The Grad heard full-throated laughter aft . . . from Anthon. Debby swatted him hard across the belly. The blow snapped him into a U, but

he kept laughing, and she joined him.

They had reason! They had been flat against the back wall, protecting lIsa from what should have been mild jolting. The killer chairs would have snapped their backs, but none of the jungle giants had been in them.

Others were groaning, stirring, moving from pain to fear. Ilsa was beginning to wake up. Merril-vacant-eyed, hypnotized by the peculiar sky rushing at the bow-seemed to snap out of it. "Well, somebody do something!"

Clave's voice was a carrying one, and it filled the carm's cabin to overflowing. "Calm down, citizens. We're not in that much trouble. Remember where we are."

Other sounds stopped. Clave said, "The carrier was built for this. It came from the stars. We know it operates inside the Smoke Ring, but it was built to operate anywhere, wasn't it, Grad?"

That simply hadn't occurred to him. "Not anywhere, but . . . Outside the Smoke Ring, that's certain."

"Good enough. What's our status?"

"Give me a breath." The Grad was ashamed. It had taken Clave to get his mind working again. We're not in tmuble-Luck, that Clave didn't have the training to know what nonsense that was.

The blue display was on. Thrust: 0. Acceleration.~ 0. The big blue rectangle had a border of flickering scarlet: main motor on, fuel exhausteL He tapped it off, for what that was worth. 02: 211. H2:0. H20:

1,328. "Plenty of water, but no fuel. We can't maneuver. I don't know how to find out where we're going. Lawti?"

No answer.

"But we're bound to fall back sooner or later." Green display: "Pressure's way down outside. We're-" This could start a riot; but they'd have to know. "We're leaving the Smoke Ring. That's why the sky's that peculiar color." Yellow display: "Life support looks okay." Window displays: "Oh, my."

In the aft and side views, all detail had become tiny: integral trees were toothpicks, ponds were drops of glitter, everything seemed embedded in fog. Gold had become a bulge within a larger lens of cloud patterns that trailed off to east and west: a storm pattern that spread across the Smoke Ring. The hidden planet seemed indecently close.

"Sorry, Clave, I got hung up. Citizens, don't miss this! Nobody's seen the Smoke Ring from outside since men came from the stars."

Others were craning forward to see the displays or peering out through the side windows. But Gavving said, "I think Horse is dead."

Horse? The old man Gavving had brought with him. Horse certainly looked dead enough; small wonder if the tide had stopped an old man's heart. Poor copsilc the Grad thought. He had never met Horse, but what human could have wanted to die before seeing this? "Check his pulse."

Lawn said, "Port view, Jeffer."

Something in her voice . . . the Grad looked. Off to the edge: a flash of silver? "I don't-"