u
have contragravity, something that is hardly more than a legend
here. On the other hand, we have a million and a half ground-troops,
jet aircraft, armored ground-vehicles, and chemical weapons. If you
will undertake to attack Stolgoland, we will place this entire force
at your disposal; General Dagro will command them as you direct. All
that we ask is that, when you have loaded the gold hoards of
Stolgoland aboard your ships, you will leave our troops in
possession of the country."

* * * * *

That was all there was to that meeting. There was a second one; only
Trask, Harkaman and Sir Paytrik Morland represented the Space Vikings,
and the Eglonsby government was represented by President Pedrosan
and General Dagro. They met more intimately, in a smaller and more
luxurious room in the same building.

"If you're going to declare war on Stolgoland, you'd better get
along with it," Morland advised.

"What?" Pedrosan seemed to have only the vaguest idea of what he was
talking about. "You mean, warn them? Certainly not. We will attack
them by surprise. It will be nothing but plain self-defense," he
added righteously. "The oligarchic capitalists of Stolgoland have
been plotting to attack us for years."

"Yes. If you had carried out your original intention of looting
Eglonsby, they would have invaded us the moment your ships lifted
out. It's exactly what I'd do in their place."

"But you maintain nominally friendly relations with them?"

"Of course. We are civilized. The peace-loving government and people
of Eglonsby...."

"Yes, Mr. President; I understand. And they have an embassy here?"

"They call it that!" cried Dagro. "It is a nest of vipers,
a plague-spot of espionage and subversion...!"

"We'll grab that ourselves, right away," Harkaman said. "You won't be
able to round up all their agents outside it, and if we tried to, it
would cause suspicion. We'll have to put up a front to deceive them."

"Yes. You will go on the air at once, calling on the people to
collaborate with us, and you will specifically order your troops
mobilized to assist us in collecting the tribute we are levying on
Eglonsby," Trask said. "In that way, if any Stolgonian spies see
your troops concentrated around our landing craft, they'll think
it's to help us load our loot."

"And we'll announce that a large part of the tribute will consist of
military equipment," Dagro added. "That will explain why our g