ad brought him here--it was probably the same one--and
smashed through the gateway to the street outside. Behind him, the
courtyard filled with dense white mist.

He was free, but only temporarily. Around him lay the capital city of
Walden--the highest civilization in this part of the galaxy. Trees lined
its ways. Towers rose splendidly toward the skies, with thousands of
less ambitious structures in between. There were open squares and
parkways and malls, and it did not smell like a city at all. But he
wasn't loose three minutes before the communicator in the truck squawked
the all-police alarm for him.

It was to be expected. All the city would shortly be one enormous
man-trap, set to catch Bron Hoddan. There was only one place on the
planet, in fact, where he could be safe--and he wouldn't be safe there
if he'd been officially charged with murder. But since the police had
tactfully failed to mention murder, he could get at least breathing-time
by taking refuge in the Interstellar Embassy.

He headed for it, bowling along splendidly. The police truck hummed on
its way for half a mile; three-quarters. The great open square before
the Embassy became visible. The Embassy was not that of a single planet,
of course. By pure necessity every human-inhabited world was independent
of all others, but the Interstellar Diplomatic Service represented
humanity at large upon each individual globe. Its ambassador was the
only person Hoddan could even imagine as listening to him, and that
because he came from off-planet, as Hoddan did. But he mainly counted
upon a breathing-space in the Embassy, during which to make more plans
as yet unformed and unformable. He began, though, to see some virtues in
the simple, lawless, piratical world in which he had spent his
childhood.

* * * * *

Another police truck rushed frantically toward him down a side street.
Stun-pistols made little pinging noises against the body of his vehicle.
He put on more speed, but the other truck overtook him. It ranged
alongside, its occupants waving stern commands to halt. And then, just
before it swerved to force him off the highway, he swung instead and
drove it into a tree. It crashed thunderously. One of his own wheels
collapsed. He drove on with the crumpled wheel producing an up-and-down
motion that threatened to make him seasick. Then he heard yelling behind
him. The cops had piled out of the truck and were in pursuit on