simply, and Hanlon was glad and
proud of that friendship with this strange alien.

They walked back to the mine office, and there Hanlon told his father
about what he had done with the natives.

Admiral Newton was intensely interested, and frankly studied the
strange, weird Geck. It was his first sight of these "vegetable"
creatures. "Animated trees," Hanlon had first called them, although now
they were so familiar to him, and he knew them so well that he thought
of them, naturally and without question, as "people."

The young Secret Serviceman explained to the elder about the
frequency-transformer he had built--but dismantled before leaving Algon.
He suggested that specialists be sent here to see what could be done
about teaching the natives any of the things they might want to know.

"But don't let them try to force the Guddus into a mechanical
civilization," he pleaded. "Let 'em grow in their own way, and make what
progress they can in whatever way comes natural to them."

"Of course," his father agreed quickly. "That's the way we always work
with such primitives. We tell them and show them what we have, but only
give them what they specifically ask for, whether we think it is what
they 'ought to have' or not. Don't worry, your friends will be in good
hands. But," there was a peculiar light in his eyes, "I sure would like
to watch an autopsy on one of them. A vegetable brain ..."

"Yes, it would be interesting," Hanlon admitted, "but I'm glad you treat
them that way." He turned back to Geck and explained, telepathically, as
best he could.

"You stay here with we," the Guddu asked hopefully.

"I'm sorry, but I have other work to do," and then, as he saw how the
other lost heart. Hanlon hastened to add, "I have to go help other
enslaved peoples on other worlds."

"Then us not try to keep you. But us hope you come to see we many time."

"I'll do that, Geck my friend, every chance I get."

Chapter 25

"We've got a problem here," Admiral Newton said as they followed the
marines who were taking the mine operatives to the cruiser to be taken
back to Simonides for their trials.

"I know it," Hanlon said thoughtfully. "The Guddus are too high in the
scale for the planet to be colonized, and too low at present to be
admitted to the Federation as true members. Yet they have immense wealth
and resources the Federation can use, and something will have to be done
to protect them from thieves and others who m