But what was funniest of all to Garry was when he saw Captain Eaton suddenly see an opening and scramble furiously, on all fours, over to the flailing robot. He threw himself upon her back, fighting her as a cowboy would wrestle a steer. He finally subdued her with a turn of the switch on her back, which he was at last able to grab and twist. Worn out by his exertions, the captain simply flopped back on his hands in the soapy billows, sighing heavily. Then the good-natured man caught Garry’s eye and smiled. The smile turned into laughter, and presently all three of them joined in. The captain later determined what had happened. He found out that Katrinka, in doing her washing chores, had gotten water into her electronic parts, and this had caused trouble in her mechanism. Captain Eaton made the repair easily, and the robot maid was once more in proper working order. The boys were with the captain while he was making the repairs on Katrinka in the workshop. When the captain had put away his tools, he sent the robot on her way. Then he looked at Garry, as he washed his hands at the sink, and said in a sad voice, “Fellows, I’ve received a docking date at the Von Braun Space Station. We’ll dock at 2100 tomorrow night. That isn’t much time left, is it?” “No, Sir, it isn’t,” Garry replied unhappily. The captain did not look up again. Garry half expected him to say something else, but, instead, he remained silent. Garry tugged at Patch’s sleeve, motioning for them to go. The boys made their way slowly toward the door of the workshop. As Garry pressed the button to open the sliding door, Captain Eaton spoke again. “Wait—just a minute.” The boys turned. Garry gulped. He could see the sadness in the elderly man’s eyes. “Boys, I haven’t told you how much I’ve enjoyed having you with us for this short time,” the captain said, holding his dripping hands over the sink, not bothering to dry them. Garry had a lump in his throat. “We’ve enjoyed it too, haven’t we, Patch?” “Sure thing,” Patch murmured. Captain Eaton continued: “You two have been a great big lift in our lives. It’s been so long since we’ve seen young fellows, and you’ve made us feel younger ourselves once more. I think you know how we feel about your leaving us. But I don’t want to get sentimental about it and make you feel worse. So this won’t be good-by. We’ll see each other again—I know we shall.” Garry cleared his throat, trying to dissolve that lump. “You’d better dry your hands, Sir.” Captain Eaton smiled, reaching for a towel. “Oh, of course,” he said. “We’ll miss all of you very much, Sir,” Garry said, before starting through the door. “The _Carefree_ has been like a home to us.” The boys were silent as they went on to the dormitory. They were overcome by sadness at having to leave the ship and her friendly people.