Free Into the Slave Nebula by John Brunner

thoughtful of him,” he said at last. “Ah—is anyone else at home?”
    “No, sir. Mr. Derry senior went to a party last night and did not return, though he is expected not to remain away indefinitely, and Mrs. Lu”—his mother—“said that …” Rowl gave a discreet cough, letting the words tail away.
    “Said that if he could do it so could she and she won’t be back tonight,” Horn snorted. “You don’t have to be tactful with me, Rowl!”
    “I suppose not, sir,” Rowl admitted, looking pained nonetheless at the accuracy of Horn’s guess. “Well, anyway: Mr. Horn”—his grandfather, who as head of the family alone rated the formal use of its surname—“has been saying he doesn’t enjoy carnival as much as he used to. He was in a very bad temper when he returned yesterday morning, and I regret to say I expect he will probably feel the same today.”
    “What about my sister?”
    “Oh, Miss Via is with a party of students under the supervision of your cousin Mrs. Leadora. That entire branch of the family is here, incidentally.”
    “Damn. I’d clean forgotten about their being invited for the week. Oh well, never mind—I shan’t be around long enough to be pestered by them, with luck. Rowl, do you suppose there’s a hundred thousand in ready cash in the house?”
    “Well … yes, sir, there is indeed. But of course the ordinary expenses of carnival will substantially reduce that sum during the next few days.”
    “Let ’em have their fun on credit, then! If a Horn can’tcommand credit, who on this horrible planet can? I’m going to need cash—a lot of it—in a hurry! Here, get me a drink and a snack, will you? I need it to set me up for an argument with grandad.”
    If Rowl had the faintest inkling why his employer’s grandson wanted so much money in a hurry, he didn’t betray the fact, but merely bowed and moved to comply.

CHAPTER VIII
    H E ATE sitting alone on the long central lounge which ran from end to end of the house, his back to the transparent wall fronting the garden, as though the world beyond held too many problems for him to feel comfortable looking at it. His appetite was long ago sated, and he had called on Rowl for several more drinks, before the hours of waiting were over and the peace of the house was shattered by the irruption of his sister Via at the head of a score of shrieking teenagers, with his mother’s elderly cousin Leadora vainly struggling to quiet them.
    The moment she saw her brother, Via rushed forward with a cry. “Derry, you beast! You’ve lost my bet for me!”
    “What bet?” Horn said crossly.
    “Oh, I told Sampidge that you’d enjoy carnival so much better on your own that you wouldn’t come back until you absolutely had to. And he said you would come home early because it’s much more fun to spend carnival with people you know, and here you are back already so I’ll have to let hm do all kinds of awful things to me and you’re a beast! You’re an absolute and utter
beast!
”
    “You ought to be more careful who you make bets with, then,” Horn snapped, pushing her aside as she made to pummel him and rising to his feet. “But don’t worry—your bet’s a washout, anyhow. I haven’t come back to spend the rest of carnival with people I know. I’ve just come to pick up some cash so I can buy a flight to Newholme.”
    “Where’s that?” Via said foggily. “Is it far?”
    At that moment there was a lull in the chatter and laughter which had filled the room, and Horn’s harsh reply was loud enough to be heard by everyone.
    “Far? It’s a pretty long way from Earth, but it’s hardly far enough!”
    Heads turned on all sides to look at him. A boy of about eighteen with a scholarly manner detached himself from the group of young people he had been talking to and approached Horn—Sampidge, who had made the bet with Via.
    “Did I hear you say you were leaving Earth? Isn’t the middle of carnival an odd time to get the pioneering