d, and when Jack
disappeared toward the storeroom, Tiger turned to Dal. "You shouldn't
have given in," he said. "If you give that guy as much as an inch,
you're just asking for trouble."

"It isn't a matter of giving in," Dal insisted. "I think he was right,
that's all. Don't let's start a fight where we don't have to."

Tiger yielded the point, but when Jack returned, Tiger avoided him,
keeping to himself the rest of the evening. And later, as he tried to
get to sleep, Dal wondered for a moment. Maybe Tiger was right. Maybe he
was just dodging a head-on clash with the Blue Doctor now and setting
the stage for a real collision later.

Next day the argument was forgotten in the air of rising excitement as
embarkation orders for the _Lancet_ came through. Preparations were
completed, and only last-minute double-checks were required before
blast-off.

But an hour before count-down began, a jitney buzzed across the field,
and a Two-star Pathologist climbed aboard with his three black-cloaked
orderlies. "Shakedown inspection," he said curtly. "Just a matter of
routine." And with that he stalked slowly through the ship, checking the
storage holds, the inventories, the lab, the computer with its
information banks, and the control room. As he went along he kept firing
medical questions at Dal and Tiger, hardly pausing long enough for the
answers, and ignoring Jack Alvarez completely. "What's the normal range
of serum cholesterol in a vegetarian race with Terran environment? How
would you run a Wenberg electrophoresis? How do you determine individual
radiation tolerance? How would you prepare a heart culture for cardiac
transplant on board this ship?" The questions went on until Tiger and
Dal were breathless, as count-down time grew closer and closer. Finally
the Black Doctor turned back toward the entrance lock. He seemed vaguely
disappointed as he checked the record sheets the orderlies had been
keeping. With an odd look at Dal, he shrugged. "All right, here are your
clearance papers," he said to Jack. "Your supply of serum globulin
fractions is up to black-book requirements, but you'll run short if you
happen to hit a virus epidemic; better take on a couple of more cases.
And check central information just before leaving. We've signed two new
contracts in the past week, and the co-ordinator's office has some
advance information on both of them."

When the inspector had gone, Tiger wiped his forehead and sighed. "That
wa