Jeff stretched. He hadn't had enough sleep, but daylight was on its way, and it was the solstice. "Come on, Norby. Let's go our civilized way to the special place of the Wells brothers."
"Special place? It's yours? You own it?"
"Not really. Not legally. It sure feels ours, though. It feels deep-down ours."
"But not legally? If we're going to have trouble with policemen, I don't want to go."
"We won't have trouble with policemen," said Jeff irritably. "What do you think this is? The asteroids? Just follow me." He started to walk down another path on the other side of the fishpond, but stopped and looked back at Norby, who hadn't budged.
Jeff said, "Well then, go on your antigrav if you want to, Norby. I know walking is difficult for you."
"I can walk perfectly well when I want to," Norby said. "I like to walk. I've won walking races. I can walk higher and deeper than anyone; just not faster. Human beings think that fast is everything when it comes to walking, and they're not so fast anyway. Ostriches and kangaroos go on two legs, and they're much faster than human beings. I read about them-"
"In Mac's encyclopedia, I know. Kangaroos don't walk, they hop."
"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!"