ys been open to you--"

Tam stared at his shoe, carefully choosing his words, lining them up
in his mind, a frown creasing his forehead. "I'll lay it on the line,"
he said in a low voice. "I'm in a spot. That passage to the Rings
wasn't voluntary. I was shanghaied onto a freighter, and had to work
for eight years without pay to get passage back. I'm broke, and I'm
hungry, and I need to see a doctor--"

"Well, hell!" the big man exploded. "Why didn't you holler sooner?
Look, Tam--we've been friends for a long time. You know better than to
hesitate." He fished for his wallet. "Here, I can let you have as much
as you need--couple hundred?"

"No, no--That's not what I'm getting at." Tam felt his face flush with
embarrassment. "I need a job, Dave. I need one bad."

Dave sat back, and his feet came off the desk abruptly. He didn't look
at Tam. "I see," he said softly. "A job--" He stared at the ceiling
for a moment. "Tell you what," he said. "The government's opening a
new uranium mine in a month or so--going to be a big project, they'll
need lots of men--on Mercury--"

Tam's eyes fell, a lump growing in his throat. "Mercury," he repeated
dully.

"Why, sure, Tam--good pay, chance for promotion."

"I'd be dead in six months on Mercury." Tam's eyes met Dave's, trying
to conceal the pain. "You know that as well as I do, Dave--"

Dave looked away. "Oh, the docs don't know what they're talking
about--"

"You know perfectly well that they do. I couldn't even stand Venus
very long. I need a job on Mars, Dave--or on Earth."

"Yes," said Dave Hawke sadly, "I guess you're right." He looked
straight at Tam, his eyes sorrowful. "The truth is, I can't help you.
I'd like to, but I can't. There's nothing I can do."

Tam stared, the pain of disillusionment sweeping through him. "Nothing
you can do!" he exploded. "But you're the _director_ of this bureau!
You know every job open on every one of the planets--"

"I know. And I have to help get them filled. But I can't make anyone
hire, Tam. I can send applicants, and recommendations, until I'm blue
in the face, but I can't make a company hire--" He paused, staring at
Tam. "Oh, hell," he snarled, suddenly, his face darkening. "Let's face
it, Tam. They won't hire you. Nobody will hire you. You're a Sharkie,
and that's all there is to it, they aren't hiring Sharkies. And
there's nothing I can do to make them."

Tam sat as if he had been struck, the color draining from his face.
"B