The citizens seemed calm enough. Exhausted, Clave guessed, and too awestruck to feel fear. He felt a touch of that hixnself~ Most of them- even the silver man-were looking out the windows.

The sky was nearly black and scattered with dozens of white points. The Scientist's Apprentice broke her angry silence to say, "You've heard about them all your lives. The stars! You say it without knowing

what you're talking about. Well, there they are. You'll die for it, but you've seen the stars."

Real they were, and impressive enough, but they were just points. It

was the Blue Ghost and Ghost Child that held dave's attention. He'd never seen them either. The paired fans of violet light were vivid and terrif\jing. They were entirely outside the Smoke Ring, flowing out along the hole in the ring.

Anthon and Debby were keeping busy. They had moored the ponchos and the smoked and cleaned carcass of a salmon bird to fiX..

tures along the cargo hold walls. Now they were carving thin slices from the bird.

dave remembered feeling like this when the tree came apart. He didn't know enough to make decisions! Then, he had been ready to strangle the Grad for withholding information. Now- The Grad was watching him uneasily. Did he think dave would

attack their prisoners? dave smiled back. He made his way aft and helped the jungle giants pass curls of meat forward.

Now was different. dave was not Chairman here. If they died it would not be dave's fault.

Probably the jungle giants found the carm more frightening than most-than Clavel-yet they were acting to make it their home.

Squeezegourds of water were passing up and down the chairs. . three squeezegourds, looking somewhat flat. Clave wondered about the carm's water supply.

He was about to ask when the Grad spoke first. "Gavving~ would you come here for a moment?"

There was secret urgency in his voice. Anthon noticed and continued

whathewasdoing.SodidClave.IftheirhelpwasneededitwouldbeH

requested.

Gavving squeezed between Lawn and the Grad. The summons was something of a relief. Minya's news had startled him, and he did ~ time to compose his face.

The Grad pointed. "See the red border blinking around that number?"

"Sure."

"Red means emergency. That number is the air in the cabin. How do you feel? Allergy attack coming on?"

"Actually, it was the last thing on my mind." Gavving listened to his

body. Ears and sinuses were unhappy. . . eyes scratchy...

"Maybe."

The yellow number dropped a digit behind the decimal point.

"Scientist's Apprentice, any comments?"

"Fix it yourself, Jeffer the Scientist."

"Grad, what does it mean?"

"Oh, sorry, Gavving. There's no air outside. The air inside must be leaking out into the, um, universe. You know, I talk to you when I get confused. Maybe you'll come up with something."

Gavving chewed it over. "What Clave said-"

"dave did not say that the carm is almost four hundred years old and maybe falling apart."