als to the receptionist. "I have no definite
appointment, but I am sure the Baron will see me," he said.

"Yes, sir." The receptionist did the things that receptionists do, then
looked up at him again. "Right through that door, major."

Joe Mauser gave the door a quick double rap and then entered before
waiting an answer.

Balt Haer, in mufti, was standing at a far window, a drink in his hand,
rather than his customary swagger stick. Nadine Haer sat in an
easy-chair. The girl Joe Mauser loved had been crying.

Joe Mauser, suppressing his frown, made with the usual amenities.

Balt Haer without answering them, finished his drink in a gulp and
stared at the newcomer. The old stare, the aloof stare, an aristocrat
looking at an underling as though wondering what made the fellow tick.
He said, finally, "I see you have been raised to Rank Major."

"Yes, sir," Joe said.

"We are obviously occupied, major. What can either my sister or I
possibly do for you?"

Joe kept his voice even. He said, "I wanted to see the Baron."

Nadine Haer looked up, a twinge of pain crossing her face.

"Indeed," Balt Haer said flatly. "You are talking to the Baron, Major
Mauser."

Joe Mauser looked at him, then at his sister, who had taken to her
handkerchief again. Consternation ebbed up and over him in a flood. He
wanted to say something such as, "Oh _no_," but not even that could he
utter.

Haer was bitter. "I assume I know why you are here, major. You have come
for your pound of flesh, undoubtedly. Even in these hours of our
grief--"

"I ... I didn't know. Please believe ..."

"... You are so constituted that your ambition has no decency. Well,
Major Mauser, I can only say that your arrangement was with my father.
Even if I thought it a reasonable one, I doubt if I would sponsor your
ambitions myself."

Nadine Haer looked up wearily. "Oh, Balt, come off it," she said. "The
fact is, the Haer fortunes contracted a debt to you, major.
Unfortunately, it is a debt we cannot pay." She looked into his face.
"First, my father's governmental connections do not apply to us. Second,
six months ago, my father, worried about his health and attempting to
avoid certain death taxes, transferred the family stocks into Balt's
name. And Balt saw fit, immediately before the fracas, to sell all
Vacuum Tube Transport stocks, and invest in Hovercraft."

"That's enough, Nadine," her brother snapped nastily.

"I see," Joe said. He came to attention