"We ought to shoot it. Maybe it's got some playmates around here. Archie, you got no business petting big purple balls. Remember what happened when you started fooling around with that orange thing back on LTX-R-76--whatever it was?" "He didn't have any eyes, Ed. Look at this thing's eyes: It couldn't hurt us; it just wants to watch. I think we should--" His words were drowned by a frightful noise and a terrible shock. The sky went dark. "Damn unpleasant sunsets they got around here," yawned Ed nonchalantly. Archie picked himself up from the dust. "What sort of a crazy planet are you muggs running here?" He shook his fist at the purple sphere. "Hey--hey, Ed--look! It glows in the dark!" The sphere's purple fur emitted rich violet light, and its great eyes shone bright white around their jet black pupils. They looked sadly at Archie. Ed lit a cigarette. "So do lots of things. It makes a better target this way. I think we ought to have it for breakfast tomorrow. We got a lot of work to do, and I'm sick of beans." "You let it alone, Bailey, or I'll smash you." "I was just kidding. You can keep it." He yawned viciously. "I'm turning in. If you want to stick around with Fido all night, hop to it. I'm closing this hatch and getting as far away as I can." He threw down his cigarette. "Coming?" Archie petted the sphere tenderly, then ambled leisurely to the ship. "Coming. Not that I don't trust Melancholy, but there might be something else crawling around out there. Help me up." Ed held out his arms and assisted his comrade aboard the ruined rocket ship. They shut the hatch behind them. All night the purple sphere glowed in the dark, watching the ship with great, sad, luminescent eyes. * * * * * Another frightful noise and its concomitant shock hurled Archie violently out of his bunk. "God-awful planet," he muttered as he climbed off of Ed Bailey. "How's that old song go? 'Where the sun comes up like thunder from--'" "You got better things to do than sing. Let's get going. I'll check the engine and you see if you can't fix the radio." Archie yawned loudly and opened the escape hatch. "Hey, Ed, Melancholy's still out here!" "Fix that radio, damn you!" shouted Ed from the recesses of the ship. Archie sat diligently in the open hatchway and tried to fix the radio. Frequently he addressed comments to the purple sphere and the purple sphere gazed at him with its sad eyes. The morning passed but the radio did not heal. At eleven o'clock Archie grabbed two hot wires and shouted in anguish. Rising to his feet, he kicked the radio savagely out the open hatch. It crashed against the ground and slid toward the purple sphere. The purple sphere looked up at Archie sadly. Archie hurled a wrench at it and the purple sphere winced. "Stop looking at me like that!" shouted Archie. "Fix it yourself, damn you!" The purple sphere sidled forward and sat on top of the radio. The radio disappeared from view.