Betan in the crew--"

"You mean she's pregnant!"

Kennon nodded. "There's been mutation on Beta," he said. "And it's
apparently a similar one to hers. Betan-Lani matings are fertile."

Douglas's shoulders sagged, and then straightened. "I don't believe it,"
he said. "You're just a damned sneaking spy. Somehow or other you got
a spacer in here after you wormed your way into Cousin Alex's
confidence--and now you're going to space out with the nucleus of a new
farm. Just wait. When Alex learns of this the galaxy'll be too small to
hold you."

"Don't babble like a fool!" Kennon said with disgust. "How could I land
a spacer here without being spotted? You sound like a two-credit novel.
And even if I did--would it be a can like this?" Kennon played the torch
over the blue-black durilium protruding from the ashes.

Douglas' eyes widened as he took in the details of construction. "What
an antique!" he blurted. "Where did you get this can?"

"I found it here."

"Tell me another one."

"You won't believe," Kennon said flatly, "because you don't dare
believe. You have a mental block. You've killed, maimed, tortured--
treated them like animals--and now your mind shrinks from admitting
they're human. You know what will happen if the old court decision is
reversed. It will wreck your little empire, dry up your money, break
you--and you can't stand the thought of that. You don't dare let us
leave, yet you can't stop us because I have your blaster and I'd just
as soon shoot you as look at your rotten face. Now get on your feet and
start climbing if you want to stay alive. We're getting out of here, and
you'll fry inside this pit."

"Where are you taking me?"

"Back to your airboat. I'm going to tie you up and set you off on
autopilot. You'll be able to get loose quickly enough but it'll be too
late to stop us. We'll be gone, and you can think of how you'll manage
to face the human race."

"I hope you blow yourself and that antique clear out of space."

"We might. But you'll never know for sure. But mark this--if I live I'll
be back with the Brotherhood. You can count on it."

They struggled up the side of the pit and halted, panting, on the rim.
"How much radiation was down there?" Douglas asked worriedly.

"Not enough to hurt you."

"That's good." Douglas accepted the statement at face value, a fact
which failed to surprise Kennon. "You know," he said, "I've been around
Lani all my life. And I know that they're not