in a couple of days and he figures to be on it. But he's
trying to track down his brother, who jumped ship nine years back."

MacIntosh nodded. "I suppose you drew a blank in the big room
downstairs?"

"Yes."

"Not surprising. We get these ship-jumping starmen all the time up here;
they never do get work cards, it seems. What's that thing on your
shoulder, boy?"

"He's from Bellatrix VII."

"Intelligent?"

"I should say so!" Rat burst in indignantly. "Just because I have a
certain superficial physiological resemblance to a particular species of
unpleasant Terran rodent----"

MacIntosh chuckled and said, "Ease up! I didn't mean to insult you,
friend! But you'll have to apply for a visa if you're going to stay here
more than three days."

Alan frowned. "Visa?"

Hawkes cut in: "The boy's going back on his ship, I told you. He won't
need a visa, or the alien either."

"Be that as it may," MacIntosh said. "So you're looking for your
brother, boy? Give me the specifications, now. Name, date of birth, and
all the rest."

"His name is Steve Donnell, sir. Born 3576. He jumped ship in----"

"Born _when_, did you say?"

"They're spacers," Hawkes pointed out quietly.

MacIntosh shrugged. "Go ahead."

"Jumped ship in 3867--I think. It's so hard to tell what year it is on
Earth."

"And physical description?"

"He was my twin," Alan said. "Identical twin."

MacIntosh jotted down the data Alan gave him and transferred it to a
punched card. "I don't remember any spacers of that name," he said, "but
nine years is a long time. And we get so many starmen coming up here to
take out Free Status."

"You do?"

"Oh, fifteen or twenty a year, at least--and that's in this office
alone. They're forever getting stranded on leave and losing their ships.
Why, there was one boy who was robbed and beaten in the Frisco Enclave
and didn't wake up for a week. Naturally he missed his ship, and no
other starship would sign him on. He's on Free Status now, of course.
Well, let's see about Donnell Steve Male, shall we? You realize the law
doesn't require Free Status people to register with us, and so we may
not necessarily have any data on him in our computer files?"

"I realize that," Alan said tightly. He wished the chubby records-keeper
would stop talking and start looking for Steve's records. It was getting
along toward late afternoon now; he had come across from the Enclave
around noontime, and certainly it was at least 1600