re of great dignity and ethical purpose. The lawyer's clerk
attended him to the police office, where seven dreary Darthians with
oversized hangovers tried dismally to cheer themselves by memories of
how they got that way. He got them out and to the ship. The lawyer's
clerk produced a rather weighty if small box with an air of extreme
solemnity.

"The currency you wanted, sir."

"Thank you," said Hoddan. "That's the last of our business?"

"Yes, sir," said the clerk. He hesitated, and for the first time showed
a trace of human curiosity. "Could I ask a question, sir, about piracy?"

"Why not?" asked Hoddan. "Go ahead."

"When you ... ah ... captured this ship, sir," said the clerk hopefully,
"did you ... ah ... shoot the men and keep the women?"

Hoddan sighed.

"Much," he said regretfully, "as I hate to spoil an enlivening
theory--no. These are modern days. Efficiency has invaded even the
pirate business. I used my crew for floor-scrubbing and cookery."

He closed the ship port gently and went up to the control room to call
the landing grid operators. In minutes the captured liner, loaded down
again, lifted toward the stars.

* * * * *

And all the journey back to Darth was as anticlimactic as that. There
was no trouble finding the space yacht in its remote orbit. Hoddan sent
out an unlocking signal, and a keyed transmitter began to send a signal
on which to home. When the liner nudged alongside it, Hoddan's last
contrivance operated and the yacht clung fast to the larger ship's hull.
There were four days in overdrive. There were three or four pauses for
position-finding. The stop-over on Krim had cost some delay, but Hoddan
arrived back at a positive sight of Darth's sun within a day or so of
standard space drive direct from Walden. Then there was little or no
time lost in getting into orbit with the junk yard space fleet of the
emigrants. Shortly thereafter he called the leader's ship with only mild
worries about possible disasters that might have happened while he was
away.

"Calling the leader's ship," he said crisply. "Calling the leader's
ship! This is Bron Hoddan, reporting back from Walden with a ship and
machinery contributed for your use!"

The harsh voice of the bearded old leader of the emigrants seemed
somehow broken when he replied. He called down blessings on Hoddan, who
could use them. Then there was the matter of getting emigrants on board
the new ship. They