Library up here. Let's go in and enjoy
the quiet for a while."

But when we opened the door, there was a Ranger standing inside.

"Come to see a trial, Mr. Silk? Oh, hello, Gail. Just in time; they're
going to prepare for the next trial."

As he spoke, something clicked at the door. Gail looked at me in
consternation.

"Now we're locked in," she said. "We can't get out till the
trial's over."

CHAPTER V

I looked around.

We were on a high balcony, at the end of a long, narrow room. In front
of us, windows rose to the ceiling, and it was evident that the floor of
the room was about twenty feet below ground level. Outside, I could see
the barbecue still going on, but not a murmur of noise penetrated to us.
What seemed to be the judge's bench was against the outside wall, under
the tall windows. To the right of it was a railed stand with a chair in
it, and in front, arranged in U-shape, were three tables at which a
number of men were hastily conferring. There were nine judges in a row
on the bench, all in black gowns. The spectators' seats below were
filled with people, and there were quite a few up here on the balcony.

"What is this? Supreme Court?" I asked as Gail piloted me to a couple of
seats where we could be alone.

"No, Court of Political Justice," she told me. "This is the court that's
going to try those three Bonney brothers, who killed Mr. Cumshaw."

It suddenly occurred to me that this was the first time I had heard
anything specific about the death of my predecessor.

"That isn't the trial that's going on now, I hope?"

"Oh, no; that won't be for a couple of days. Not till after you can
arrange to attend. I don't know what this trial is. I only got home
today, myself."

"What's the procedure here?" I wanted to know.

"Well, those nine men are judges," she began. "The one in the middle is
President Judge Nelson. You've met his son--the Ranger officer who
chased you from the spaceport. He's a regular jurist. The other eight
are prominent citizens who are drawn from a panel, like a jury. The men
at the table on the left are the prosecution: friends of the politician
who was killed. And the ones on the right are the defense: they'll try
to prove that the dead man got what was coming to him. The ones in the
middle are friends of the court: they're just anybody who has any
interest in the case--people who want to get some point of law cleared
up, or see some precedent established, or some