"Human beings hop, and they can't go as fast as kangaroos. Besides, they look undignified when they hop. If they had bodies like barrels, like mine, they wouldn't. Watch me when I hop."
"Okay, hop if you want to, but watch where-"
It was too late. Norby tripped over a tree root and went over headfirst. His head didn't move downward, however; his legs moved upward. His body rose in the air, upside down, legs waggling out of the upper end, eyes upside down at the lower end.
Jeff tried to be serious about it, and managed for about fifteen seconds. Then he burst out laughing.
"There's nothing to laugh at. I just decided to turn on my antigrav," said Norby, outraged.
"Upside down?"
"I'm just showing you I can do it every which way. It's a poor antigrav that only works rightside up. Anyone can do that. I've won upside-down races. I can be more upside down than anyone else."
"And can you also be rightside up?"
"Certainly, but it's not as dignified, and I wanted to show you the dignified way. Since you insist, however, we'll do it your silly way." Norby righted himself with what certainly looked like an effort, then sank down slowly until his feet were on the ground again. He teetered a little, but he said, "Ta la," and stood on one foot as though he were trying to look like a ballet dancer.
"Well," he said, "how do you want me to go? Forward or backward? I can go any possible way. Do you want diagonal?"
"What you really mean," said Jeff, "is that you don't know which way you'll go until you actually try it. Right?"
"Wrong! said Norby in a loud voice. "And let me tell you one thing, if you're so smart."
"Yes."
In a much milder voice, Norby said, "The one thing I want to tell you is that I think we should walk to your solstice place, Jeff, before the sun comes up on us and it's too late."
He held out his hand. Jeff took it and, hand in hand, the robot and the boy walked on the woodland path into the more deeply wooded part of the Ramble. The sky was sufficiently light now to make it easy to see the shapes of trees and stones.
They walked happily down the path into a deep glade with a little stream running through it, a stream that ran from a spring that seemed to come from a cleft in the enormous rock face at the end. On top of the miniature cliff of the rock face was a railing. There another path crossed the rock, became a tiny bridge, and circled down to join their path.
A willow tree, small but graceful, bent over the stream, and around its roots grew lilies-of-the-valley, their white cups clear in the dim light. The light wind caused them to nod and send out their delicate perfume.
"I like this," whispered Norby. "It's beautiful."
"I didn't know robots could understand beauty," Jeff said.
"Sure. An inflow of nice electricity is beautiful when your potential is down. I thought everyone knew that. Besides, I'm not just an ordinary robot," Norby said.
"I can see that. The alien bits in you were from another robot, a wholly different kind, or from an alien computer or something."
"That has nothing to do with it, Jeff. The trouble with you protein creatures is that you think you invented beauty. I can appreciate it, too. I can appreciate anything you can appreciate, and I can do anything you can do. I'm strong and I'm superbrave, and I'm a good companion in adventure. Let's have adventures, and I'll show you. Then you'll be glad you have me."
"I'm sure of it, Norby. Honest."
"Mac always wanted adventures, but he kept waiting, and the result was that he ended up never having any-except finding the alien ship. And then nothing happened."
"Except to you."
"You're right! I got fixed up."
"Mixed up, you mean. You're certainly one mixed-up robot."
"Why do you make fun of me? Just to show me that human beings are cruel?"
"I'm not cruel. I'm glad you're mixed up and have the alien parts in you. That's what makes you strong and brave and-"
At that moment Norby, who was standing with his legs stretched to their full length, widened his eyes to their fullest. "Yow!" he yelled.
"What is it?" Jeff asked. He tried to let go of Norby's hand, but the robot held on with painful tightness, while pointing backward with his other hand. Jeff remembered that Norby had eyes in the back of his head.
"Danger!" said Norby. "Enemy! Alien! Death and destruction!"
"Where? What? Who?" Jeff looked here and there and, finally, up, just in time to see motion across the little bridge. Two figures were advancing quickly, too quickly to be made out in the half light.
There were three men; two men chasing one man.
"Norby!" Jeff cried out. "It's Fargo, and he's being attacked!"
5. Spies And Cops
"Let's go," shouted Jeff as Norby lifted them with his antigrav. "Bombs away!" And they came down directly on the head of the larger of the two attackers. Jeff was ready for the most desperate fight of his life, but the man wasn't. He crumpled to the ground under Jeff's weight, hit his head against the paving, and passed out.
"Get the other one, Fargo," Jeff yelled. He was panting because most of the wind had been knocked out of him.
"I don't have to," Fargo said. He was panting, too. "Your barrel did."
There was Norby, closed up and on his side, next to the other attacker, who seemed to be groaning in his sleep.
"That's no barrel, Fargo," said Jeff, scrambling to his feet. "That's-"
Fargo wasn't paying attention to him. His eyes were shining with excitement. He liked fights and running and risks and danger, while Jeff did not especially like them. He wouldn't avoid them, but he didn't like them. In fact, he would avoid them if he could, whereas Fargo usually went out of his way to get into trouble. Jeff wondered again, as he often had, whether it was worth being related to Fargo. All in all, though, he always decided it was.
"Now what's this all about, Fargo?" he asked, feeling like the older brother instead of the younger.
"I might ask you the same question. How did you get here? You weren't here a minute ago. Where did you come from? The sky? And how did you knock out that bruiser, and what are you doing carrying a barrel about with you?"
"Never mind all that. Who are these guys, and why are they after you? I thought the city administration was going to get rid of the muggers."
"They're not muggers, Jeff. Anyway, not ordinary ones. They've been following me ever since I talked to Admiral Yobo about you and-uh-other things. I thought I'd lost them in the station at Luna City, but that was dumb of me. They just went on ahead and waited at the apartment. Fortunately, I've this sixth sense…"
"Like me," came Norby's muffled voice. "I've got a sixth sense, too."
"What?" said Fargo. "Did you speak, Jeff? Or is there someone else here?" He looked about.
"Never mind. Go on, tell me. You were coming to the apartment with that famous sixth sense of yours-"
"Yes. Something told me not to go in without questioning the computer outlet I stuck under the doormat, and it told me that the apartment had been broken into and that two men were inside. I questioned it further, and it told me you had gone out before the break-in, so I knew you were safe. Well, there was nothing in the apartment I was worried about except you, and I wasn't going to fall into their trap. I had to find you first. Then we could take care of them together. As we did, kid, right?"
"Don't forget I helped out," said Norby in a loud whisper.
"What?" said Fargo.
"Pay no attention," said Jeff. "So you came to the park?"
"Certainly; I knew you'd be here solsticing. But they came after me, and I had to lose them. I almost did. But just before I got here, there they were when I was practically on you, so to speak, and then you were on them."