. Hoddan had no instrument for the purpose. But he had the
feel of things. This was a very fast ship indeed, at full Lawlor thrust.

Presently he went out to the central cabin. His followers had found
provisions. There were novelties--hydroponic fruit, for instance--and
they'd gloomily stuffed themselves. They were almost resigned, now.
Memory of the loot he'd led other men to at Ghek's castle inclined them
to be hopeful. But they looked uneasy when he stopped where they were
gathered.

"Well?" he said sharply.

Thal swallowed.

"We have been companions, Bron Hoddan," he said unhappily. "We fought
together in great battles, two against fifty, and we plundered the
slain."

"True enough," agreed Hoddan. If Thal wanted to edit his memories of the
fighting at the spaceport, that was all right with him. "Now we're
headed for something much better."

"But what?" asked Thal miserably. "Here we are high above our native
world--"

"Oh, no!" said Hoddan. "You couldn't even pick out its sun, from where
we are now!"

Thal gulped.

"I ... do not understand what you want with us," he protested. "We are
not experienced in space! We are simple men--"

"You're pirates now," Hoddan told him with a sort of genial
bloodthirstiness. "You'll do what I tell you until we fight. Then you'll
fight well or die. That's all you need to know!"

He left them. When men are to be led it is rarely wise to discuss policy
or tactics with them. Most men work best when they know only what is
expected of them. Then they can't get confused and they do not get ideas
of how to do things better.

* * * * *

Hoddan inspected the yacht more carefully. There were still traces of
decorative features which had nothing to do with space-worthiness. But
the mere antiquity of the ship made Hoddan hunt more carefully. He found
a small compartment packed solidly with supplies. A supply-cabinet did
not belong where it was. He hauled out stuff to make sure. It was ... it
had been ... a machine shop in miniature. In the early days, before
spacephones were long-range devices, a yacht or a ship that went beyond
orbital distance was strictly on its own. If there were a breakdown, it
was strictly private. It had to repair itself or else. So all early
spacecraft carried amazingly complete equipment for repairs. Only liners
are equipped that way in recent generations, and it is almost unheard-of
for their tool shops to be used.

Bu