Part 3

Lamps gave the ship more velocity than was necessary. "Mind your own business, Snake."

"And I can hear them funny shoes of hers, clip clopping down the corridor, bringing us a batch of fresh biscuits." Snake sat bolt upright in his chair. "Lord a-massy, if I can't even smell them biscuits right now!"

Lamps let out a curse. "Now, see what you done, Snake? You got me so riled up I can smell 'em too."

Both of them stopped, sniffed long and hard, and then let out a whoop. Throwing the _Dirty Shame_ into full automatic, they dashed for the kitchen.

There, stooping over, peering into the oven, was a silver-haired, little old lady.

"Grandma!" they yelled in unison. "What are you doing here!"

Giving them her richest smile, she said, "Well, boys, I didn't raise a family of ten without knowing that hungry men need good, solid food. So I...."

It took a while and it took some wile and some of the best of Grandma's talking, but finally it was agreed by all hands that she would be allowed to remain on board, at least until they could get her back to Earth. And, in the end, the fresh batch of hot biscuits were probably her best argument.

After dinner, just before she headed to her cabin to slip off into a sound sleep, Lamps stopped her for one final question.

"Say, Grandma, I know this maybe sounds funny. But whatever in the world did you do to that suppressor ray?"

"Whatever do you mean?" answered Grandma with great innocence.

"Well, Professor Spindle, he looked at it, cussed at it, pulled it apart, said it couldn't possibly work, then all of a sudden he gave a big laugh and packed the whole contraption off to his laboratory. And I just wondered...."

Grandma Perkins snickered. "Lamps," she told him, "Promise me faithfully you won't tell a soul?" Lamps nodded.

"Well, sir, you've got a great deal to learn about women. You see, there just isn't anything made that a smart woman can't fix with a hairpin."

And plopping one last biscuit into his mouth for him, she clip-clopped down the corridor and off to bed.