Rocky said, "If I ... er ... can be of any help--?"
"No. Thank you very much, but this is work of an ... er ... experimental nature. Company business, you know." The Factor bustled them to the door. "We will meet again. Good afternoon."
And almost before they had stammered their confused farewells, he had waved to them and lumbered off.
"Well!" said Lynn. "I must say that's the quickest brush-off I ever got ... if not the smoothest."
"Horticultural experiment," mused Rocky. "Mmm-hmmm! It's possible, of course, but ... I wonder. Bud ... er ... I mean, Ambrose--"
"I think I'll stay here in New Boston for a few more hours. I'd like to ... er ... study the native quarters. Perhaps you would be kind enough to escort Miss Graham back to the Fort?"
"Certainly," nodded Bud. "A pleasure. But--"
Lynn Graham had been staring from one to the other of the two men querulously. Now she declared herself. "Oh, no!" she stated flatly. "You don't get rid of _me_ so easily as all that. Doctor Roswell--just what's going on here?"
"Er ... going on, Miss Graham? I don't understand--"
"Neither do I--which is just why I'm asking. First Grossman goes into a mild panic; now you two are acting like the masked strangers in Act Two. Not to mention the fact--" the girl pointed out shrewdly--"that for a few minutes you quite forgot to talk like a college professor ... and addressed your alleged 'valet' as 'Bud'--"
Rocky did remove his glasses. But this time he did not breathe on them, wipe them, and replace them as was the habit of "Dr. Roswell." Instead, he shoved them out of sight, and grinned at the girl. When he spoke it was in his natural voice.
"All right, Miss Lynn," he said, "you win. I pulled a boner. Now I might as well come clean. I am not Doctor Rockingham Roswell at all. My name is Russell ... Rocky Russell ... and I'm here on Titan to--"
But not at that moment did he tell Lynn Graham who he was, and his purpose on the satellite. For suddenly he paused in midsentence, his jaw dropping open, and his eyes widening to match.
"Lord!" he gasped. "Look ... look at _that_!"
The others, too, had turned to determine the origin of the rumbling sound. Now they saw it. A tremendous motor-roller trundling down the main thoroughfare of New Boston. A heavy roller bearing a ponderous burden ... a single, gigantic item. The appearance and purpose of this item was unmistakable, but its size....