In one of the closets, Barrent found a badly made suit of Citizen black,
into which he changed. He took the girl's weapon from the pocket of his
prison ship uniform, weighed it in his hand for a moment, then put it
into a pocket of his new suit. He left the store and found his way back
to the Victim's Protective Society.

* * * * *

The door was still open, and the three ragged men were still sitting on
the bench. They weren't laughing now. Their long wait seemed to have
tired them. At the other end of the room, Mr. Frendlyer was seated
behind his desk, reading through a thick pile of papers. There was no
sign of the girl.

Barrent walked to the desk, and Frendlyer stood up to greet him.

"My congratulations!" Frendlyer said. "Dear fellow, my very warmest
congratulations. That was a splendid bit of shooting. And in motion,
too!"

"Thank you," Barrent said. "The reason I came back here--"

"I know why," Frendlyer said. "You wished to be advised of your rights
and obligations as a Free Citizen. What could be more natural? If you
take a seat on that bench, I'll be with you in--"

"I didn't come here for that," Barrent said. "I want to find out about
my rights and obligations, of course. But right now, I want to find that
girl."

"Girl?"

"She was sitting on the bench when I came in. She was the one who gave
me the gun."

Mr. Frendlyer looked astonished. "Citizen, you must be laboring under a
misapprehension. There has been no woman in this office all day."

"She was sitting on the bench near those three men. A very attractive
dark-haired girl. You must have noticed her."

"I would certainly have noticed her if she had been here," Frendlyer
said, winking. "But as I said before, no woman has entered these
premises today."

Barrent glared at him and pulled the gun out of his pocket. "In that
case, how did I get this?"

"I lent it to you," Frendlyer said. "I'm glad you were able to use it
successfully, but now I would appreciate its return."

"You're lying," Barrent said, taking a firm grip on the weapon. "Let's
ask those men."

He walked over to the bench with Frendlyer close behind him. He caught
the attention of the man who had been sitting nearest the girl and asked
him, "Where did the girl go?"

The man lifted a sullen, unshaven face and said, "What girl you talking
about, Citizen?"

"The one who was sitting right here."

"I didn't notice nobody. Rafeel, you see a