"How's it fastened now?" "Just a simple hasp." "Better touch it in a few places, then, to make sure." "Right." When this was done, Jon returned inside the ship, and saw to it that all the equipment was put back in place and carefully locked. Only then did he doff his suit and return to the control room. "Well, that's done. What now?" "Anything else you need to do here on this planet?" "No-o-o, not that I know of. Why?" "I was thinking that if everything has been taken care of, we might as well start back to Terra. No use staying any longer than is necessary." "I ... I think we've done everything. Have you checked the record book and the pictures?" "No, not fully. And I probably should, before we take off, at that. But I think I'd better have another nap or rest now, so I'll go over them after a while. Put them on the table here, so I can reach them." "Right, sir. You take plenty of time to rest. If Jak's not too busy to go with me, I think I'll go fishing in the river, out there by the edge of the desert. Maybe we can get quite a haul to take with us, for fresh food on the trip." "Good idea. Your mother said they were delicious." When the two boys returned with full creels late that afternoon, they went at once to see how their father was getting along. He was awake, and studying the records they had made. "Hi, fellows! Everything seems to be in fine shape. You chaps certainly did a job while I was _non compos_. Get any fish?" "Lots of them. They sure bite swell here. Maybe because no one has ever fished them before, and they have no idea of lures and hooks." "Then let's just rest and eat and sleep, and plan to take off in the morning, eh?" "You bet. I'll sure be glad to get back home again," Jak declared. "This chasing around is fun, but I'm homesick for Terra, I guess." "Me, too, kind of. Besides, I want to get some more schooling at one of our atomic institutes," Jon added more slowly. "Going to give up inter-stellar exploration, Son?" his father asked drily. "No, sir. But I figured we'd have to stay on Terra for a year or so while you get everything straightened out about this discovery, and get the ship ready for the next trip. So while you're doing that, I might as well be trying to learn something more." "We will, and you should. And I presume," he turned to face Jak, "you want to study medicine?" "That, and other things," the elder boy responded soberly. "If we can afford it, sir, I'd like to get several top men in various branches to give me some special coaching, instead of going to a school. That would get me started straight, and they could recommend good books for me to be studying while we're on our future trips." Their father looked up at his wife with a smile. "What's happened to our babies, Marci?"