business tonight. I promise."
She turned her head a little. "Flam!" she called.

"Yes, First Lady?" said the voice of the red-headed girl.

"Bring us Miss Argee's property, please."

Flam brought in a small package of flat disks taped together. Lyad took
them.

"Sometimes," she told Quillan, "the Askab becomes a little independent.
He's been spoken to. Here--you keep them for Trigger."

She tossed the package lightly over to them. Quillan put out a hand and
caught it.

"Thanks," he said. He put the package in a pocket. "I'll call off my
beagles."

"Suit yourself as to that," said the Ermetyne. "It won't hurt the Askab
to stay frightened a little longer."

She checked herself. The room's ComWeb was signaling. Virod went over to
it. A voice came through.

"... The Garth-Manon subspace run begins in one hour. Rest cubicles
have been prepared...."

"That means me," Belchik Pluly said. He climbed hastily to his feet.
"Can't stand dives! Get hallucinations. Nasty ones." He staggered a
little then, and Trigger realized for the first time that Belchy had got
pretty thoroughly drunk.

"Better give our guest a hand, Virod," Lyad called over her shoulder.
"Happy dreams, Belchik! Are you going by Rest, Trigger? No? You're not,
of course, Quillan. Balmordan?"

The Devagas scientist also shook his head.

"Then by all means," Lyad said, "let's stay together a little while
longer."

15

"She," said Trigger, "is a remarkable woman."

"Yeah," said Quillan. "Remarkable."

"May I ask you, finally, a few pertinent questions?" Trigger inquired
humbly.

"Not here, sweet stuff," said Quillan.

"You're a bossy sort of slob, Heslet Quillan," she said equably.

Quillan didn't answer. They had come down the stairway to the storerooms
level and were walking along the big lit hallway toward their cabins.
Trigger felt pleasantly relaxed. But she did have a great many pertinent
questions to ask Quillan now, and she wanted to get started on them.

"Oh!" she said suddenly. Just as suddenly, Quillan's hand was on her
shoulder, moving her along.

"Hush now," he said. "And keep walking."

"But you saw it, didn't you?" Trigger asked, trying to look back to the
small open door into the storerooms they'd just passed.

Quillan sighed. "Certainly," he said. "Guy in space armor."

"But what's he doing there?"

"Checking something, I suppose." His hand left her shoulder; and, for
just a moment, his finger rested light