. It began at supper time and for an hour poured torrents of
water on the land. Jorden wanted to go down to the river to see if their
diversion dams were holding. If they went out it meant long days of hard
hand labor restoring them.

He gave in, however, to Bonnie's plea to stay in the house with them.
Roddy was frightened of the storm and looked physically ill when thunder
made the walls of the cabin shake. It wouldn't change the actual facts
of the damage to the dams whether Jorden examined them now or in the
morning. He tried to think up stories to tell the children, but it was
hard to make up some dealing only with Serrengia and ignoring Earth, as
he had to do for Roddy's sake.

After the rain finally stopped and Bonnie had put the children to bed
there came a knock at the door. Bonnie opened it. Governor Boggs and two
Council members moved into the room. Little pools of water drained to
the floor about their feet.

The Governor turned slowly and grinned at Bonnie and Mark Jorden as the
light from the lamp and the fireplace fell upon him. "Nasty night out,"
he said. "For a time I was afraid we weren't going to make it."

Boggs was a short, stout man and carried himself very erect. He seemed
to exaggerate his normal posture as he moved toward the chairs Bonnie
offered the men.

Jorden remained seated in his big wooden chair by the fireplace glancing
up with cold challenge in his face as his visitors settled on the
opposite side of the fire.

"I'm sorry we missed you when you were in town today," said Boggs. "It
was not until late this afternoon that I became aware of your visit."

He reached to an inner coat pocket and drew forth a paper which he
unfolded carefully. Jorden recognized it as the announcement he had
tacked on the bulletin board. Boggs passed it over.

"I felt sure you would wish to withdraw this, Jorden, after you had
given it a little fuller consideration. I'm sure that by now you have
had time to think over the matter a little more calmly and find a good
many reasons why you should withdraw your announcement."

"I haven't thought much about it," said Jorden, "but now that you call
it to my attention I am becoming aware of an increasing number of
reasons why I should not withdraw. I assure you I have no intention of
doing so."

Boggs smiled and folded up the paper and slipped it into the fire. "I
have not been such a bad administrator during my first term of office,
have I Jorden?"

"Tha