He listened, alert for a rush which would be a fanatic’s desperate attempt to do murder despite premature discovery.  He was prepared to shoot quite ruthlessly, because he was on duty and the Med Service did not approve of the extermination of populations, however justified another population might consider it.

But there was no rush.  Instead, there came hesitant foot-falls whose sound made Calhoun start.  The door of the cabin slid slowly aside.  A girl appeared in the opening, desperately white and desperately composed.

“H-how did you know I was there?” she asked shakily.  She moistened her lips.  “You didn’t see me!  I was in a closet, and you didn’t even enter the room!”

Calhoun said grimly, “I’ve sources of information.  Murgatroyd told me this time.  May I present him?  Murgatroyd, our passenger.  Shake hands.”

Murgatroyd moved forward, stood on his hind legs and offered a skinny, furry paw.  She did not move.  She stared at Calhoun.

“Better shake hands,” said Calhoun, as grimly as before.  “It might relax the tension a little.  And do you want to tell me your story?  You have one ready, I’m sure.”

The girl swallowed.  Murgatroyd shook hands gravely.  He said, “Chee-chee!” in the shrillest of trebles and went back to his former position.

“The story?” said Calhoun insistently.

“There—­there isn’t any,” said the girl unsteadily.  “Just that I—­I need to get to Orede, and you’re going there.  There’s no other way to go, now.”

“To the contrary,” said Calhoun.  “There’ll undoubtedly be a fleet heading for Orede as soon as it can be assembled and armed.  But I’m afraid that as a story yours isn’t good enough.  Try another.”

She shivered a little.

“I’m running away....”

“Ah!” said Calhoun.  “In that case I’ll take you back.”

“No!” she said fiercely.  “I’ll—­I’ll die first!  I’ll wreck this ship first!”

Her hand came from behind her.  There was a tiny blaster in it.  But it shook visibly as she tried to aim it.

“I’ll shoot out the controls!”

Calhoun blinked.  He’d had to make a drastic change in his estimate of the situation the instant he saw that the stowaway was a girl.  Now he had to make another when her threat was not to kill him but to disable the ship.  Women are rarely assassins, and when they are they don’t use energy weapons.  Daggers and poisons are more typical.  But this girl threatened to destroy the ship rather than its owner, so she was not actually an assassin at all.

“I’d rather you didn’t do that,” said Calhoun dryly.  “Besides, you’d get deadly bored if we were stuck in a derelict waiting for our air and food to give out.”

Murgatroyd, for no reason whatever, felt it necessary to enter the conversation: 

“Chee-chee-chee!”

“A very sensible suggestion,” observed Calhoun.  “We’ll sit down and have a cup of coffee.”  To the girl he said, “I’ll take you to Orede, since that’s where you say you want to go.”