e modernized boatport of the yacht. He got into it, leaving
the yacht in orbit. He headed down toward Darth. Now that he'd rested,
he had work to do which could not be neglected. To carry out that work,
he needed a crew able and willing to pass for pirates for a pirate's
pay. And there were innumerable castles on Darth, with quite as many
shiftly noblemen, and certainly no fewer plunder-hungry Darthian
gentlemen hanging around them. But Don Loris' castle had one real
advantage and one which existed only in Hoddan's mind.

Don Loris' retainers did know that Hoddan had led their companions to
loot. Large loot. He'd have less trouble and more enthusiastic support
from Don Loris' retainers than any other. This was true.

The illusion was that the Lady Fani was his firm personal friend with no
nonsense about her. This was a very great mistake.

He landed for the fourth time outside Don Loris' castle. This time he
had no booty-laden men to march to the castle and act as heralds of his
presence. The spaceboat's visionscreens showed Don Loris' stronghold as
immense, dark and menacing. Banners flew from its turrets, their colors
bright in the ruddy light of near-sunset. The gate remained closed. For
a long time there was no sign that his landing had been noted. Then
there was movement on the battlements, and a figure began to descend
outside the wall. It was lowered to the ground by a long rope.

It reached the ground and shook itself. It marched, toward the spaceboat
through the red and nearly level rays of the dying sun. Hoddan watched
with a frown on his face. This wasn't a retainer of Don Loris'. It
assuredly wasn't Fani. He couldn't even make out its gender until the
figure was very near.

Then he looked astonished. It was his old friend Derec, arrived on Darth
a long while since in the spaceboat Hoddan had been using ever since.
Derec had been his boon companion in the days when he expected to become
rich by splendid exploits in electronics. Derec was also the character
who'd conscientiously told the cops on Hoddan, when they found his
power-receptor sneaked into a Mid-Continent station and a stray corpse
coincidentally outside.

He opened the boatport and stood in the opening. Derec had been a
guest--anyhow an inhabitant--of Don Loris' castle for a good long while,
now. Hoddan wondered if he considered his quarters cozy.

"Evening, Derec," said Hoddan cordially. "You're looking well!"

"I don't feel it," said Dere