re. On
Weald, obviously, there would be purest panic. The vanishing of the
grain fleet wouldn't be charged against twenty-four men. A Darian fleet
would be suspected, and with the suspicion terror, and with terror a
governmental crisis. Then there'd be a frantic seizure of any craft that
could take to space, and the agitated improvisation of a space-fleet.

But besides that, biological-warfare technicians would examine Calhoun's
instructions for equipment by which armed men could be landed on a
plague-stricken planet and then safely taken off again. Military and
governmental officials would come to the eminently sane conclusion that
while Calhoun could not well take active measures against blueskins, as
a sane and proper citizen of the galaxy he would be on the side of law
and order and propriety and justice,--in short, of Weald. So they
ordered sample anti-contagion suits made according to Calhoun's
directions, and they had them tested. They worked admirably.

On Dara, while Calhoun journeyed back to it, grain was distributed
lavishly, and everybody on the planet had their cereal ration almost
doubled. It was still not a comfortable ration, but the relief was
great. There was considerable gratitude felt for Calhoun, which as usual
included a lively anticipation of further favors to come. Maril was
interviewed repeatedly, as the person best able to discuss him, and she
did his reputation no harm. That was not all that happened on Dara ...

There was something else. Very curious thing, too. There was a curious
spread of mild symptoms which nobody could exactly call a disease. It
lasted only a few hours. A person felt slightly feverish, and ran a
temperature which peaked at 30.9 deg. centigrade, and drank more water
than usual. Then his temperature went back to normal and he forgot all
about it. There have always been such trivial epidemics. They are rarely
recorded, because few people think to go to a doctor. That was the case
here.

Calhoun looked ahead a little, too. Presently the fleet of grain-ships
would arrive and unload and lift again for Orede, and this time they
would make an infinity of slaughter among wild cattle-herds, and bring
back incredible quantities of fresh-slaughtered frozen beef. Almost
everybody would get to taste meat again, which would be most gratifying.

Then, the industries of Dara would labor at government-required tasks.
An astonishing amount of fissionable material would be fashioned int