you stay up here on _Proserpine_ until we go home."