ly. "It occurs to me, Lewis, that you don't
have a leg to stand on. You have me, but you'll get nothing out of me.
The rest of the organization can go on without me. You don't dare expose
us. We hold the whip hand!"

* * * * *

"The I-A could have ninety per cent of your organization in custody
inside of ten days," said Orne.

"You couldn't find them!" snapped Polly.

"How?" asked Stetson.

"Nomads," said Orne. "This house is a glorified tent. Men on the
outside, women on the inside. Look for inner courtyard construction.
It's instinctive with Nathian blood. Add to that, an inclination for odd
musical instruments--the kaithra, the tambour, the oboe--all nomad
instruments. Add to that, female dominance of the family--an odd twist
on the nomad heritage, but not completely unique. Check for predominance
of female offspring. Dig into political background. We'll miss damn
few!"

Polly just stared at him, mouth open.

Spencer said: "Things are moving too fast for me. I know just one thing:
I'm dedicated to preventing another Rim War. If I have to jail every
last one of--"

"An hour after this conspiracy became known, you wouldn't be in a
position to jail anyone," said Orne. "The husband of a Nathian! You'd be
in jail yourself or more likely dead at the hands of a mob!"

Spencer paled.

"What's your suggestion for compromise?" asked Polly.

"Number one: the I-A gets veto power on any candidate you put up," said
Orne. "Number two: you can never hold more than two thirds of the top
offices."

"Who in the I-A vetoes our candidates?" asked Polly.

"Admiral Spencer, Stet, myself ... anyone else we deem trustworthy,"
said Orne.

"You think you're a god or something?" demanded Polly.

"No more than you do," said Orne. "This is what's known as a check and
balance system. You cut the pie. We get first choice on which pieces to
take."

There was a protracted silence; then Spencer said: "It doesn't seem
right just to--"

"No political compromise is ever totally right," said Polly. "You keep
patching up things that always have flaws in them. That's how government
is." She chuckled, looked up at Orne. "All right, Lewis. We accept." She
glanced at Spencer, who shrugged, nodded glumly. Polly looked back at
Orne. "Just answer me one question: How'd you know I was boss lady?"

"Easy," said Orne. "The records we found said the ... Nathian (he'd
almost said 'traitor') family on Marak was co