nionable small animals. They
are charmed when somebody speaks to them. They find great, deep
satisfaction in imitating the actions of humans, as parrots and mynahs
and parrokets imitate human speech. But _tormals_ have certain useful,
genetically transmitted talents which make them much more valuable than
mere companions or pets.

Calhoun got a light-reading for the banded sun. It could hardly be an
accurate measure of distance, but it was a guide. He said;

"Hold on to something, Murgatroyd!"

Calhoun threw the overdrive switch and the Med Ship flicked back into
that questionable state of being in which velocities of some hundreds of
times that of light are possible. The sensation of going into overdrive
was unpleasant. A moment later, the sensation of coming out was no less
so. Calhoun had experienced it often enough, and still didn't like it.

The sun Weald burned huge and terrible in space. It was close, now. Its
disk covered half a degree of arc.

"Very neat," observed Calhoun. "Weald Three is our port, Murgatroyd. The
plane of the ecliptic would be--Hm...."

He swung the outside electron telescope, picked up a nearby bright
object, enlarged its image to show details, and checked it against the
local star-pilot. He calculated a moment. The distance was too short for
even the briefest of overdrive hops, but it would take time to get there
on solar-system drive.

He thumbed down the communicator-button and spoke into a microphone.

"Med Ship Aesclipus Twenty reporting arrival and asking coordinates for
landing. Purpose of landing, planetary health inspection. Our mass is
fifty tons standard. We should arrive at a landing position in something
under four hours. Repeat. Med Ship Aesclipus Twenty ..."

He finished the regular second transmission and made coffee for himself
while he waited for an answer. Murgatroyd wanted a cup of coffee too.
Murgatroyd adored coffee. He held a tiny cup in a furry small paw and
sipped gingerly at the hot liquid.

* * * * *

A voice came out of the communicator;

"_Aesclipus Twenty, repeat your identification!_"

Calhoun went to the control-board.

"Aesclipus Twenty," he said patiently, "is a Med Ship, sent by the
Interstellar Medical Service to make a planetary health inspection on
Weald. Check with your public health authorities. This is the first Med
Ship visit in twelve standard years, I believe, which is inexcusable.
But your health aut