are.

Orne glanced at the sky to the southwest. "The flitter ought to be here
any minute." A gust of wind tugged at his cape. He staggered, caught his
balance. "I _feel_ good."

"You look like something left over from a funeral," growled Stetson.

"Sure--my funeral," said Orne. He grinned. "Anyway, I was getting tired
of that walk-around-type morgue. All my nurses were married."

"I'd almost stake my life that I could trust you," muttered Stetson.

Orne looked at him. "No, no, Stet ... stake _my_ life. I'm used to it."

Stetson shook his head. "No, dammit! I trust you, but you deserve a
peaceful convalescence. We've no right to saddle you with--"

"Stet?" Orne's voice was low, amused.

"Huh?" Stetson looked up.

"Let's save the noble act for someone who doesn't know you," said Orne.
"You've a job for me. O.K. You've made the gesture for your conscience."

Stetson produced a wolfish grin. "All right. So we're desperate, and we
haven't much time. In a nutshell, since you're going to be a house guest
at the Bullones'--we suspect Ipscott Bullone of being the head of a
conspiracy to take over the government."

"What do you mean--_take over the government_?" demanded Orne. "The
Galactic High Commissioner _is_ the government--subject to the
Constitution and the Assemblymen who elected him."

"We've a situation that could explode into another Rim War, and we think
he's at the heart of it," said Stetson. "We've eighty-one touchy
planets, all of them old-line steadies that have been in the League for
years. And on every one of them we have reason to believe there's a clan
of traitors sworn to overthrow the League. Even on your home
planet--Chargon."

"You want me to go home for my convalescence?" asked Orne. "Haven't been
there since I was seventeen. I'm not sure that--"

"No, dammit! We want you as the Bullones' house guest! And speaking of
that, would you mind explaining how they were chosen to ride herd on
you?"

"There's an odd thing," said Orne. "All those gags in the I-A about old
Upshook Ipscott Bullone ... and then I find that his wife went to school
with my mother."

"Have you met Himself?"

"He brought his wife to the hospital a couple of times."

Again, Stetson looked to the southwest, then back to Orne. A pensive
look came over his face. "Every schoolkid knows how the Nathians and the
Marakian League fought it out in the Rim War--how the old civilization
fell apart--and it all seems kind of dista