oyd 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 dryly. "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--irridium, 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 irridium 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 was infuriated: "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 for damage
done by blueskins, of course--and get back to Wealdian ships with
absolutely no danger of carrying contagion. If you'll make sure the
recording's clear...."

He described, clearly and specifically, exactly how a man could be
outfitted to walk into any area of