Axel was steady, staunch and level-headed. But I hesitated about confiding in him. Like me, Axel had a respect for authority. He couldn't take my unsupported word that Spartan meant to kill me and take Gail. Furthermore, I remembered that Axel had refused to accept Gail because he did not believe in the kind of marriage she proposed. Was that the real reason? Or did he know Spartan's plans? Perhaps Axel was Spartan's real second-in-command, ready to do the muscle work when the time came. We were still in radio communication with the earth and I considered sending a message back. But what could I say? Spartan would claim I was space crazy. And the next message would tell the earth that in a fit of madness I'd jumped overboard. What proof could I offer in a message that Spartan had ever made his proposition to her? He'd just say she'd dreamed it. It was his word against hers. Gail agreed when I told her this. "Perhaps he didn't mean it the way it sounded," she said. "How else could he mean it?" I asked. "Well, maybe he intended for me to take his cabin and he'd sleep somewhere else." "What about the bit where he said he had the power of life and death over us?" "Well, he did mention that, but he might not have been serious. I don't know what to think any more." She sighed heavily. "And he does have the power of life and death, you know." We'd been talking together in the galley, alone over cups of instant coffee. Now the door opened and Morrie Grover came in. He gave Gail one of his looks, then turned to me. "Pretty soft," he said. "You got the only girl in umpteen million miles." I thought he was kidding and I replied in kind. "Yeah. We're honeymooners. Can't you leave us alone?" "That wasn't in the agreement," he snapped. I knew then he wasn't kidding. Come to think of it, we'd all been a little edgy lately--ever since the earth had lost its grip on us. The pleasant feeling within our little group was no more. The honeymoon of the adventurers in space was just as phony as the honeymoon of Gail and me. "What's the matter, Morrie?" I asked. "Got an upset stomach, or do you just need a cup of coffee? We've got the coffee. Help yourself." "You're a jerk," said Morrie. There was no doubt that I was as edgy as anyone. Otherwise, Morrie's attitude would not have set me off. "You're a punk," I replied. "Come off it, you two," said Gail. "You're acting like a couple of schoolboys." Morrie turned on Gail. "Are you in love with him?" "Why--" "What I mean is, why did you marry him?" I grabbed him by the arm and swung him around. "It's none of your business," I said. "Now, do you lay off and behave like a grown-up man or do I belt you all the way through the main cabin?" He swung at me. I ducked but, before I could do anything about it, Gail stepped between us. "Get out, Morrie!" she said, and then turned to me. "Bill Drake, you go back to the machinery room and find something to do there. We can't afford a fight right now."