found the Med Ship gone. He'd go back inside and turn on a communicator.

"_Chee!_" said Murgatroyd.

The heavy voice boomed;

"_You there! This is a human-occupied world! If you come in peace, cut
your drive and let our guard-ship approach!_"

Murgatroyd replied in an interested but doubtful tone. The booming voice
bellowed. Another voice of higher authority took over. Murgatroyd was
entranced that so many people wanted to talk to him. He made what for
him was practically an oration. The last voice spoke persuasively and
suavely.

"_Chee-chee-chee-chee_," said Murgatroyd.

One of the grain-ships flickered and ceased to be. It had gone into
overdrive. Another. And another. Suddenly they began to flick out of
sight by twos and threes.

"_Chee_," said Murgatroyd with a note of finality.

The last grain-ship vanished.

"Calling guard-ship," said Calhoun drily. "This is Med ship Aesclipus
Twenty. I called here a couple of weeks ago. You've been talking to my
_tormal_, Murgatroyd."

A pause. A blank pause. Then profanity of deep and savage intemperance.

"I've been on Dara," said Calhoun.

Dead silence fell.

"There's a famine there," said Calhoun deliberately. "So the grain-ships
you've had in orbit have been taken away by men from Dara--blueskins if
you like--to feed themselves and their families. They've been dying of
hunger and they don't like it."

There was a single burst of the unprintable. Then the formerly suave
voice said waspishly;

"_Well? The Med Service will hear of your interference!_"

"Yes," said Calhoun. "I'll report it myself. I have a message for you.
Dara is ready to pay for every ounce of grain and for the ships it was
stored in. They'll pay in heavy metals,--iridium, uranium,--that sort of
thing."

The suave voice fairly curdled.

"_As if we'd allow anything that was ever on Dara to touch ground
here!_"

"Ah! But there can be sterilization. To begin with metals, uranium melts
at 1150 deg. centigrade, and tungsten at 3370 deg. and iridium at 2350
deg. You could load such things and melt them down in space and then tow
them home. And you can actually sterilize a lot of other useful
materials!"

The suave voice said infuriatedly;

"_I'll report this! You'll suffer for this!_"

Calhoun said pleasantly;

"I'm sure that what I say is being recorded, so that I'll add that it's
perfectly practical for Wealdians to land on Dara, take whatever
property they think wise,--to pay f