me to visit in
our villages and to get better acquainted with us."

* * * * *

Niaga left him, then; she said she would go to the village and send out
the summons for the council. By a roundabout path, Lord returned to the
clearing around the _Ceres_. The forest fascinated him. It was obviously
cultivated like a park, and he was puzzled that a primitive society should
practice such full scale conservation. Normally savages took nature for
granted or warred against it.

He came upon a brown gash torn in a hillside above the stream, a place
where natives were apparently working to build up the bank against
erosion. In contrast to the beauty that surrounded it, the bare earth was
indescribably ugly, like a livid scar in a woman's face. In his mind Lord
saw this scar multiplied a thousand times--no, a million times--when the
machines of the galaxy came to rip out resources for the trade cities.
He envisioned the trade cities that would rise against the horizon, the
clutter of suburban subdivisions choking out the forests; he saw the pall
of industrial smoke that would soil the clean air, the great machines
clattering over asphalt streets.

For the first time he stated the problem honestly, to himself: this world
must be saved exactly as it was. But how? How could Lord continue to
represent Hamilton Lord, Inc., as a reputable trade agent, and at the
same time save Niaga's people from the impact of civilization?

It was sunset when he returned to the _Ceres_. On the clearing the
festivities were still going on, but at a slower pace. Ann Howard was
waiting for Lord at the door of his cabin. She registered her official
disapproval of the revelry, which Lord had expected, and then she added,

"We can't make a treaty with them; these people have no government with
the authority to deal with us."

"You're wrong, Ann; there's a council of elders--"

"I beg to differ, Mr. Lord." Her lips made a flat, grim line against her
teeth. "This afternoon I made a point of talking to every native in the
clearing. Their idea of government is something they call the law of
humanity. Whether it is written down or not, I have no way of knowing;
but certainly they have no such thing as a central authority. This
rather indicates a teacher trusteeship for the planet, I believe."

"You've made a mistake, Ann; I'll have to check for myself."

Lord and Ann Howard moved together through the clearing and he began t