initial commit of ebook 22585HEADmain

1 files changed, 2264 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/22585.txt b/22585.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0ed0590
--- /dev/null
+++ b/22585.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,2264 @@
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of --And Devious the Line of Duty, by Tom Godwin
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: --And Devious the Line of Duty
+
+Author: Tom Godwin
+
+Illustrator: Schelling
+
+Release Date: September 12, 2007 [EBook #22585]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK --AND DEVIOUS THE LINE OF DUTY ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                            --And Devious
+                            the Line of Duty
+
+              Sometimes the most diligent and loyal thing
+                      an old man can do is fumble,
+          drink beer, and let a young man get into trouble....
+
+                             by Tom Godwin
+
+                        Illustrated by Schelling
+
+
+"We're almost there, my boy." The big, gray-haired man who would be
+Lieutenant Dale Hunter's superior--Strategic Service's Special Agent,
+George Rockford--opened another can of beer, his fifth. "There will be
+intrigue already under way when this helicopter sets down with us.
+Attempted homicide will soon follow. The former will be meat for me. You
+will be meat for the latter."
+
+Rockford was smiling as he spoke; the genial, engaging smile of a fond
+old father. But the eyes, surrounded by laughter crinkles, were as
+unreadable as two disks of gray slate. They were the eyes of a poker
+player--or master con man.
+
+"I don't understand, sir," Hunter said.
+
+"Of course not," Rockford agreed. "It's a hundred light-years back to
+Earth. Here on Vesta, to make sure there _is_ an Earth in the future,
+you're going to do things never dreamed of by your Terran Space Patrol
+instructors there. You'll be amazed, my boy."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Hunter said nothing but he felt a growing dislike for the condescending
+Rockford. Only a few weeks ago President Diskar, himself, had said: _For
+more than a century these truly valiant men of the Space Patrol have
+been our unwavering outer guard; have fought and died by legions, that
+Earth and the other worlds of the Terran Republic might remain free--_
+
+"I suppose you know," Rockford said, "that there will be no more than
+four days in which to stop the Verdam oligarchy from achieving its
+long-time ambition of becoming big enough to swallow the Terran
+Republic."
+
+"I know," Hunter answered.
+
+Jardeen, Vesta's companion world, was the key. Jardeen was large and
+powerful, with a space navy unsurpassed by that of any other single
+world. A large group of now-neutral worlds would follow Jardeen's lead
+and Jardeen's alliance with the Verdam People's Worlds would mean the
+quick end for the Terran Republic. But, if Jardeen could be persuaded to
+ally with the Terran Republic, the spreading, grasping arms of the
+Verdam octopus would begin to wither away--
+
+Rockford spoke again:
+
+"Val Boran, Jardeen's Secretary of Foreign Relations, is the man who
+will really make Jardeen's decision. I know him slightly. Since my
+public role is that of Acting Ambassador, he agreed--reluctantly--to
+come to Vesta so that the talks could be on a neutral world. With him
+will be Verdam's Special Envoy Sonig; a wily little man who has been
+working on Boran for several weeks. He seems to be succeeding quite
+well--here's a message I received from Earth early this morning."
+
+Rockford handed him a sheet of the green Hyperspace Communications
+paper. The message was in code, with Rockford's scribbled translation
+beneath:
+
+_Intelligence reports Verdam forces already massed for attack in Sector
+A-13, in full expectation of Jardeen's alliance. Anti-Terran propaganda,
+stressing the New Jardeen Incident, being used in preparation for what
+will be their claim of "defensive action to protect innocent worlds from
+Terran aggression." Terran forces will be outnumbered five to one. The
+urgent necessity of immediate and conclusive counter measures by you on
+Vesta is obvious._
+
+Hunter handed the paper back, thinking, _It's worse than any of us
+thought_, and wondering how Supreme Command could ever have entrusted
+such an important task to a beer-guzzling old man from Strategic
+Service--a branch so unknown that he had never even heard of it until
+his briefing the day before he left Earth.
+
+He saw that they had left the desert behind and were going up the long
+slope of a mountain. "The meeting will be on this mountain?" he asked.
+
+Rockford nodded. "The rustic Royal Retreat. Princess Lyla will be our
+hostess. Her mother and father were killed in an airplane accident a
+year ago and she was the only child. You will also get to meet Lord Narf
+of the Sea Islands, her husband-by-proxy, who regards himself as a rare
+combination of irresistible woman-killer and rugged man-among-men."
+
+"Husband-by-proxy?" Hunter asked.
+
+"The king worshiped his daughter and his dying request to her was that
+she promise to marry Lord Narf. Narf's father had been the king's
+closest friend and the king was sure that his old friend's son would
+always love and care for Lyla. Lyla dutifully, at once, married Narf by
+proxy, which is like a legally binding formal engagement under Vestan
+law. Four days from now the time limit is up and they'll be formally
+married. Unless she should do the unprecedented thing of renouncing the
+proxy marriage."
+
+Rockford drained the last of the beer from the can. "Those are the
+characters involved in our play. I have a plan. That's why I told Space
+Patrol to send me a brand-new second lieutenant--young, strong, fairly
+handsome--and expendable. I hope you can be philosophical about the
+latter."
+
+"Sir," Hunter said, unable to keep a touch of stiffness out of his tone,
+"it is not exactly unknown in the Space Patrol for a man to die in the
+line of duty."
+
+"Ah ... yes." Rockford was regarding him with disturbing amusement. "You
+are thinking, of course, of dying dramatically behind a pair of blazing
+blasters. But you will soon learn, my boy, that a soldier's duty is to
+protect the worlds he represents by whatever actions will produce the
+best results, no matter how unheroic those actions may be."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"Attention, please." It was the voice of the pilot. "We are now going to
+land."
+
+Hunter preceded Rockford out of the helicopter and onto the green grass
+of a small valley, across which tall, red-trunked cloud trees were
+scattered. Pale gray ghost trees, with knobby, twisted limbs, grew
+thickly among the cloud trees. There was a group of rustic cabins,
+connected by gravel paths, and a much larger building which he assumed
+would be a meeting hall.
+
+"Hello."
+
+He turned, and looked into the brown eyes of a girl. Her green skirt and
+orange blouse made a gay splash of color, her red-brown hair was
+wind-tumbled and carefree about her shoulders, in her hand was a bouquet
+of bright spring flowers.
+
+But there was no smile of spring in the dark eyes and the snub-nosed
+little face was solemn and old beyond its years.
+
+"You're Lieutenant Hunter, aren't you?" she asked in the same low, quiet
+voice.
+
+"Princess Lyla!" There seemed to be genuine delight in Rockford's
+greeting as he hurried over. "You're looking more like a queen every
+day!"
+
+Her face lighted with a smile, making it suddenly young and beautiful.
+"I'm so glad to see you again, George--"
+
+"Ah ... good afternoon."
+
+The voice was loud, unpleasantly gravelly. They turned, and Hunter saw a
+tall, angular man of perhaps forty whose pseudogenial smile was not
+compatible with his sour, square-jawed face and calculating little eyes.
+
+He spoke to Rockford. "You're Ambassador Rockford, here to represent the
+Terran Republic, I believe." He jerked his head toward Princess Lyla,
+who was no longer smiling. "My wife, Princess Lyla."
+
+"Oh, she and I have been friends since she was ten, Lord Narf."
+
+"And this young man"--Narf glanced at Hunter--"is your aide, I presume.
+Lyla, did you think to send anyone after their luggage?"
+
+A servant was already carrying their luggage--and cases of Rockford's
+beer--out of the helicopter. Hunter followed the other toward the
+cabins. Narf, in the lead, was saying:
+
+"... Ridiculously primitive here, now, but I'm having some decent
+furniture and well-trained servants sent up from my Sea Island
+estates...."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The cabin was large and very comfortable, as Rockford mentioned to
+Princess Lyla.
+
+"I'm glad you like it," she said. "Val Boran and Envoy Sonig are already
+here and we'll meet for dinner in the central hall. I thought that if we
+all got acquainted in a friendly atmosphere like that, it might help a
+lot to...."
+
+"That reminds me"--Narf glanced at his watch--"I promised this Boran he
+could have a discussion with me--Vesta-Jardeen tariff policies. I
+suppose he's already waiting. Come on, Lyla--it will do you no harm to
+listen and learn a bit about interplanetary business."
+
+For a long moment she looked at Narf silently, her eyes thoughtful, then
+she said to Rockford, "If you will excuse us, please. And be prepared
+for Alonzo to come bounding in the minute he learns you're here."
+
+She walked beside Narf to the door and out it, the top of her dark hair
+coming just even with his shoulder.
+
+"And that," Rockford said as he settled down in the largest, softest
+chair, "was king-to-be Narf, whose business ability is such that all his
+inherited Sea Island estates are gone but the one Lyla saved for him and
+who owes a total of ten million monetary units, to everyone from call
+girls to yacht builders."
+
+"And she is going to marry him?" Hunter asked. "Marry that jackass and
+let him bankrupt her kingdom?"
+
+Rockford shrugged. "You may have noticed that she doesn't look the least
+bit happy about it--but she is a very conscientious young lady who
+regards it as her most solemn duty to keep the promise she made to her
+father. For her, there is no escape."
+
+"But--"
+
+"Your first duty will be to cultivate a friendship with her. I'm going
+to use her, and you, to get what I want."
+
+"_Use_ us?"
+
+"Yes. One of the most rigid requirements of a Strategic Service man's
+character is that he be completely without one."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+           *       *       *       *
+
+Rockford was asleep in his chair an hour later, three empty beer cans
+beside him. Hunter watched him, his doubt of Rockford's competence
+growing into a conviction. Rockford had spoken knowingly of his
+plan--and had done nothing but drink more beer. Now he was asleep while
+time--so limited and precious--went by. He hadn't even bothered to reply
+to Hunter's suggestion that perhaps he should call on Val Boran and
+counteract some of Envoy Sonig's anti-Terran propaganda.
+
+Hunter came to a decision. If Rockford was still doing nothing when
+morning came, he would send an urgent message to Supreme Command.
+
+He went outside, to find a servant and learn how mail was handled.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"_Rook out!_"
+
+Gravel flew as overgrown feet tried to stop, and something like a huge
+black dog lunged headlong around the corner and into his legs. He went
+to the ground head first over the animal, acutely aware as he went down
+of the fascinated interest on the face of a not-so-distant servant.
+
+"I sorry, Rootenant."
+
+He got up, to look down at the doglike animal. There was a concerned
+expression in its brown eyes and an apologetic grin on its face. He
+recognized it as one of the natives of the grim starvation world of
+Altair Four. The Altairians had emigrated to all sections of the galaxy,
+to earn a living in whatever humble capacity they could fill. Many were
+empathic.
+
+"I run too fast to meet, Mr. Rockford, I guess. Are you hurt,
+Rootenant?"
+
+He pulled a cloud tree needle out of his hand and looked grimly down
+into the furry face. "In the future, try to look where you're going."
+
+"Oh, I rook, awr right. I just not see. My name is Aronzo, Rootenant,
+and I stay here awr the time and guard everything for Princess Ryra. I
+prease to meet you and I wirr run errands for you, and do things rike
+mair your retters, for candy or cookies, which I are not supposed to eat
+much of, but Princess Ryra say not too many wirr hurt me--"
+
+"Mail letters?" Hunter's animosity vanished. "I'm sorry I was rude,
+Alonzo--all my fault. I may write a letter to my dear old mother
+tonight, and if you would mail it for me in the morning--"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Rockford left ahead of Hunter and it was a minute past the appointed
+time when Hunter reached the meeting hall. He heard Narf's loud voice
+inside:
+
+"... Boran must have stopped to watch the sunset. Told him I wanted
+everyone here on time--"
+
+The low voice of Lyla said something and Narf said, "Not necessary for
+you to defend him, my dear. I made it plain to him."
+
+A new voice spoke from behind Hunter:
+
+"It seems I have annoyed Lord Narf."
+
+He was a tall, black-eyed man, with the dark, saturnine face of an
+Indian. There was a strange, indefinable air of sadness about him which
+reminded Hunter of the sombre little Princess Lyla.
+
+"You're Val Boran, sir?" he said. "I'm Lieutenant Hunter--"
+
+Inside, Narf sat at the head of the table. On his left was Lyla, then
+Rockford. On his right was a spidery little man of about fifty, his
+slick-back hair so tight against his skull that it gave his head the
+appearance of a weasel's. His lips were paper-thin under a long nose,
+like those of a dry and selfish old maid, but the round little eyes
+darting behind thick glasses were cold and shrewd and missed nothing. He
+would be Verdam's Special Envoy Sonig. Hunter appraised him as a man
+very dangerous in his own deceptive way.
+
+A servant showed them to their places at the table. Rockford and Val
+Boran exchanged greetings. The moment everyone was seated, Narf said,
+"Dinner tonight will--"
+
+"Excuse me," Lyla said, "but Mr. Sonig hasn't yet met--"
+
+"Oh ... the young fellow there--" Narf gestured with his hand.
+"Rockford's aide. Now, ring the chime, Lyla. Those forest stag steaks
+are already getting cold. I killed the beast myself, gentlemen, just
+this morning; a long-range running shot that required a bit more than
+luck...."
+
+The dinner was excellent, but no one seemed to notice. Narf was absorbed
+in the story of his swift rise to eminence in the Vestan Space Guard.
+There were humorous incidents:
+
+"... Can't understand why, but I seem to attract women like a magnet.
+I'm strictly the masculine type of male and I approve of this but it can
+be a blasted nuisance when you're an ensign going up fast and your
+commander finds one of your blondes stowed away in your compartment...."
+
+And there were scenes of tense drama:
+
+"... Made a boyhood vow that I'd never settle for anything less than to
+always be a man among men. Seem to have succeeded rather well. When I
+saw the crew was almost to the snapping point from battle tension I knew
+that as commander I'd have to set the example that would inspire."
+
+Hunter recalled Rockford's words of a few hours before: "_Narf got to be
+commander, finally, but only because he was the son of the king's best
+friend. His record is very mediocre._"
+
+Princess Lyla tried three times to start a conversation of general
+interest and was drowned out by Narf each time. Sonig's pretense of
+being spellbound by Narf's stories was belied by the way his eyes kept
+darting from Rockford to Val Boran. Val's own attention kept shifting
+from Narf to the silent Lyla, whose downcast eyes betrayed her
+discouragement. She watched Val from under her eyelashes, to look away
+whenever their eyes met, and Hunter wondered if she was ashamed because
+Narf had given Sonig the seat of honor that should have belonged to Val.
+
+Of course, Narf's own position at the head of the table was actually
+Lyla's.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+"... So there's no substitute for competent, unwavering leadership,"
+Narf was saying. "Received a citation for that one."
+
+Sonig nodded appreciatively. "Your military record well illustrates the
+fact that the tensions of danger and battle can bring forth in a
+competent leader the highest kind of courage. But it seems to me that
+these same circumstances, if the leader is frightened or incompetent,
+can easily produce hysterical actions with disastrous consequences. Is
+this true, your lordship?"
+
+Rockford was watching Sonig intently and Hunter saw that there was an
+eager anticipation in Sonig's manner.
+
+"You are quite right," Narf answered. "I've always had the ability to
+remain cool in any crisis. Very important. Let a commander get rattled
+and he may give any kind of an order. Like the New Jardeen Incident."
+
+A frozen silence followed the last five words. Hunter thought, _So
+that's what the little weasel was fishing for...._
+
+Rockford quietly laid down his fork. Val's face turned grim. Lyla looked
+up in quick alarm and said to Narf:
+
+"Let's not--"
+
+"Don't misunderstand me, gentlemen," Narf's loud voice went on. "_I_
+believe the commander of the Terran cruiser wouldn't have ordered it to
+fire upon the Verdam cruiser over a neutral world such as New Jardeen
+if he had been his rational self. Cold-war battle nerves. So he shot
+down the Verdam cruiser and its nuclear converters exploded when it fell
+in the center of Colony City. Force of a hydrogen bomb--forty thousand
+innocent people gone in a microsecond. Not the commander's fault,
+really--fault of the military system that failed to screen out its
+unstable officers."
+
+"Yes, your lordship. But is it possible"--Sonig spoke very
+thoughtfully--"for a political power, which is of such a nature that it
+must have a huge military force to maintain its existence, to thoroughly
+screen all its officers? So many officers are required--Can there ever
+be any assurance that such tragedies won't occur again and again, until
+a majority of worlds combine in demanding an end to aggression and war?"
+
+Rockford spoke to the grim Val:
+
+"I know, sir, that your sister was among the lost in Colony City. I am
+sorry. For the benefit of Mr. Sonig and Lord Narf, I would like to
+mention that the Verdam cruiser fired upon the Terran cruiser over
+neutral New Jardeen in open violation of Galactic Rule. An atmospheric
+feedback of the Verdam cruiser's own space blasters tore out its side
+and caused it to fall. The Terran cruiser never fired."
+
+"But Mr. Rockford--" Sonig spoke very courteously. "Isn't it true that
+certain safety devices prevent atmospheric feedback?"
+
+"They do--unless accidentally or purposely disconnected."
+
+Sonig raised his eyebrows. "You imply a created incident, sir?"
+
+"It doesn't matter," Val Boran said. His tone was as grim as his face
+and it was obvious he did not believe Rockford's explanation. "Colony
+City is a field of fused glass, now, its people are gone, and no amount
+of debating can ever bring them back."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+           *       *       *       *
+
+The dismal dinner was finally over. Rockford stopped outside the door of
+their cabin to fill and light his pipe.
+
+"It was a profitable evening," he said to Hunter. "I can start planning
+in detail now--after a little beer, that is."
+
+_He'll go to sleep after he drinks his beer_, Hunter thought, _and there
+will never be any plan unless I--_
+
+Soft footsteps came up the path behind them. It was Princess Lyla.
+
+"I want to apologize," she said, "I just told Val ... Mr. Boran the same
+thing."
+
+Her face was a pale oval in the starlight, her eyes dark shadows. "I'm
+sorry my husband mentioned the New Jardeen incident."
+
+"That's all right, Lyla," Rockford said. "No harm was done."
+
+"He's an ex-military man, and I guess it's his nature to be more
+forthright than tactful."
+
+"You certainly can't condemn him for that," Rockford said. "In fact,
+he's an extraordinary teller of entertaining stories. It was a most
+enjoyable evening."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"And, in a way, it was," Rockford said when she was gone and they were
+in the cabin. He was seated in the softest chair, a can of beer in his
+hand, as usual.
+
+Hunter thought of the way she had looked in the starlight and said, "Why
+did she let that windbag sit at the head of the table and ruin the
+meeting that she had arranged?"
+
+"He'll soon be her husband--I suppose she feels she should be loyal to
+him."
+
+"But--"
+
+"But what?"
+
+"Nothing. It's none of my business."
+
+"Oh?" Rockford smiled in a way Hunter did not like. "You think so, eh?"
+
+Hunter changed the subject. "Are you going to start talking to Boran to
+undo the damage Narf and Sonig have done?"
+
+"It would be a waste of time, my boy. Val Boran's mind is already made
+up."
+
+"Then what are you going to do?"
+
+"Drink six cans of beer and go to sleep."
+
+"I thought you had a plan."
+
+"I have, a most excellent plan."
+
+"What is it?"
+
+"You'd scream like a banshee if you knew. You'll learn--if you manage to
+live that long."
+
+Rockford was sound asleep an hour later, snoring gently. Hunter sat
+thinking, hearing the steady murmur of a voice coming from Val Boran's
+cabin. Sonig's voice--using every means of persuasion he could think of,
+at the moment capitalizing on the New Jardeen incident and Boran's
+withheld grief over the sister he had lost.
+
+And the Terran Republic's representative was sprawled fat and mindless
+in a fog of beer fumes.
+
+Hunter hesitated no longer. The fate of Earth and the Terran Republic
+hung in the balance and time was desperately limited--if there was now
+any time at all.
+
+He took paper and pen and began the urgent message to Supreme Command,
+headed, TOP EMERGENCY. It would be sent via Hyperspace Communications
+from the city and would span the hundred light-years within seconds.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+He was up before Rockford the next morning, and went out into the bright
+sunlight. He looked hopefully for Alonzo, not wanting to be seen mailing
+the letter in person. Rockford, despite his drunken stupors, could be
+shrewdly observant and he might deduce the contents of the letter before
+Supreme Command ever received it.
+
+He was some distance from the cabin when he heard the pound of padded
+feet behind him.
+
+"Rootenant," Alonzo had the grin of a genial canine idiot. "Do you want
+me to mair your retter to your dear ore mother?"
+
+"Yes, I have the letter right here."
+
+"O.K. I got to hurry, because the mair hericopter reaves right away. I
+charge six fig cookies or three candy bars or--"
+
+"Here--take it and run--and try not to slobber all over it."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+They were served breakfast in the cabin. Afterward, Rockford went for a
+brief talk with Princess Lyla. He came back and settled down in the
+easy-chair, his pipe in his hand.
+
+"Your morning's duty won't be at all unpleasant," he said. "The
+obnoxious and repulsive things will begin to happen to you later. Maybe
+this afternoon."
+
+"What do you mean?"
+
+"This morning you will go for a walk with Princess Lyla and discuss
+changing the Vestan Space Guard into a force along Terran Space Patrol
+lines. Narf is still in bed, by the way."
+
+Rockford added, "I'll give you a bit of sage advice, for your own
+good--try not to fall in love with her."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+           *       *       *       *
+
+Hunter and Princess Lyla sat together on the high hill, their backs
+against the red trunk of a cloud tree. On the mountain's slope to their
+right lay the dark and junglelike Tiger Forest--he wondered if it was
+true that the savage tree tigers never left its borders--while the
+toylike cabins of the camp were below them. The mountain's slope dropped
+on down to the deserts, beyond which were other mountains, far away and
+translucent azure.
+
+"It was George who suggested we come up here," she said. "He knows I do
+that often when the responsibilities of being queen of a world--I'm such
+an ordinary and untalented person--become too much for me. I always feel
+better when I sit up here and look down on the mountains and deserts."
+
+"Yes," he said politely.
+
+"A ruling princess can be so alone," she said. "That's why I appreciate
+George's friendship so much--it's never because of any ulterior motive
+but because he likes me."
+
+_I'm going to use her, and you, to get what I want._
+
+He looked at her, at the lines of sadness on the face that was too old
+for its years, felt the way she was so grateful to Rockford for what was
+only a cold-blooded pretense of friendship, and the dislike for Rockford
+increased. He could not force himself to speak civilly of Rockford so he
+changed the subject:
+
+"I understand you wanted to talk to me about the Space Guard?"
+
+"Yes. Even a neutral world can't feel safe these days and George
+suggested that."
+
+"I'll be glad to help all I can. Of course, the change will require
+time."
+
+"I can understand that. They say you Space Patrol officers begin
+training at sixteen, after passing almost impossible qualification
+tests."
+
+"The tests can seem extremely difficult to a farm boy from Kansas. I--"
+
+"Kansas?" Her eyes lighted with interest. "My grandmother was from
+Kansas! She used to tell me about the green plains of grain in the
+spring, and how different they were from the deserts of Vesta...."
+
+It was almost noon when he took her hand and helped her to her feet,
+realizing guiltily that they had talked all morning without ever getting
+back to the cold, dry facts of military efficiency.
+
+"It was nice to talk up here this morning," she said. She looked down at
+the cabins and the shadow fell again across her face. "But nothing down
+there has been changed by it, has it?"
+
+He held to her hand longer than was necessary as they went down the
+steep part of the hill. She did not seem to mind.
+
+When they reached her cabin she said, "It's still a little while until
+lunch--time enough for you to give me a rough outline of the Space Guard
+change."
+
+Everything inside the cabin was feminine. None of Narf's possessions
+were visible. There was a heavy door leading into Narf's half of the
+cabin, with a massive lock. Hunter wondered if it was left unlocked at
+night, thought of Narf's sour face and leering little eyes, and found
+the thought repulsive.
+
+The answer to his conjecture came with the entrance of a servant as they
+seated themselves.
+
+"By your leave, your highness," the servant said, bowing, "I came to
+make Lord Narf a key for that inner door."
+
+"A key?" There was alarm in her tone. "But we're not married--not yet!"
+
+A puzzled expression came to the man's face. "Lord Narf told me, your
+highness, that you had ordered the duplicate key made and given to him
+before evening. I found I could not do this without first borrowing your
+key for a pattern."
+
+There was a frightened look in her eyes as they went to the door and
+back to the servant. "_No_ ... don't try to make a key!"
+
+"Yes, your highness." The servant bowed and turned away.
+
+A familiar gravelly voice spoke from behind them:
+
+"Ah ... an unscheduled little meeting, I see!"
+
+It was Narf, anger on his face, already within the doorway as the
+servant went out it.
+
+"We were going to talk about the Space Guard," Lyla said in an
+emotionless tone. "Lieutenant Hunter has promised to show how Space
+Patrol methods will improve it and--"
+
+"By a coincidence, Sonig and I were discussing military matters only a
+few minutes ago," Narf said. He looked at Hunter. "I'm afraid that Sonig
+and I agree that the Terran Space Guard is quite out of date, now.
+_The_ fighting force of the galaxy is the Verdam's Peoples Guards."
+
+Narf spoke to Lyla, "You may go ahead and talk with this lieutenant if
+you wish to, but it's a waste of time. I'm arranging to have Sonig send
+Peoples Guards officers here to supervise the rebuilding of the Space
+Guard.
+
+"And now"--there was insinuation in Narf's tone as he spoke to
+Hunter--"I have to give Sonig a demonstration of my skill with weapons.
+He insists on it--he has heard of several of my modest feats."
+
+Narf left the door open behind him so that by turning his head as he
+walked, he could see the two inside.
+
+"I suppose I might as well go," Hunter said.
+
+Lyla did not answer. She sat motionless, staring unseeingly before her,
+and he wondered if she was thinking of how very soon Narf would be king
+and his authority as great as hers.
+
+She did not notice when he quietly left the room.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+           *       *       *       *
+
+Rockford was waiting in the cabin, still in the easy-chair.
+
+"Well," Rockford said, "what do you think of her?"
+
+Hunter tried to keep the personal dislike out of his coldly formal
+reply:
+
+"If you refer to your suggestion that I not make love to her, sir, I can
+assure you that such a suggestion was never necessary. I happen to have
+a code of ethics."
+
+"I didn't say 'make love'. I said, 'fall in love'. That's quite ethical.
+Did you complete your discussion with her?"
+
+"Well ... no."
+
+"You must do that this afternoon, then. Can't let anything as important
+as that be delayed."
+
+Hunter stared at him, trying to find one small grain of sanity in
+Rockford's actions. The Verdam empire already had Jardeen within its
+grasp, and Vesta, and the end for Earth was inevitable. And Rockford
+slept, and drank beer, and regarded it as very important that the Vestan
+Space Guard discussions--of a change that Narf would never permit--be
+continued without delay.
+
+He walked slowly into his own room. In the nightmare situation of
+frustration there was one single sane and stable conviction for his mind
+to cling to: Supreme Command would by now have received his message and
+shot back the reply that would relieve Rockford of his command. Perhaps
+it wasn't yet too late--
+
+Then his mind reeled as a new conviction struck it.
+
+There was a sheet of paper on his bed--a message.
+
+_His_ message!
+
+... SITUATION EXTREMELY CRITICAL ... VAL BORAN ALREADY CONVINCED BY
+SONIG'S PROPAGANDA ... MUST REPORT ROCKFORD IS UTTERLY INCOMPETENT, HIS
+MIND AND WILL DESTROYED BY ALCOHOL ... REPEAT: ROCKFORD IS DOING
+NOTHING, HIS MIND DESTROYED BY ALCOHOL....
+
+The words screamed up at him and he felt the sickness of one who sees
+the last faint hope shattered and gone. All was lost, now....
+
+He went outside, feeling a savage desire for violence rising above the
+sickness.
+
+"Rootenant!" Alonzo came bounding to meet him and slid to a halt with
+his saucer feet scattering gravel and the idiotic grin on his face. "I
+mair your retter and you owe me six fig cook--"
+
+It occurred to Hunter that it was not Alonzo that should be punished.
+He, Hunter, was the one who deserved execution for ever entrusting
+anything so important as the message to an imbecilic animal.
+
+He said with cold distinctness:
+
+"The ... letter ... is ... inside."
+
+"Oh?" Alonzo blinked. "I sure mair something, awr right. After Mr.
+Rockford correct it."
+
+"_Correct it?_"
+
+"Oh, sure. Mr. Rockford, he up rong before you this morning to find me
+and say you are writing a retter rast night and I must bring it by for
+him to make awr your mistakes over again."
+
+_So Rockford was watching all the time, pretending to be in a drunken
+sleep...._
+
+"Rootenant--" Alonzo shifted his big feet impatiently. "You stirr owe me
+six fig--"
+
+Hunter swung around and strode away, afraid he might decide to choke the
+animal after all. A culture of twenty worlds was the same as already
+destroyed, and he was held in a maddening quagmire of helplessness by a
+crafty alcoholic and a dog with the mind of a small child.
+
+"Ah ... my boy!" Rockford came out of the cabin, beaming as though
+nothing had ever happened. "Look to your left, among those ghost
+trees--Narf is demonstrating his quick-draw skill to Sonig. Narf is
+supposed to be a very dangerous man, you know."
+
+Hunter looked, and saw Narf whipping up the blunt, ugly spread-beam
+blaster--known to soldiers as the Coward's Special, because at short
+range it could not miss and would always cripple and blind a man for
+life even though it would not always kill him. Sonig was standing by,
+nodding his weasel head and smiling in open admiration.
+
+"Of course," Rockford said, "Sonig isn't mentioning the needle gun all
+Verdam envoys carry up their sleeve. He's flattering Narf's ego for a
+reason--he intends to have Vesta, as well as Jardeen, sewed up for the
+Verdam empire when he leaves here."
+
+"And so far as I can see," Hunter said coldly, "Sonig never is going
+to have anything vaguely resembling intelligent resistance to his
+plans."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+"Ah, yes ... so far as you can see," Rockford agreed amiably. "But you
+obey my order to take Lyla for another walk and everything will turn out
+all right. In fact, I'll speak to her about that right now."
+
+Hunter stared after Rockford as he walked away. There could be no
+possible shred of doubt--Rockford was insane!
+
+The breeze shifted and the voice of Narf came:
+
+"... Certainly no weapon for a timid man, this spread-beam blaster. Have
+to meet the enemy man-to-man at close range."
+
+"In that respect, too," Sonig said, "you remind me of our great General
+Paluk. His skill in hand-to-hand combat was something that--"
+
+"Rootenant--"
+
+Hunter quivered and steeled himself.
+
+"Rootenant--" Alonzo came to a flopping halt beside him. "I terr
+Princess Ryra and she say I are bad to be mad at you. So I not mad, even
+if you didn't give me my pay."
+
+"Thank you," Hunter said acidly. "I was deeply disturbed by your
+resentment."
+
+"Oh, I know, you don't rike me. But I think you not as mean as you act.
+But Rord Narf--he is. I terr you, he awready mad enough to kirr you."
+
+"What? Lord Narf wants to kill me?"
+
+"Oh, he know you hord Princess Ryra's hand awrmost awr the way down the
+hirr this morning. Mr. Sonig, he see you, and he run and terr Rord Narf
+and Mr. Boran, too."
+
+"But I was only helping her down the hill."
+
+"Rord Narf, he are going to say mean things about it to Princess Ryra,
+too. I know. He are awrways saying mean things to my Princess Ryra."
+
+Alonzo sighed, a sound strangely humanlike in its sadness.
+
+"Who wirr watch over my Princess Ryra after she marry Rord Narf? He
+said, 'The first thing to go around here wirr be that stupid
+brabber-mouth animar that are not worth what it costs to feed it.' I
+think maybe he are afraid that if he ever hit my Princess Ryra, I wirr
+kirr him." The brown eyes looked up at Hunter, and suddenly they were
+unlike he had ever seen them; cold with deliberate decision. "I wirr,
+too."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+           *       *       *       *
+
+Hunter was still standing by the cabin, thinking of what Alonzo had
+said, when Rockford returned.
+
+"I also stopped by to see Val Boran," Rockford said. "While you're off
+with Lyla, we'll go to the city. Lyla is giving us free access to the
+Royal Library and the records of a neutral world carry more weight than
+anything I could say. Not that it's going to change his mind any--but
+it will give me a chance to work on him in another way."
+
+Rockford went into the cabin as Val Boran came up the path, Princess
+Lyla walking beside him. She was saying, "... And anything we have in
+the library is yours for the asking."
+
+They were close enough for Hunter to see her expression as she looked up
+at Val and added with what seemed a touch of wistfulness, "I'll be glad
+to go in with you and Mr. Rockford and do what I can to help if you want
+me to."
+
+"Lyla"--it was the grating voice of Narf who seemed to have the ability
+to materialize anywhere--"I'm sure the man knows his business. Besides,
+I want to talk to you about something as soon as I have finished my
+discussion with Mr. Sonig."
+
+With that, Narf started on toward his cabin. Sonig, close behind him,
+paused long enough to bow to Lyla and say with the meaningless smile,
+"Good afternoon, Princess Lyla. Your husband was just demonstrating his
+marvelous skill with weapons. I would very much dislike"--the little
+eyes darted to Hunter and back again--"being the man who aroused his
+lordship's wrath."
+
+Then Sonig followed Narf, with one last flickering glance at Hunter to
+see how the remark had fallen.
+
+Rockford came out of the cabin with his brief case and said to Val, "Are
+we ready to go?"
+
+"I just told Val"--Lyla spoke quickly--"that I would be glad to go along
+and help any way I can." The words were addressed to Rockford but her
+eyes were on Val, with the same wistful expression. "Do you want me to?"
+
+Val answered her with cool, formal courtesy: "The librarian can find all
+the records we will need, Princess Lyla, without our interrupting your
+schedule for the day or your discussion with your husband. Thank you
+very much."
+
+For an instant Lyla's face had the hurt expression of a child rebuffed
+without reason. Then she looked away and Val turned to Rockford and
+said, "I'm ready when you are, sir."
+
+Lyla watched them walk away and she was still watching when the
+helicopter had lifted into the air and faded from sight.
+
+Hunter hesitated, then spoke to her:
+
+"I understand you want to talk more about the Space Guard, Princess
+Lyla?"
+
+"_Princess_ Lyla!" Her lips curled as she turned to face him and she
+seemed to spit the words at him in sudden, unexpected resentment. "I
+love the meaningless sound of my official figurehead title! It's so much
+better than being regarded as a living person with feelings that can be
+hurt!"
+
+"But Princ ... I mean--" He floundered, not quite sure what had caused
+her reaction.
+
+She made a visible effort to compose herself. "I'm sorry," she said. "I
+suppose my ... husband ... is quite right; an immature female has no
+business trying to rule a world and the sooner the marriage is
+confirmed, the sooner a competent man can take over the job."
+
+"No," he said. "I think--"
+
+He decided that what he thought had better be left unsaid.
+
+"I'll"--she looked toward the cabin she shared with Narf--"let you know
+when we can talk."
+
+She went back toward the cabin, walking slowly. From inside Narf's half
+of it came the sound of Narf's voice as he spoke to Sonig:
+
+"... Of course, this collection of heads is nothing compared with what I
+have in the Sea Islands ... but some interesting stories here ... take
+that snow fox there...."
+
+Hunter sighed, and saw that Lyla had stopped before her door, as though
+dreading to enter. Narf's voice droned on:
+
+"... Only wounded, so I finished it with a knife. Even with its heart
+half cut out, it still wanted to live ... beautiful pelt ... coat for
+Janalee, the strip-tease queen ... always had a way with women--Lyla
+could tell you that ... had my pick of hundreds but I'm letting her be
+my choice...."
+
+He saw Lyla half lift her hand, as in some mute gesture of protest, then
+she turned and walked swiftly away; up the path that led into the ghost
+trees, and out of sight.
+
+He waited, but she did not come back. He went into his cabin and moved
+about restlessly, hearing again Narf's sadism-and-sex boasting and
+seeing again how she turned and almost ran from it--
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"_Rootenant!_"
+
+Alonzo was panting, a look of frantic appeal in his eyes.
+
+"Prease herp me ... Princess Ryra ... she wirr die!"
+
+He felt his heart lurch. "She's hurt?" he demanded, and was already on
+his way to the door.
+
+"She are about to cry and she are going to where the tree tigers riv.
+They wirr kirr her--prease come with me!"
+
+He asked no more questions but went out the door and up the path, Alonzo
+running ahead of him.
+
+The ghost trees grew thinner as they went up the mountain's slope, and
+the blue-green fernlike trees of the tiger forest began to appear. They
+grew thicker and thicker, until the ground was black with their shadows
+and the midday sunlight was filtered out by the foliage overhead. Alonzo
+was trailing her, his nose to the ground, and Hunter hurried close
+behind him, watching for the red-and-white of the clothes she was
+wearing and hoping they would not find her too late.
+
+They were deep in the forest when they found her.
+
+She was standing motionless in the center of a clearing, facing away
+from him and looking as small and alone as a lost child. She seemed to
+be waiting....
+
+He realized for the first time how alone she really was, with only a
+doglike alien, Alonzo, to love her or care what might happen to her, and
+with a future she could not bear to face. But Rockford had been wrong
+when he had said, _For her, there is no escape_.
+
+There was escape for her. She had only to wait, as she was waiting now,
+and it would come in the windlike whisper of a tiger's rush through the
+grass behind her....
+
+He hurried to her. She turned, and he saw the stains of tears now dry on
+her face and in her eyes the darkness of utter defeat.
+
+"I was afraid you might get hurt, Lyla--"
+
+Then, seemingly without volition on his part, he put his arms around her
+and she was clinging to him and crying in muffled sobs and trying to say
+something about, "_I didn't think anybody cared...._"
+
+It was some time later, when her crying was finished, that he was
+reminded of the tigers by Alonzo:
+
+"Rootenant ... awr the time, some tigers are coming croser and croser.
+We better get her out of here, Rootenant, before they find us."
+
+Lyla looked down at Alonzo. "Thank you, Alonzo, for watching over me and
+... and--" Her voice caught and she dropped to her knees and hugged the
+shaggy head tight against her.
+
+Hunter watched ahead, Lyla beside him as they went through the dense
+trees. Alonzo walked soft-footed behind them, watching the rear. When
+they came to the first ghost trees and the dwindling of the tiger trees,
+Hunter thought it safe to walk slower and talk to her.
+
+"I saw you go," he said. "I didn't know where until Alonzo came running
+to tell me."
+
+"I heard him bragging about killing, and about his women--I was weak,
+wasn't I?"
+
+"Weak?"
+
+"I was afraid to face the future, just because it isn't to be exactly
+like I thought I wanted."
+
+"What was the kind you wanted, Lyla?"
+
+"Oh ... I guess I wanted a husband who could see me only, and children,
+and evenings together in the flower garden, and ... well, all the silly,
+sentimental little things that mean so much to a woman."
+
+He thought, _Even with its heart half cut out, it still wanted to live
+... Coat for Janalee ... the strip-tease queen...._
+
+They passed through the last of the tiger trees and she said, "We're
+safe, now. The tigers never attack anyone outside their forest."
+
+She was walking slowly and he said, "We should get on back before you're
+missed, shouldn't we?"
+
+"Who would miss me?" she asked. "So long as I remain physically intact
+for the marriage night, who cares where or why I went away?"
+
+There was the cold bleakness of winter in her eyes as she spoke, and in
+her voice the first undertone of brass. He saw that this was already the
+beginning of the change that Narf would make in her; the transformation
+of a girl young and wanting to love and be loved into a hard and cynical
+woman.
+
+He put his arm around her shoulder, thinking that he should tell her
+that _he_ cared and that she must never let Narf change her.
+
+"Lyla, I--"
+
+He realized how futile and foolish the words would sound. She would
+marry Narf, he would return to Earth, and they would never meet again.
+There were no words for him to speak on this last walk together, no way
+to tell her that he wanted to help her, to protect and care for her. No
+way to express the feeling inside him....
+
+He did what seemed as natural under the circumstances as it had been for
+him to put his arm around her in the clearing. He tilted up her face and
+bent his head to kiss her.
+
+And walked with jarring impact into the knobby elbow of a ghost tree
+limb.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+           *       *       *       *
+
+The sun was down and dusk was darkening the camp when they arrived back
+at her cabin.
+
+"Thank you, Dale," she said. Her hand squeezed his arm. "I didn't know I
+had a friend ... but now we'll have to be strangers because--"
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Gravel crunched loudly on one of the paths in the ghost trees and they
+looked back, to see Narf and Sonig coming, walking swiftly. Even at the
+distance, there was anger like a red aura about Narf.
+
+"Well," Lyla said softly, "here comes my medicine."
+
+Sonig stopped at his own cabin, to stand just within the doorway,
+watching. Narf strode on and stopped before Hunter and Lyla, his face
+twisted with savage hatred as he looked at Hunter. He spoke to Lyla with
+grating vehemence:
+
+"You've done an excellent job of making an ass of yourself--and of
+me--haven't you? Come on in the cabin!"
+
+Narf seized her by the arm, towering over her as he jerked her around
+toward the door. Hunter stepped quickly forward, feeling the hot flash
+of his own anger, but there was the paleness of Lyla's face as she
+looked back, an appeal on it that said, _No!_ He stopped, realizing that
+Narf would not physically harm the woman who would make him king of
+Vesta, and that any interference on his part would only make everything
+the harder for her.
+
+He watched the two go into the cabin--into Lyla's half--and Narf slammed
+the door shut behind them. There followed the quick bang of windows
+being closed, and then Narf's muffled tirade began: "_... May think I'm
+a fool ... I'm going to tell you a few things...._"
+
+Sonig was still standing within his doorway. Hunter knew, without seeing
+it, that the thin-lipped smile would be on Sonig's face.
+
+He turned and walked back to his own cabin. There was nothing he could
+do but withdraw--and listen from a distance and be ready to act if it
+seemed she was in danger.
+
+He sat on his doorstep in the darkness, hearing occasional phrases in
+Narf's unrelenting abuse. One was: "_So prim you had to countermand my
+order for a key to that lock--then you went out to play with that second
+lieutenant...._"
+
+Alonzo materialized out of the darkness, coming as silently as a shadow.
+He was no longer the bumbling clown. The idiotic grin was gone and his
+eyes were green fire, slanted and catlike, his teeth flashing white in a
+snarl as he looked back toward the sound of Narf's voice.
+
+"She are _my_ Princess Ryra," Alonzo said. "He are cursing her. If he
+ever hurt her, I wirr tear out his throat and his river."
+
+"He won't hurt her, Alonzo," Hunter said, wishing he could be sure.
+"He'll only use words on her."
+
+"He never ask her _why_ she run away--he onry curse her and threaten her
+because she embarrass him."
+
+"Embarrass him?"
+
+"He and Sonig, they see you coming out of the forest with your arm
+around her. They watch with high-power grasses."
+
+"But there was nothing wrong in that--"
+
+"That are what Princess Ryra say. She say you onry put your arm around
+her because she are stirr scared of the tigers. And then he say, what
+about the other? And he cawr her awrful bad names."
+
+"What other?"
+
+"Oh, when you are bending down to kiss Princess Ryra and are wawrking
+into tree."
+
+He gulped. "_They saw that?_"
+
+"Oh, sure. Rord Narf are so mad he want to kirr you right then but Sonig
+say, 'Wait, I have a pran.' Then Sonig say, 'It are too bad we don't
+have a camera--we could have made that rootenant the raffing stock of
+forty worlds.'"
+
+The thought made Hunter gulp again.
+
+"What was Sonig's plan that Narf told Lyla about?" He asked.
+
+"Oh, he not terr _her_. I hear Sonig terr Rord Narf when I spy. Sonig
+say, 'Tomorrow we be friendry and we ret those two go for another wawrk
+in the woods. And we have cameras with terescope rens and when they kiss
+and hug we take moving pictures.'"
+
+"Why, the gutter-bred rat--"
+
+"And Rord Narf say, 'That is what we wirr do. And then I wirr kirr him
+as soon as we have the pictures and she wirr have to toe the mark from
+then on because if I pubricry show the pictures of what she did, she
+wirr be ashamed to show her face anywhere on Vesta.'"
+
+"Why, the--" He could not think of a suitable expression.
+
+"And then Sonig say, 'To make sure she go out tomorrow, you bawr her out
+good so she wirr want to cry on the rootenant's shourder again.' And
+Rord Narf say, 'I wirr be very grad to terr the two-timing hussy what I
+think of her, don't worry.'"
+
+"Why, she was only a scared girl and that rat thinks she--"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"_... Your promise to your dying father_," Narf's voice came in
+accusation. "_He's gone, now, and you can betray him, too! Why don't you
+go all the way in your deceptions ... your father will never know...._"
+
+Alonzo said, "I think I go back and stay croser to her cabin,
+Rootenant."
+
+It was an hour later, and Narf's voice had settled to a low, steady
+growling, when Hunter heard a helicopter settle down near the camp. A
+minute later, Val Boran was outlined momentarily in the doorway of the
+cabin he shared with Sonig. There followed the exchange of a few
+words--interrogation in Val's tone--and then the sound of Sonig's voice
+alone, which continued for minute after minute.
+
+_Sonig is telling him all about it_, Hunter thought, _including my
+walking into that tree. But there won't be one word in sympathy with
+Lyla._
+
+Sonig's story ended and Hunter saw Val leave the cabin. He came straight
+up the path toward Hunter, looming tall in the darkness as he stopped
+before him. There was the pale gleam of metal in Val's belt--a blaster.
+His voice came cold and flat:
+
+"I want to talk to you, Lieutenant."
+
+Hunter sighed, thinking, _I suppose he wants to kill me, too_.
+
+He got up and said, "We'll go inside. Shut the door behind you--I don't
+want your friend straining his ears to hear us."
+
+Val sat tall even in the chair, his face like a carving in a dark
+granite and his eyes as bright and hard.
+
+"I understand that you took Princess Lyla into the tiger forest today."
+Val's hand was very near the blaster. "I understand you then played the
+role of affectionate rescuer."
+
+"Do you believe that story?" Hunter asked.
+
+"Do you have a different one?"
+
+"You might ask Lyla. Or Alonzo. Alonzo is the one who came to me for
+help when he saw she was going out to die."
+
+"To die?" A startled expression came into the black eyes. "She _wanted_
+to die?"
+
+"I'll tell you what happened," Hunter said, and told him the story,
+omitting only the embarrassing kissing incident and knowing that Sonig
+had not.
+
+Val was silent for a while after Hunter finished speaking, then he said,
+"It isn't for me to comment upon Lord Narf's character or actions. She
+is his wife by her own choice. But the thought of someone else taking
+her out and--"
+
+"I know. It wasn't so." Then Hunter added, "You think a great deal of
+her, don't you?"
+
+Val's face hardened and Hunter thought he would not answer. Then he
+smiled a little, even though without humor, and said:
+
+"Since I came here to kill you if I thought you deserved it, I suppose I
+am obligated to answer your question. My regard for Princess Lyla is the
+respectful one that any civilized man would have for another man's
+wife."
+
+There was an unintended implication in the statement and Hunter made a
+conjecture:
+
+"You and Princess Lyla were engaged--how long ago?"
+
+There was surprise on Val's face, and something like pain quickly
+masked. "So she's already making it public information?"
+
+"No. I learned of it from ... other sources. I don't know, of course,
+why you persuaded her to break the engagement--that's none of my
+business, anyway."
+
+"No," Val said. "It's none of your business. I'll tell you this: _I_
+didn't ask her to break the engagement. But so long as that was what she
+wanted, I certainly wasn't going to beg her to change her mind."
+
+Val stood up to go. "If you don't mind, I would rather you said nothing
+to Princess Lyla about this visit tonight. I'm afraid my misplaced surge
+of chivalry would make me look like a fool to her."
+
+Then, as an afterthought, Val added, "Mr. Rockford had further business
+in the city."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+           *       *       *       *
+
+It was late when Narf finally left Lyla's part of the cabin. He went to
+the cabin occupied by Val and Sonig, aroused Sonig, and the two of them
+went to the helicopter field. Hunter heard the helicopter leaving for
+the city a few minutes later. Val's cabin remained dark and after a
+while, the light in Lyla's cabin went out.
+
+He went to bed, but not to sleep. Over and over, a lonely little
+Princess Lyla clung to him for comfort, crying, while he held her close.
+He twisted and turned restlessly as he thought of the hours she had sat
+alone and unloved while Narf poured out his hatred and fury on her.
+
+There was a yearning for her, a desire to hold her and always protect
+her, that would not let him sleep. And he realized the reason why.
+
+He thought miserably, _I'm in love with her_!
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Rockford was in bed, snoring loudly, with six empty beer cans on the
+floor beside him, when Hunter got up. He went outside and found Alonzo
+waiting for him.
+
+"They got it awr pranned to kirr you for sure today, Rootenant."
+
+"How?" he asked.
+
+"Rast night, Rord Narf and Sonig go to the city and Rord Narf, he hire
+four bad-rooking men with brasters, and Sonig hire four more that are
+his countrymen, and they bring these men back and now they are hiding in
+the woods. And they awrso bring back movie cameras with terescope
+renses. And Rord Narf raff and say he wirr marry Princess Ryra today
+before your dead body is even coor."
+
+"Oh?" Hunter said. He thought of the snoring Rockford and his words of
+two days before: _If you manage to live that long._ How, he wondered,
+could the lazy old drunkard have made such an accurate guess?
+
+"And then," Alonzo said, "Rord Narf wake up Princess Ryra--onry I know
+she wasn't asreep--and he terr her he ruv her and have awready made awr
+the arrangement for them to get married today, right after runch. And he
+terr her she is right about the Space Guard and she wirr have until
+runch to tawrk to you about it."
+
+There was the sound of Narf's door opening and closing and Alonzo said,
+"I go now--Rord Narf might guess that I are terring you things."
+
+A few minutes later Narf and Sonig came down the path toward Hunter.
+Both carried packsacks--the cameras, of course--and both carried
+long-range rifle blasters.
+
+"Good morning, lieutenant!" Narf was smiling and pseudogenial again.
+"About last night--sometimes a man has to be stern with his wife to
+impress her. Very foolish thing she did--might have been killed. I'm
+afraid I was so badly shaken with worry over her that I didn't even
+thank you for bringing her back."
+
+"A beautiful morning, lieutenant!" Sonig was smiling, coming as close to
+beaming as the nature of his face would permit. "Lord Narf is going to
+take me stag hunting this morning--I'll get some lessons from a master.
+Did you ever see his lordship's collection of heads? Amazing!"
+
+"But it seems a sportsman's collection is never quite complete," Narf
+said. He was still smiling but the hatred was burning like a fire in his
+eyes as he looked at Hunter. "There's one more head I must have--I
+intend to get it this morning."
+
+Narf and Sonig were gone when Lyla came out of her cabin, her face pale
+and drawn. Val came out of his cabin and the two spoke to each other in
+greeting. There was a silence, in which neither seemed to know what to
+say.
+
+Finally, awkwardly, Val said, "I heard about yesterday, Lyla. Why did
+you go into the tiger forest?"
+
+"Oh ... I was just walking, I guess, and didn't notice where."
+
+"You went there to die, didn't you?"
+
+"I ... when you have nothing left--" Then she lifted her head in a proud
+gesture and said, "Should it matter to you?"
+
+For a moment Val had the look of a man struck. Then it was gone and he
+said in an emotionless voice:
+
+"No. I was asking about something that is only your husband's business.
+I won't do it again."
+
+He turned away, back to his cabin.
+
+"Val--" She took a quick step after him, the proud air gone and her arms
+outstretched. "I didn't mean--"
+
+He turned back, his tone politely questioning.
+
+"Yes?"
+
+"I only wanted--" Then her arms dropped and the life went out of her
+voice. "What does it matter ... what does anything matter?"
+
+She hurried into her cabin and the door closed behind her.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Rockford spoke from the doorway behind Hunter:
+
+"Well, my boy, are you ready for your day's duties?"
+
+He followed Rockford inside, where Rockford settled down in the
+easy-chair and yawned.
+
+"I had a rather busy night," he said. "Certain events occurred yesterday
+afternoon which forced me to change my own plans to some extent. Or to
+set them ahead a day, I should say."
+
+He made an effort to put the vision of Lyla from his mind and asked,
+"Did you make any progress with Val Boran?"
+
+"No, I'm afraid not. Of course, I didn't expect to." Rockford yawned
+again. "There was another message from Supreme Command. The situation
+is getting worse. Which reminds me of your Duty For The Day and the fact
+that if you can live through it, you will have it made."
+
+_He's my superior_, Hunter thought. _He's supposed to outrank a Space
+Patrol General--and he's amused by the situation he's here to remedy._
+
+"Right now," Rockford said, "Lyla faces a grim future and feels like she
+doesn't have a friend in the world. She needs a shoulder to cry on. You
+will take her for a walk and supply that shoulder."
+
+Somehow, even though the order had nothing to do with the Terran-Verdam
+crisis, he did not have the heart to object. She had been crying before
+she even reached her door. Later, after he had comforted her, he would
+demand that Rockford get down to determined effort on the Verdam
+problem. No more than an hour would be lost by that....
+
+"Yes, sir," he said. "But in the interests of Princess Lyla's safety, I
+had better talk to her in her cabin. Alonzo saw Narf and Sonig bring
+back eight--"
+
+"Professional killers, to dispose of you," Rockford finished. "I know
+all about it, and I know that Narf took time last night to spend an hour
+with his favorite girl friend and brag even to her that he was going to
+marry Lyla today before your dead body had time to get cool.
+
+"But you just take Lyla for another walk and you will cause the
+beginning of the end for the Verdam Peoples Worlds. You will go down in
+history, my boy, as the man who saved the Terran Republic."
+
+Hunter went out the door, again feeling a feverish sense of unreality.
+He was to go forth and get blasted into hamburger and by some mysterious
+process known only to Rockford, the Verdam empire would contritely start
+collapsing....
+
+He did not knock on her door. He did not think of it as a violation of
+her privacy. She would be feeling too alone and unwanted to care.
+
+She was not crying as he had thought she would be. She was standing by
+the window, staring down at the gray, distant desert, her eyes as
+bleakly empty as it.
+
+"Hello, Lyla," he said.
+
+"Hello, Dale. I was just thinking; this is the day that I, as a woman,
+should always have dreamed about"--she tried to smile, and failed, and
+the brass came into her voice--"my wedding day!"
+
+"Alonzo told me about it."
+
+It seemed to him he should add something, such as to wish her
+happiness--but such words would be meaningless and farcical and they
+would both know it.
+
+But there was no reason why he should endanger her by obeying Rockford's
+insane order. He would not do it--
+
+"Ah ... good morning, Lyla!" Rockford loomed in the doorway, jovial as a
+Santa Claus. "Did you know Dale wants to go for a walk in the woods
+with you this bright spring morning--and he's no doubt too bashful to
+tell you so? Do you good to get away from camp"--there was the
+suggestion of a pause--"while you're still free."
+
+He turned a beaming smile on Hunter. "Don't stand there like a dummy,
+boy--take her by the arm and let her have a last walk with someone who
+cares what happens to her."
+
+There was one thing about Rockford not compatible with his air of fond
+fatherliness: his eyes were hard, gray slate as they looked into
+Hunter's and there was no mistaking their expression. Rockford had not
+made a fatherly suggestion for his own amusement. He had given an order
+that he intended to be obeyed.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+           *       *       *       *
+
+Hunter and Lyla walked on through the thickets of ghost trees and arrow
+brush, each with little to say, Hunter feeling more and more like a
+ridiculous fool. They had no destination, no purpose in their walk,
+other than to abide by Rockford's desire that a total of ten assassins
+get a chance to slaughter a certain expendable second lieutenant.
+
+He did not put his arm around Lyla as they walked. If they killed him,
+it would have to be without their having the satisfaction of the
+pictures they wanted with which to blackmail her.
+
+They came to a tiny clearing, where a cloud tree log made an inviting
+seat in the shade, and Lyla said:
+
+"No matter how far we walk, I'll have to go back to face it. Let's stop
+here, and rest a while."
+
+He saw that the clearing was fairly well screened, but certainly not
+completely so. It would have to do.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+He sat down on the log several feet away from her, not wanting to take
+the chance of her getting hit by accident.
+
+_Not that I'm enthusiastic about getting hit by intent, myself_, he
+thought. _What a way for a Space Guard officer to die._
+
+He wondered if Rockford would ever inform Headquarters that Lieutenant
+Dale Hunter had died in the line of duty--by whatever twisted logic this
+insane episode could be called duty--and he wondered how the
+Commemoration Roll would read for him.... _Displaying courage above and
+beyond the call of duty, Lieutenant Hunter sat conspicuously on top of a
+hill and calmly waited for ten assassins to slaughter him...._
+
+"It's peaceful and quiet here, isn't it?" Lyla said.
+
+He had been trying to watch four different directions at once and he
+realized that the constant swiveling of his neck was causing his stiff
+blouse collar to slowly cut his throat. And he saw that it was--for the
+moment, anyway--peaceful and quiet where they sat. The sun was warm and
+golden before them, bright flowers sweetly scented the air, and giant
+rainbow moths were fluttering over them, their tiny voices like the
+piping of a thousand fairy flutes.
+
+"I wish I had been born a country girl," Lyla said. "I'd like to have a
+life like this, and not--what mine will be."
+
+He asked the question to which he had to have the answer:
+
+"Once you were going to marry Val and live on Jardeen, weren't you?"
+
+"I ... so my foolishness is no longer a secret?"
+
+"Foolishness?" he asked.
+
+"We met two years ago when I was attending the Fine Arts university on
+Jardeen. I was younger and a lot more naive then than I am now. I
+thought we were desperately in love and would get married as soon as I
+finished school and would live happily ever after, and all that."
+
+"And it didn't turn out that way?"
+
+"I had to make that promise to Daddy and when I wrote to Val about it,
+he seemed to approve. He didn't suggest I renounce the proxy marriage
+when the time was up, or anything. He just wrote that I knew what I
+wanted to do. He seemed relieved to be free to go ahead with his
+political career."
+
+"I see," he said, and then, "you don't feel bad about it, do you, Lyla?"
+
+"Feel bad? I wouldn't marry Val Boran if he was the last man on Vesta!
+Even Lord Narf isn't as self-centered as _he_ is!"
+
+"You don't have to marry Narf either," he said. "You know that."
+
+She looked down at the ground and said in a dead voice, "I made a
+promise."
+
+"Rockford told me that your father never really knew Narf--that on the
+few times they met, Narf put on the act of being a refined gentleman,
+very respectful toward the king's daughter."
+
+She did not answer and he said, "Is that the way it was?"
+
+"Yes. That's the way it was. But how could I tell Daddy, as he lay
+dying?"
+
+"You couldn't, Lyla. But if your father could be here today and know
+what you know about Narf, do you think he would want you to marry him?"
+
+"No ... I guess not. But Lord Narf loves me in his own way, I think--and
+that's more than anyone else does."
+
+Then her tone changed and she said, "I'm so glad that you're here today,
+Dale--I'm glad that there is someone who cares at least a little about
+what happens to me."
+
+On her face was a poignant longing for someone to love and comfort her.
+It seemed to him, now beyond any doubt, that there could never be
+anything for him in his career but loneliness. How different the warm
+love of Lyla would be from the cold austerity of the military and its
+endless succession of weapons and killing--
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+He moved, to sit beside her and put his arm around her shoulders.
+"Lyla," he said, "I want to tell you--"
+
+"_Dale...._" The word was a despairing sob as her composure broke and
+she held tightly to him, crying, her voice coming muffled as she pressed
+her face against his chest. "Help me, Dale! How can I marry that
+sadistic beast when it's someone else I can't live without--and he
+doesn't even know I love him!"
+
+"But he does!" He hugged her closer, "He does know, and he loves you
+even more than you love him."
+
+"Are you sure?" She raised a tear-stained face, hope like sunshine
+through clouds on it. "Are you really sure Val loves me, after all?"
+
+"_Val?_"
+
+The revelation was like the stunning concussion shock of a blaster beam
+passing two inches overhead. His vision blurred and there was a hideous
+roaring in his ears. She was still holding to him for comfort and it
+seemed to him that was wrong--he should be clinging to her for
+support....
+
+"_Dale_ ... what's the matter?"
+
+"But I thought--" He swallowed with difficulty. "I thought you meant
+that I was the--"
+
+Something struck the top of his head; this time, for certain, the
+concussion shock of a blaster beam passing close above it. There was a
+vicious crack as the beam split the tree beyond, then a crash and
+explosion of wood fragments as a second beam followed the first.
+
+He rolled from the log; taking Lyla with him. The arrow bushes shielded
+them briefly, long enough for them to reach the temporary safety of a
+small swale.
+
+"Dale!" Her dark eyes were wide with puzzled surprise and one small foot
+was bare from the loss of a sandal. "Someone shot at us!"
+
+He thought, _So Narf got his pictures, after all_.
+
+"Rootenant!" Alonzo came running. "They are _that_ way--awr spread out
+to be sure to kirr you."
+
+Alonzo motioned with his nose, a movement that seemed to cover all the
+high ground beyond them. At least, the enemy was not between them and
+camp. Not yet.
+
+A distant shout came, an order from Narf to his men:
+
+"_All of you--down that ridge! Get between Hunter and camp!_"
+
+"_It's him!_" Her fingers gripped his arm. "He wants them to kill you!"
+
+They had fired from a distance too great for his own blaster. He could
+not defy them from where he now stood.
+
+"I'll have to try to get within range of them," he said. "I'll go
+back--"
+
+"_No!_" Her grip on his arm tightened. "Don't leave me, Dale--don't let
+him find me here."
+
+He looked down the length of the swale. At its lower end the ghost tree
+forest began, dense and concealing--but all down the length of the swale
+the snarevines lay in thick, viciously barbed entanglements, overlying a
+bed of sharp rocks and boulders. She could never get to the safety of
+the ghost trees in time.
+
+Narf had his pictures, now. What would he do to her in the insanity of
+his hatred and triumph when he reached her?
+
+"All right, Lyla," he said. "I'll see that you get to the trees--"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+           *       *       *       *
+
+There was a crashing of explosions and debris leaped skyward behind them
+and along both sides of the swale. The firing continued, scattered but
+very effectively consistent, and he said as he drew his blaster, "I
+guess they don't want us to go away."
+
+He set the regulator of the blaster at lowest intensity so that the beam
+would not clip dangerous flying fragments from the boulders. The green,
+tough vines disintegrated reluctantly while the precious minutes sped
+by; while the unhindered assassins would be hurrying to the point where
+the entire swale would be visible to them and under their fire.
+
+Alonzo was following along near the top of the swale's side, ignoring
+the danger as he watched the progress of the enemy and reported it to
+Hunter: "Now they are halfway, Rootenant, hurrying faster--"
+
+They reached the lower end of the swale. The last of the vines
+disintegrated and the ghost tree forest lay before them.
+
+He touched her cheek in farewell. "Get on to camp, as fast as you can
+run."
+
+The firing abruptly ceased as he spoke. There was an ominous silence.
+Alonzo came running, his tone almost a yelp in its urgency:
+
+"They are awrmost where they can see us! We got to get her out of here,
+Rootenant--awrfur quick!"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"_Lyla!_"
+
+It was the voice of Val, sharp with concern for her. He came running out
+of the ghost trees, all his cold impassiveness gone. "Are you hurt,
+Honey--are you hurt?"
+
+"_You came for me!_" She whispered the words, her face radiant. Then she
+ran to meet him, her arms outstretched, crying, "_Val ... oh, Val...._"
+
+Their arms went around each other.
+
+Then the woods erupted as ten blasters laid down a barrage to block any
+escape to camp.
+
+"I'll try to give you a chance to get through," Hunter said quickly.
+"Be ready for it when it comes."
+
+He ran toward the firing line, taking advantage of the concealment
+afforded by the first fringe of ghost trees. They should be almost
+within range of his own weapon, now--
+
+Again, the firing abruptly ceased, as though by some signal. There came
+the furious raving of Narf:
+
+"_It's that Boran she wants! Kill him, too!_"
+
+Sonig cursed with bitter rage. "_Jardeen is lost to Verdam if any
+witness escapes--and we'll all hang, besides._"
+
+There was a second of silence, and then Narf's command:
+
+"_Kill the woman, too!_"
+
+There was a roar like thunder as the firing began. The ground trembled
+and debris filled the air with flying fragments. Hunter, still running
+toward the enemy under cover of the trees, saw Val trying to get Lyla to
+safety and saw them both hurled to the ground as a tree exploded in
+front of them. They would never live to rise and run again--
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+He saw Rockford's plan, at last, and what his own duty would now have to
+be. He knew why Rockford had said of this day, "_If you can live through
+it, you will have it made._"
+
+And he had a cold feeling inside him that he was not going to have it
+made.
+
+He took a deep breath and ran toward the enemy, out of the concealment
+of the ghost trees and in the open where they could not fail to see him,
+his blaster firing a continuous beam that fell only a little short of
+the enemy, that showed them he would be close enough to kill them within
+seconds if he was not stopped.
+
+The fire concentrated upon him, giving Lyla and Val their chance for
+escape. He ran through an inferno of crashing explosions, twisting and
+dodging on ground that trembled and heaved under his feet, while
+razor-sharp rock shrapnel filled the air with shrill, deadly screaming
+sounds.
+
+Something ripped through his shoulder, to spin him around and send him
+rolling. He scrambled up, firing as he did so, and ran drunkenly on.
+
+Something struck the side of his head and he went down again. He tried
+to rise and fell back, a blackness sweeping over him that he could not
+hold away despite his efforts to do so.
+
+It seemed to him that the firing had suddenly stopped, that in its place
+was the hoarse buzz of a police stun-beam. It seemed he saw helicopters
+overhead, bearing the bright blue insignia of the Royal Guard and then
+there was nothing but the blackness.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+There was a brief, dreamlike return to consciousness. He was in a Royal
+Guard helicopter and Alonzo was beside him, grinning, and saying, "You
+be O.K.--I grad! And my Princess Ryra--rook at her now, Rootenant!"
+
+He saw Lyla, her hand in Val's, and her face was glowing and beautiful
+in its new-found happiness. Then she was bending down, kissing him, and
+saying, "Dale ... Dale ... how can we ever thank you for what you did?"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+When the blackness lifted the second time he was lying, bandaged, on a
+cot in the meeting hall and the voice of Rockford was saying, "... Ready
+to go in just a minute."
+
+The hall was filled with members of the royal court who had come for the
+wedding. He saw the white robes of Church of Vesta dignitaries who had
+come to officiate at the wedding. Then he saw the seven grim old men
+seated at the far end of the table.
+
+The Royal Council--with the judicial power to give even death sentences
+in crimes committed against royalty.
+
+Sonig, his face white and staring, was being half led, half carried,
+away from them.
+
+Narf, in the grip of another Guardsman, was standing before the Council
+and saying in a tone both incredulous and sneering:
+
+"Is that my sentence?"
+
+"There is a qualification to it," one of the Council said. "It seems
+only just, in view of your crime, that you be tortured until death--"
+
+The rest of the words were lost as the blackness swept back. But before
+unconsciousness was complete, when all else in the hall was gone from
+him, he heard Narf's cry; an animal-like bawl of protest, raw and hoarse
+with anguish....
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"Ah ... you're coming out of it, my boy."
+
+Rockford was standing over him. "They gave you a Restoration shot on
+Vesta forty-eight hours ago. It will be wearing off in a minute and your
+head will clear."
+
+He sat up, and the dizziness faded swiftly away. He saw that he was in
+the compartment of an interstellar ship and he knew that it was
+Earthbound.
+
+And that Vesta, and brown-eyed Lyla, were now part of the past....
+
+"Don't look so sad, my boy," Rockford said. "You'll get due credit and
+promotion for the invaluable part you played in my plan."
+
+"But--"
+
+"I know. But she was never yours. You'll find life is full of
+heartbreaks like that, son.
+
+"And we accomplished our mission. Narf's crime neatly invalidated the
+proxy marriage. Then Lyla set a new precedent by marrying Val that very
+day. Earth has never had two such loyal and grateful friends as Val and
+Lyla."
+
+"You knew all about them, didn't you?" he asked.
+
+"Strategic Service has to know everything. And I knew they were still
+in love even though each was too proud to admit it. That's why I had to
+insist on Val coming to Vesta. After that, it was only a matter of using
+you to awaken Val to the fact that she did _not_ love Narf. And of
+taking care of various little details, such as faking an official
+request for the helicopters to come out two hours ahead of time, getting
+Val off to find her at the proper time, and so on."
+
+Rockford smiled at him, "And you learned that an old man's mind can be
+mightier than the space fleets of the Verdam empire--and that the line
+of duty that produces the best results can sometimes be very devious."
+
+He thought of the white-faced Sonig, and the anguished bawl he had heard
+from Narf.
+
+"I suppose they were going to hang Narf and Sonig at once."
+
+"The Council would have, no doubt. But Lyla was so happy that she begged
+the Council to give them very light sentences--or just let them go free.
+So I suggested a compromise. The Royal Council regarded it as very
+fitting."
+
+"What was it?"
+
+"For Sonig, no punishment. The murder attempt, being news of public
+interest, will be broadcast upon Vesta and other worlds, including a
+factual, unbiased account of Sonig's participation in it. Shortly
+afterward, Sonig will be taken to Verdam and turned over to his own
+benevolent government. Vesta will file no charges."
+
+"But Sonig lost Jardeen for his government. They'll execute him for
+that!"
+
+"Yes. I'm afraid so. Shall we call it poetic justice?"
+
+"What about Narf?"
+
+"His sentence was life-long exile on his Sea Island estate. He will be
+provided with all the luxuries to which he has been accustomed,
+including a full staff of servants. He will continue to enjoy all his
+possessions there, including his gallery of nude paintings, his risque
+films, his pornographic library, and so on. In fact, since he is so
+fascinated by pornography and such a collector thereof, any pornographic
+material which might become available on Vesta in the future will be
+sent to him."
+
+"That's not right ... I mean, they were going to torture him to death."
+
+"Not 'to death'. It was 'until death'. There's a difference."
+
+"But that bawling noise he made--"
+
+"Ah ... that was due to the one restrictive qualification to the benign
+terms of his exile. Every woman on his estate was to be removed before
+he reached there, leaving men servants only. Patrol boats will see to it
+that for so long as he lives no woman shall ever set foot on the Sea
+Islands."
+
+Rockford smiled again. "Lord Narf succeeded beyond his wildest dreams in
+keeping his boyhood vow of being always a man among men."
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Note
+
+This etext was produced from _Analog Science Fact and Fiction_ December
+1962. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S.
+copyright on this publication was renewed. Minor spelling and
+typographical errors have been corrected without note.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's --And Devious the Line of Duty, by Tom Godwin
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK --AND DEVIOUS THE LINE OF DUTY ***
+
+***** This file should be named 22585.txt or 22585.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+        http://www.gutenberg.org/2/2/5/8/22585/
+
+Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
+will be renamed.
+
+Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
+one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
+(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
+permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.
+
+
+
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
+http://gutenberg.org/license).
+
+
+Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
+paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
+or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
+form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
+     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
+     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
+     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+     License.  You must require such a user to return or
+     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+     of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
+of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org.
+
+
+Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541.  Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
+http://pglaf.org/fundraising.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
+
+The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
+809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
+business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
+information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
+page at http://pglaf.org
+
+For additional contact information:
+     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+     Chief Executive and Director
+     gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+
+Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit http://pglaf.org
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations.
+To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate
+
+
+Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+     http://www.gutenberg.org
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.