. They'll be safe enough."

Kron sighed. "I knew that association with you people would prove to be
a mixed blessing." He shrugged his shoulders and turned his chair to his
desk. A Niobian face appeared on the screen. "Call a Council meeting and
let me know when it is ready," Kron ordered.

"Yes, Councilor," the face replied.

"Well, that's that. Now we can relax until the Council manages to get
together."

"How long will that take?"

"I haven't the least idea," Kron said. "Several days--several weeks. It
all depends upon how soon we can get enough Council members together to
conduct business."

I said unhappily, "I'd like to have your outlook but we're fighting
against time!"

"You Earthmen pick the most impossible opponents. You should learn to
work with time rather than against it." He pulled at one ear
reflectively. "You know, it is strange that your race could produce
ethical philosophers like this one." He tapped the _Analects_ with a
webbed forefinger. "Such contrast of thought on a single world is almost
incredible!"

"You haven't seen the half of it!" I chuckled. "But I'm inclined to
agree with you. Earth is an incredible world."

* * * * *

Fortunately there was a battle cruiser in the Polar spaceport on a
goodwill mission. We had no trouble about getting the detectors Bergdorf
needed, plus a crew to run them. The Navy is co-operative about such
things, and every officer knows the importance of the BEE on a planetary
operation. We could have had the entire cruiser if we had wanted it.

A week later the four Marine Lab ships, each equipped with a detector,
started a search of Niobe's oceans. Their atomic powerplants could drive
them along at a respectable speed. Bergdorf and I expected a preliminary
report within a month.

We weren't disappointed.

The results were shocking, but not unexpected. Preliminary search
revealed no oysters in the other two major oceans, but the Baril Ocean
was badly infested. There were groups and islands of immature oysters
along the entire course of the Equatorial current and the tropical coast
of Alpha. Practically every island group in the central part of the
ocean showed traces of the bivalves. It was amazing how far they had
spread. Even the northern shallows had a number of thriving young
colonies.

Bergdorf was right. Another year and we'd have been swamped. As it was
it was nothing to laugh about.

The news reached Kron just