over Dara to keep it out of space when there was another famine there.
Those ships have been put out in orbit, where we're hooked on to one of
them. It's loaded with half a million bushels of grain. I've brought
space-suits from it, I've turned on the heaters in its interior, and
I've set its overdrive unit for a hop to Dara. Now I'm calling for
volunteers to take half a million bushels of grain to where it's needed.
Do I get any volunteers?"

He got four. Not immediately, because they were ashamed that he'd made
it impossible to carry out their original fanatic plan, and now offered
something much better to make up for it. They raged. But half a million
bushels of grain meant that people who must otherwise die might live.

Ultimately, truculently, first one and then another angrily agreed.

"Good!" said Calhoun. "Now, how many of you dare risk the trip alone?
I've got one grain-ship warming up. There are plenty of others around
us. Every one of you can take a ship and half a million bushels to Dara,
if you have the nerve?"

The atmosphere changed. Suddenly they clamored for the task he offered
them. They were still acutely uncomfortable. He'd bossed them and taught
them until they felt capable and glamorous and proud. Then he'd pinned
their ears back. But if they returned to Dara with four enemy ships and
unimaginable quantities of food with which to break the famine....

There was work to be done first, of course. Only one ship was so far
warming up. Three more had to be entered, in space-suits, and each had
to have its interior warmed so breathable air could exist inside it, and
at least part of the stored provisions had to be brought up to
reasonable temperature for use on the journey. Then the overdrive unit
had to be inspected and set for the length of journey that a direct
overdrive hop to Dara would mean, and Calhoun had to make sure again
that each of the four could identify Dara's sun under all circumstances
and aim for it with the requisite high precision, both before going into
overdrive and after breakout. When all that was accomplished, Calhoun
might reasonably hope that they'd arrive. But it wasn't a certainty.

Still, presently his four students shook hands with him, with the fine
tolerance of young men intending much greater achievements than their
teacher. They wouldn't speak on communicator again, because their
messages might be picked up on Weald.

Of course for this action to be successful, it