added
thoughtfully, "I suppose that's something...."

* * * * *

Fred stayed with us until Sunday evening. I went down to the pier to
smoke a good-night pipe with him, and get his private opinion.

"I'm buying a hundred shares of Worldwide stock tomorrow," he declared.
"That critter is worth his weight in diamonds to every well-heeled
housewife in the country. In fact, put me down for one of your first
models. I wouldn't mind having a laundry sorter and morning
coffee-pourer, myself."

"Think he's safe, do you?"

"No more emotions than that stump over there. And it baffles me. He has
self-awareness, pain-sensitivity and a fantastic vocabulary, yet I
needled him all afternoon with every semantic hypo I could think of
without getting a flicker of emotion out of him." He paused.
"Incidentally, I made him strip for me in my room. You'll be as confused
as I was to learn that he's every inch a man in his format."

"What?" I exclaimed.

"Made me wonder what his duties included back on his home planet ... but
as I said, no emotions. With the set of built-in inhibitions he has,
he'd beat a eunuch out of his job any day of the week."

A few seconds later, Fred dropped into his little two-seater and skimmed
off for home, leaving me with a rather disturbing question in my mind.

I went back to the house and cornered Soth out in the kitchen alone.
Vicki had him polishing all the antique silverware.

"Are there female Soths?" I asked point-blank.

He looked down at me with that relaxed, pink look and said, "No, Mr.
Collins," and went back to his polishing.

The damned liar. He knew what I meant. He justified himself on a
technicality.

* * * * *

I left Vicki Monday morning with more confidence than I'd had in ages.
She had slept especially well, and the only thing on her mind was
Clumsy's disappearance. He hadn't shown up since Soth scared the fleas
off him with that hiss.

At the office, I had my girl transcribe my notes and work up a
memorandum to the board of directors. We sent it around before noon, and
shortly after lunch I had calls from all ten of them, including the
chairman. It was not that they considered it such a big thing--they were
just plainly curious. We scheduled a meeting for Tuesday morning, to
talk the thing over.

That night when I got home, all was serene. Soth served us cocktails,
dinner and a late snack, and had the place tidi