see, the person
you are after--the person that we are sending you to find--is known only
by certain objects here. They are the only traces, the only means of
identification. Without them--"

"What are they?"

He came toward the Speaker. The Speaker moved to one side. "Look," he
said. He drew a sliding wall away, showing a dark square hole. "In
there."

Conger squatted down, staring in. He frowned. "A skull! A skeleton!"

"The man you are after has been dead for two centuries," the Speaker
said. "This is all that remains of him. And this is all you have with
which to find him."

For a long time Conger said nothing. He stared down at the bones, dimly
visible in the recess of the wall. How could a man dead centuries be
killed? How could he be stalked, brought down?

Conger was a hunter, a man who had lived as he pleased, where he
pleased. He had kept himself alive by trading, bringing furs and pelts
in from the Provinces on his own ship, riding at high speed, slipping
through the customs line around Earth.

He had hunted in the great mountains of the moon. He had stalked through
empty Martian cities. He had explored--

The Speaker said, "Soldier, take these objects and have them carried to
the car. Don't lose any part of them."

The soldier went into the cupboard, reaching gingerly, squatting on his
heels.

"It is my hope," the Speaker continued softly, to Conger, "that you will
demonstrate your loyalty to us, now. There are always ways for citizens
to restore themselves, to show their devotion to their society. For you
I think this would be a very good chance. I seriously doubt that a
better one will come. And for your efforts there will be quite a
restitution, of course."

The two men looked at each other; Conger, thin, unkempt, the Speaker
immaculate in his uniform.

"I understand you," Conger said. "I mean, I understand this part, about
the chance. But how can a man who has been dead two centuries be--"

"I'll explain later," the Speaker said. "Right now we have to hurry!"
The soldier had gone out with the bones, wrapped in a blanket held
carefully in his arms. The Speaker walked to the door. "Come. They've
already discovered that we've broken in here, and they'll be coming at
any moment."

They hurried down the damp steps to the waiting car. A second later the
driver lifted the car up into the air, above the house-tops.

* * * * *

The Speaker settled back in the s