said, and left the room with determination in her
eye.

The next fifteen minutes were agonizing for Montcalm as he tried
futilely to get Liz to dress like a decent person. He was torn between
realization of what the things she offered would mean to the world and
his own sense of the fitness of things. His children, the children of
Traskmore, the children of the world ... what would be the effect on
their tender morals to realize that a sane adult was willing to walk
around in brazen nakedness?

There was a pounding on the front door, and the voice of Millie inviting
the law into the house.

"Now I'm afraid you're due to go to jail," said Montcalm mournfully.
"But when they get some clothes on you, I'll try to explain it and get
you an audience with the mayor."

Two blue-clad policemen entered the room.

One policeman took the house dress from Montcalm's lax fingers and
tossed it over Liz' head without further ado.

Liz did not struggle. She looked at Montcalm with a quizzical
expression.

"I'm sorry," she said. "My people made a mistake. If you Earth people
aren't tolerant enough to accept a difference in customs of dress, I'm
afraid you're too immature."

With that, she was gone like a puff of air. The astonished policemen
held an empty dress.

Montcalm didn't see the flying saucer that whizzed over Traskmore that
morning and disappeared into the sky, but he didn't doubt the reports.
He debated with himself for a long time whether he had taken the right
attitude, but decided he had.

After all, there were the children to consider.

THE END

Transcriber's Note:

This etext was produced from _Amazing Science Fiction Stories_
September 1958. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed. Minor spelling
and typographical errors have been corrected without note.

End of Project Gutenberg's The Gift Bearer, by Charles Louis Fontenay

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