more than Nansal can boast.

"Our commander, Horlan, is a military commander, but since every man is
necessarily a soldier, he is a true ruler."

"I understand," Arcot thought. He turned to Morey and spoke in English,
which Torlos could not understand. "Morey, we're going to see the top
man here. He rules the army, which runs everything. You and I will go,
and leave Wade and Fuller behind as a rear guard. It may not be
dangerous, but after being chased off one world, we ought to be as
careful as possible.

"We'll go fully armed, and we'll stay in radio contact at all times.
Watch yourselves; we don't want them even to touch this ship until we
know what kind of people they are."

They had followed the Satorian ships toward the city. The giant magnetic
ray barrier opened for them, and the _Ancient Mariner_ followed. They
were inside the alien city.

XVI

Below the _Ancient Mariner_, the great buildings of the alien city
jutted up in the gray light of this gray world; their massiveness seemed
only to accentuate the depressing light.

On the broad roofs, they saw hundreds of people coming out to watch them
as they moved across the city. According to Torlos, they were the first
friendly strangers they had ever seen. They had explored all the planets
of this system without finding friendly life.

The buildings sloped up toward the center of the city, and the mass of
the great central building loomed before them.

The fleet that was leading the Earth ship settled down to a wide
courtyard that surrounded the building. Arcot dropped the _Ancient
Mariner_ down beside them. The men from Torlos' ship formed into two
squads as they came out of the airlocks and marched over to the great
shining ship of Earth. They formed two neat rows, one on each side of
the airlock.

"Come on, Morey," said Arcot. "We're wanted. Wade, keep the radio going
at full amplification; the building may cut out some of the power. I'll
try to keep you posted on what's going on, but we'll probably be busy
answering questions telepathically."

Arcot and Morey followed Torlos out into the dim light of the gray sky,
walking across the courtyard between the ranks of the soldiers from
Torlos' ship.

Before them was a heavy gate of solid bronze which swung on massive
bronze hinges. The building seemed to be made of a dense, gray stone,
much like granite, which was depressing in its perfectly unrelieved
front. There were no bright spots of col