at else do _you_
suppose put me so far down into the dumps?"

"In that case, you _certainly_ will. So come on up out of the dumps."

"Wilco--and I certainly will. But for a woman who has been talking so
big, I feel low in my mind. A good-night kiss, Clee, darling? Just
one--and just a little one, at that?"

"Sweetheart!"

There were more than one, and none of them was little. Eventually,
however, the two stood, arms still around each other, in the corridor
between their doors.

"But kissing's as far as it goes, isn't it," Belle said. The remark was
not a question; nor was it quite a statement.

"That's right."

"So good night, darling."

"Good night, ace."

* * *

And when they next saw each other, at the breakfast table, Belle was
apparently her usual dauntless self.

"Hi, darling--sit down," she said, gaily. "Your breakfast is on the
table. Bacon, eggs, toast, strawberry jam, and a liter of coffee."

"Nice! Thanks, ace."

They ate in silence for a few minutes; then her hand crept tentatively
across the table. He pressed it warmly. "You look a million, Belle. Out
of the dumps?"

"Pretty much--in most ways. One way, though, I'm in deeper than ever.
You see, I know exactly what you did to Fao Talaho; and why neither you
or anybody else could do it to me. Or if they could, what would happen
if they did."

"I was hoping you would. I couldn't very well tell you, before, but...."

"Of course not. I see that."

"... the fact is that Fao, and all the others we've met, are young
enough, unformed enough--plastic enough--yes, damn it, _weak_ enough--to
bend. But you are tremendously strong, and twelve Rockwell numbers
harder than a diamond. You wouldn't bend. If enough stress could be
applied--and that's decidedly questionable--you wouldn't bend. You'd
break, and I can't figure it. You're a little older, of course, but not
enough to...."

"How about the fact that I've been banging myself for eight years
against Cleander Garlock, the top Prime of the universe and the hardest?
That might have something to do with it, don't you think?"

Garlock said, "Indefensible conclusions drawn from insufficient data.
That's just what I've been talking about. No matter how we got the way
we are, though, the fact is that you and I have got to fight our own
battles and bury our own dead."

"Check. Like having a baby, but worse. There's nothing anybody else can
do--even you--except maybe hold