Adventures in the Far Future & Tales of Outer Space — page 235: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

pending the outcome of its maiden voyage, it was the only one Earth owned. | added it all up in my head, fast, and added it up again. And the way it’s done on Earth, two and two always come out to four. “You'd give ’em ten minutes. | like that—that’s generous.” “Listen, Latham—” “Sorry, Max. Forget it and let’s go.” He looked at me that hard way again, started to say something, and didn’t. | picked up my dicto and started to go. “Don't go away mad, kid!” The smile was back on his face, but it looked as if it had been pasted there. “No,” | said. “No. Wouldn’t think of it, Kid. But let’s just be sure, since we’re going to be on this new hopped-up schedule, that we don’t miss anything. Let’s be sure to get it all down. All the things there are to know about these people that aren't in their books, aren't on their recording tapes ... | hope you know where to look, Max. See you in nine hours.” | went out, my staff was waiting for me, and we went to work. During the last three months | tried to find one Martian, as | walked among their ever-thinning numbers on the broad thoroughfares and in the great, wide parks, and worked with them in closer proximity—|I tried to find one who might come up to me and say, “Earthman, we are dying. Go home, that we might do it in peace, and by ourselves. Leave us; we are not hosts to strangers who can return to homes abounding with life, while we ourselves daily enter our graves. Go home, Earthman!” | tried to find one, and | could not, and | thought of the situation reversed... . And when we did at length go, on a day of their last days, it would be only for eight months—four for the trip CORniclooo SS CO