e Med Service, so that men had
been borrowed from other sectors to remedy the intolerable, and he was
one of them. He told of his arrival at Weald and what had happened
there, from the excessively cautious insistence that he prove he was
not a Darian, to the arrival of the death-ship from Orede.

He was giving them the news affecting them, as they had not heard it
before. He went on to tell of his stop at Orede and his purpose, and
his encounter with the men he found there. When he finished there was
silence. He broke it.

"Now," he said, "Maril's an agent of yours. She can add to what I've
told you. I'm Med Service. I have a job to do here to carry out what
wasn't done before. I should make a planetary health inspection and
make recommendations for the improvement of the state of things. I'll
be glad if you'll arrange for me to talk to your health officials.
Things look bad, and something should be done."

Someone laughed without mirth.

"What will you recommend for long-continued undernourishment?" he
asked derisively. "That's our health problem!"

"I recommend food," said Calhoun.

"Where'll you fill the prescription?"

"I've the answer to that, too," said Calhoun curtly. "I'll want to
talk to any space pilots you've got. Get your astrogators together and
I think they'll approve my idea."

The silence was totally skeptical.

"Orede--"

"Not Orede," said Calhoun. "Weald will be hunting that planet over for
Darians. If they find any, they'll drop bombs here."

"Our only space pilots," said a tall man, presently, "are on Orede
now. If you've told the truth, they'll probably head back because of
your warning. They should bring meat."

His mouth worked peculiarly, and Calhoun knew that it was at the
thought of food.

"Which," said another man sharply, "goes to the hospitals! I haven't
tasted meat in two years!"

"Nobody has," growled another man still. "But here's this man Calhoun.
I'm not convinced he can work magic, but we can find out if he lies.
Put a guard on his ship. Otherwise let our health men give him his
head. They'll find out if he's from this Medical Service he tells of!
and this Maril...."

"I can be identified," said Maril. "I was sent to gather information
and send it in secret writing to one of us on Trent. I have a family
here. They'll know me! And I--there was someone who was working on
foods, and I believe he made it possible to use ... all sorts of
vegetation for food. He will ide