place, then pressed the buzzer that signaled to quarantine that the
doctor was ready to screen the crew of the U triple S _Endore_.

The _Endore_ had arrived during the night. Usually crews that had to
wait hours before passing through psych raised a big fuss. Quarantine
wasn't exactly designed for comfort. A man couldn't be expected to enjoy
sitting on a bench and reading a worn-out magazine after looking forward
to visiting his old haunts on Earth after months or years in space. His
only thought was to get through the red tape and step through the door
on the other side of which lay freedom of expression and freedom from
space discipline--and girls.

That was the usual result of forced delay in quarantine. The crew of the
_Endore_ hadn't let a peep out of them.

Martha Ryan, the receptionist, glanced knowingly at the closed door. She
knew that Nale was sitting at his desk, his legs crossed carelessly, his
long fingers holding the report on the _Endore_ and the report of the
psych observer. He was probably frowning slightly over the unusual
behavior of the crew.

She had her own list of names of the crew on the desk before her.
Heading the list was the name, Comdr. Hugh Dunnam. Dr. Nale would
ordinarily call him first. Next would come any of the crew that the
commander reported unbalanced, followed by the rest of the crew.

Sometimes when the psych observer's report was unfavorable to the whole
crew he called some crew member at random before calling the top name.

It didn't surprise her, therefore, when the intercom came to life and
Dr. Nale's voice pleasantly asked for a name two-thirds of the way down
on the list of forty names--Ren Gravenard, spaceman/2d cls.

Martha's pencil followed the list down, making a light check after the
name while she dialed quarantine to send in the man.

In her mind's eye she could visualize the lifted eyebrows of the day
shift guards as they glanced over the huddled crew. She could see their
suddenly changed attitude toward the crew, their new caution as they
opened the heavy wire door and led the man out. She could see, too, the
worried frown of Comdr. Dunnam, whoever he was, as he realized what that
meant--to have a crew member precede him.

She could see, too, Dunnam's probable warning look to spaceman Gravenard
to keep mum and play his cards close.

That was the trouble with crews of ships when they thought they might be
held up by psych over something. They invariably o