started out, then Hanlon stopped the admiral with a hand on his
arm. "Please, sir," his face was flaming, his eyes miserable, but his
voice was fairly steady. "Please don't call me 'Sir' all the time. It
may be that my position as an SS man carries that distinction, but it
makes me nervous. A youngster like me has no business being called 'Sir'
by a top brass like you who has worked nearly half a century to achieve
the honor."

Admiral Hawarden grinned suddenly, and hugged Hanlon with a fatherly
gesture. "You're all right, Son, and I'm for you. From now on you're
simply 'Newton'. Anything to make you ... hey, 'Newton'? Are you...?"

Hanlon nodded. "His son."

The admiral's eyes glowed. "Wonderful man, your dad. One of the Corps'
greatest."

The young man swallowed hard. "I think so, too."

They had been working nearly a quarter of an hour, sorting through the
voluminous papers in the minister's desk and files, when another Corps
lieutenant came in, his hand bandaged.

"What happened to you, Patrick?" Hawarden asked in surprise.

"That blasted toogan bit me, and I had to get my hand dressed."

"What toogan?"

"One that must have been Bohr's pet. It was flying all about the room
yelling and cussing us out. I was crossing to the corner of the room,
there, when it screamed and bulleted over, slashing my hand when I threw
it up to protect my face."

Another of the men spoke up. "Took three of us to capture it, and I
wanted to wring its neck, but Captain Banister wouldn't let me, so we
stuffed it into its cage and sent it to the Zoo."

Hanlon was intensely interested in this, but one thing puzzled him. He
signalled Hawarden to one side, and asked in a whisper, "What's a
toogan?"

"A native bird here much like your Terran parrots, but with even more
beautiful plumage, and they can talk much better than parrots. They seem
to have quite a lot of intelligence."

Hanlon was instantly alert. "Get it back here for me."

Puzzled but unquestioning, the admiral went to the visiphone and dialed
the zoo. "Admiral Hawarden, Curator. I believe the Prime Minister's
toogan was just delivered to you. There was a mistake. Please send it
back ... never mind, sir, what the 'why' is, just return it
immediately."

He flipped off the switch impatiently, and looked at the young Secret
Serviceman with wondering eyes. A toogan? What on earth did the fellow
want with ... this was the most amazing man he'd ever seen. But he sure
did