SPOKEN FOR
By WILLIAM MORRISON
Illustrated by EMSH
[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
Galaxy Science Fiction Fiction July 1955.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
He was lost—anyone could see that—but she
had no idea how entirely lost he was nor why!
Half of Jupiter's great disk and most of the other moons were below thehorizon when the man stepped out of the plane and changed her life. Asfar as Carol Marsh was concerned, he was ordinary enough in appearance.And she wasn't ordinarily attracted to ordinary men.
He was slightly over medium height, his features were not quiteregular, and he had a deep tan over what had started out as a sunburn,so that she decided he had misjudged the strength of the sun on someplanet with a thin atmosphere.
She frowned as she watched him look around. She was annoyed by the factthat it took him almost a minute to get his bearings and realize thatshe was first, a human being and second, a girl well worth a man'sattention.
Even the troubled expression in his eyes was something she heldagainst him. A man shouldn't look troubled. A man should be confident,self-assured in a manner that also assured the girl he spoke to.She remembered that back on Earth John Burr had been completelyself-assured.
It was startling to realize that it was with this newcomer, whoseappearance she had every reason to dislike, that she had fallensuddenly and completely in love, as suddenly and completely as if shehad fallen off a cliff.
"I'm looking for some people," he said. "But I suppose—" His veryvoice was ill at ease, and that was something else she should have heldagainst him. And against herself. She had always resented men whosevoices betrayed their lack of confidence. "I suppose it's no use," hewent on. "I'd recognize the house."
"Who are the people you're looking for?"
He took out a wallet, and from it drew a stereo picture. Two children,a boy and a girl, were standing with a smiling young woman in frontof a sturdy, old-fashioned plastic house. Their clothes were out offashion by a year or so, but that depended on where you were. Mars, forinstance, was always three years behind Earth. Here on Ganymede, on theother hand, you might even be ahead of Earth in some respects.
As Carol's eyes lifted to his, she saw him staring at the picture withsuch longing that she at once knew herself for a fool. They're hiswife and children, she thought. He's trying to find them. And I hadto fall in love with him at first sight.
His eyes were on her now, and she said, "I'm sorry, I've never seenthem."
"Have you lived around here long?"
"Five years."
"Then this can't be the place." He stood there irresolutely and startedto turn slowly away without even a word of thanks to her.
"My father may have heard about them," said Carol, knowing herself fora fool again.
Past experience, she told herself ruefully, had taught her nothing. Thething to do was to let him go and forget him as quickly as possible,before she learned anything about him, before her feeling for himcould become anything more than an irrational, momentary impulse. Thestronger the bonds of knowledge and interest betwee