ts to. I'm sure I don't care. But for heaven's sake,
stop this geological survey! It's bad enough being cooped up in this tub
without having to listen to a lot of nursery small-talk."

"Gosh, I'm sorry, Mr. Pellinger--" John Bridge began.

"I wasn't talking to you," said Pellinger curtly, "but, since you've
chosen to butt in, I'll say this--you don't belong here. You're a
stupid, ignorant lout, and if you worked in any of my stores, which
could never happen in the first place, I'd fire you on the spot and the
idiot who hired you, too."

"Aren't you being a little unjust?" Curtis Delman spoke softly, but
there was an edge of underlying menace in his voice.

* * * * *

This was the first time Walter Pellinger had overstepped the boundaries
of acceptable behavior. That he despised John Bridge, he had made clear
from the beginning. Now he had come into the open. They all looked at
him. Tarsh, who was nearest, seemed to find it amusing.

"I've got nothing against you, Delman." Pellinger picked his words
carefully. "You worked your passage like the rest of us, but _that_
fellow--" he pointed toward John Bridge--"has no right to be here at
all. He's a nitwit and a nobody. You're a success and I'm a success.
It's not luck, Delman; we both have ability. Call it natural selection,
if you like.

"Darwin did. We've fought for the chance to prolong our lives and, by
doing so, we're able to marry again and have children and pass that
ability down to them. Why, our lives are _essential_ to the human race!"

"I should have thought there were sufficient chain-store magnates," said
Tarsh.

Walter Pellinger turned on him. "Don't tempt me, Jason. Your activities
on Neptune and Arcturus won't bear close investigation."

Jason Tarsh smiled and remained silent. There was little humor in his
smile. That last remark had done much to heighten his opinion of Walter
Pellinger.

"To return to my point," Pellinger continued, "that man won a
sweepstake. He's here not because he's intelligent, but because he's
lucky, the something-for-nothing principle. A fat lot of use that is to
the Universe. Why, his descendants will be as stupid as himself and
there's no room for the manual laborer in this Age. It's an intolerable
waste."

"If I thought you believed any of that," said Delman, "I should be the
first to respect your feelings. But we've been 'cooped up' together, to
use your expression, for seven months a