nded all along.
The ambitious captain doesn't have common sense."

Colonel Paul Warren shook his head. "You're wrong there. Common sense
Joseph Mauser has. Considerable ability, he has. He's one of the best
combat men in the field. But I'd hate to serve under him."

The Hungarian was interested. "But why?"

"Because he doesn't have luck, and in the dill you need luck." Warren
grunted in sour memory. "Had the Telly cameras been focused on Joe
Mauser, there at the Little Big Horn, he would have been a month long
sensation to the Telly buffs, with all that means." He grunted again.
"There wasn't a Telly team within a mile."

"The captain probably didn't realize that," Balt Haer snorted.
"Otherwise his heroics would have been modified."

Warren flushed his displeasure and sat down. He said, "Possibly we
should discuss the business before us. If your father is in agreement,
the fracas can begin in three days." He turned to the representative of
the Sov-world. "You have satisfied yourselves that neither force is
violating the Disarmament Pact?"

Lajos Arpad nodded. "We will wish to have observers on the field,
itself, of course. But preliminary observation has been satisfactory."
He had been interested in the play between these two and the lower caste
officer. He said now, "Pardon me. As you know, this is my first visit to
the, uh _West_. I am fascinated. If I understand what just transpired,
our Captain Mauser is a capable junior officer ambitious to rise in rank
and status in your society." He looked at Balt Haer. "Why are you
opposed to his so rising?"

Young Haer was testy about the whole matter. "Of what purpose is an
Upper caste if every Tom, Dick and Harry enters it at will?"

Warren looked at the door through which Joe and Max had exited from the
cocktail lounge. He opened his mouth to say something, closed it again,
and held his peace.

[Illustration]

The Hungarian said, looking from one of them to the other, "In the
Sov-world we seek out such ambitious persons and utilize their
abilities."

Lieutenant Colonel Warren laughed abruptly. "So do we here
_theoretically_. We are _free_, whatever that means. However," he added
sarcastically, "it does help to have good schooling, good connections,
relatives in positions of prominence, abundant shares of good stocks,
that sort of thing. And these one is born with, in this free world of
ours, Colonel Arpad."

The Sov military observer clucked his tongue. "An i