estepping neatly, "is a matter of governmental
policy, Major Petkoff. And I can't provide any final answer."

"Ah?" Petkoff said.

"But, after all, a trial would not make sense," Malone said, now
busily attacking from the side. "You see, at first we thought they
were espionage agents."

"A foolish conclusion," Petkoff said uneasily.

Malone nodded. "That's what we finally realized," he said. "We
questioned them, but their stories were nonsense, absolute nonsense.
Of course, we had no idea of what foreign government might have
employed them."

"Of course not," Petkoff said, shifting slightly in his seat. The car
took a wide curve and swayed slightly, and Malone found himself nearly
in Lou's lap. The sensation was so pleasant that all conversation was
delayed for a couple of seconds, until the car had righted itself.

"So," Malone went on when he had straightened out, "we decided to save
ourselves the expense of a trial."

"Very natural," Petkoff said. The slight delay had apparently allowed
him to recover his own mental balance. "The capitalist countries think
only of money."

"Sure," Malone said agreeably. "Well, anyhow, that's the way it was.
There was no point, really, in putting them in prison--what for? What
good could it do us?"

"Who knows?" Petkoff said.

"Exactly," Malone said. "So, since all we wanted to do was get rid of
them, and since we had an easy way to do that, why, we took it, that's
all, and shipped them here."

"I see," Petkoff said. "And the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics is
properly grateful."

"My goodness," Her Majesty put in, apparently out of an irrepressible
sense of fun. "Maybe we'll get medals."

"Medals," Petkoff said sternly, "are not given to capitalist
agitators."

"We are not agitated," Her Majesty said, and folded her hands in her
lap, looking quite satisfied with herself.

Petkoff thought for a second. "And why," he said, "did you feel that
such elaborate precautions were necessary in returning these men to
us?"

Malone shrugged. "Well, we couldn't have them just running around all
over the world, could we?" he said. "We felt that here they'd be
properly housed and fed, in their own homeland, even if they didn't
get a job."

"They will be properly taken care of," Petkoff prophesied darkly.

"Now, wait a minute--" Lou began, and then stopped. "Sorry," she said.

Malone felt sorry for her, but there was nothing he could say to make
things any better. "Exac