His eyes were watery in his head.
He looked at his empty hands.
His mouth hung open: The other three men stood with their shadows under them.
They spat on the stone street…
Mr. Iii answered his door.
He was on his way to a lecture, but he had a minute, if they would hurry inside and tell him what they desired…
“A little attention,” said the captain, red-eyed and tired.
“We’re from Earth, we have a rocket, there are four of us, crew and captain, we’re exhausted, we’re hungry, we’d like a place to sleep.
We’d like someone to give us the key to the city or something like that, and we’d like somebody to shake our hands and say «Hooray» and say
«Congratulations, old man!»
That about sums it up.”
Mr. Iii was a tall, vaporous, thin man with thick blind blue crystals over his yellowish eyes.
He bent over his desk and brooded upon some papers, glancing now and again with extreme penetration at his guests.
“Well, I haven’t the forms with me here, I don’t think.”
He rummaged through the desk drawers.
“Now, where did I put the forms?”
He mused.
“Somewhere. Somewhere. Oh, here we are!
Now!”
He handed the papers over crisply.
“You’ll have to sign these papers, of course.”
“Do we have to go through all this rigmarole?”
Mr. Iii gave him a thick glassy look.
“You say you’re from Earth, don’t you?
Well, then there’s nothing for it but you sign.”
The captain wrote his name.
“Do you want my crew to sign also?”
Mr. Iii looked at the captain, looked at the three others, and burst into a shout of derision.
“Them sign!
Ho!
How marvelous!
Them, oh, them sign!” Tears sprang from his eyes.
He slapped his knee and bent to let his laughter jerk out of his gaping mouth.
He held himself up with the desk.
“Them sign!”
The four men scowled.
“What’s funny?”
“Them sign!” sighed Mr. Iii, weak with hilarity.
“So very funny.
I’ll have to tell Mr. Xxx about this!”
He examined the filled-out form, still laughing.
“Everything seems to be in order.”
He nodded.
“Even the agreement for euthanasia if final decision on such a step is necessary.”
He chuckled.
“Agreement for what?”
“Don’t talk.
I have something for you.
Here.
Take this key.”