Page 61 (2/2)

“Maybe your protestations of my innocence worked?”

“Maybe,” she said “There were a couple of s from the fleet on an intercept course with you The Roci is calling the the Marines after me?”

“They’ve burned up to the speed limit, but the Roci says you make stationfall before they catch you But just before”

“Damn,” Holden said “I really hope there’s a door”

“They lost the UN ship The other is Martian So ht Bobbie She can make sure the others are nice to you”

“No,” Holden said with a sigh “No, these will be the ones that are stillin a space suit just added that to his already lengthy list of insoluble proble evacuated to the Behemoth”

“You never did like her”

“Not s,” Nao her anxieties “And digging up old things leads to messes like this one”

When Holden was nine, Rufus the fa when Holden was born, so Holden had only ever known Rufus as a big black slobbering bundle of love He’d taken so’s fur in one stubby fist He’d run around their Montana farer than a toddler with Rufus as his only babysitter Holden had loved the dog with the sis share

But when he was nine, Rufus was fifteen, and old for such a big dog He slowed down He stopped running with Holden, barely radually only a sloalk He stopped eating And one night he flopped onto his side next to a heater vent and started panting Mother Elise had told hiht, and even if he did they’d have to call the vet in the ’s side For the first couple of hours, he held Rufus’ head on his lap and cried, as Rufus struggled to breathe and occasionally gave one halfhearted thump of his tail