In trying to be calm, Sanderson found he needed all of his years of training to grasp even a semblance of what he sought. Behind him, in the bedroom, he could hear Big Marie moving again. The moaning in there had stopped. He tried to distract himself by looking through the window but the sight of the withered crops trying to grow added nothing to the calm he was seeking. He thought how precarious was the hold of this little group of humans on Mars--and on life itself.
Two men carrying a small box came into view. The box was small but the men carried it as if it were heavy. The esse shrunk the size but did not reduce the mass. In the box, Early weighed just as much as he had ever weighed but he would not take up as much room in the graveyard.
Behind Sanderson the bedroom door opened. He turned quickly. Big Marie stood there. Her dark face was sullen.
"She's all right. It was a strain on her, suddenly seeing him sitting there the size of a doll when the last time she had seen him he had been a full-sized man going up the slope."
"It always is a strain the first time you see it. Will she be all right?"
"Yes. Maybe her dreams won't be so good for a while. Why did she come here?"
Big Marie stared steadily at him. "What is she to you, John?"
"If she becomes anything to you I will kill her," Big Marie said calmly.
"Damn it, Marie, I've got enough trouble on my hands without you trying to blow a fuse. If I want the woman, I'll take her. If I don't want her, I won't take her. Is that clear?"
"You're enough for ten men. I'm thinking of establishing polyandry here, just for your sake. But--Well, hello." Miss Tweedham came through the door. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm alive, I guess." Her face was pale but composed, her walk was steady. "That awful thing." A shudder passed across her face. "How did it get back there in the chair without us seeing it coming?"
"Elogarsn, the Martians call such trips. Humans know it as telportation."
"You've got a word for it, what more do you want?"
"Nothing, I guess." She looked from Big Marie to Sanderson. "There was some talk about taking a woman. Were you talking about me?"
"I think I may have something to say about it."
"Then say it." Sanderson waited for the woman to speak. She looked confused, but did not answer.