was, and he had no desire to disconcert them further by letting
them know. He could hear every conversation taking place in ordinary
tones in the large reception room. When he concentrated he could make
out the whispers. At this point he had to concentrate, for Mrs. Claymore
leaned over and breathed into her friend's attentive ear.

[Illustration]

"My dear, haven't you heard? We've had such trouble with that
committee--there were such charges of favoritism! It was really awful."

"Really? But how did you find a judge then?"

"Don't look now--no, I'll tell you what to do. Pretend I said something
funny, and throw your head back and laugh. Take a quick glance at him
while you do. He's sitting up there alone, on the platform."

Mrs. Silver laughed gracefully as directed, and her eyes swept the
platform. She became so excited, she almost forgot to whisper.

"Why, he's--"

"Shhh. Lower your voice, my dear."

"Why--he isn't human!"

"He's supposed to be--now. But, of course, that's a matter of opinion!"

"But who on Earth thought of making him judge?"

"No one on Earth. Professor Halder, who lives over on that big asteroid
the other side of yours, heard of the troubles we had, and came up with
the suggestion. At first it seemed absurd--"

"It certainly seems absurd to me!" agreed Mrs. Silver.

"It was the only thing we could do. There was no one else we could
trust."

"But what does he know about cakes?"

"My dear, he has the most exquisite sense of taste!"

"I still don't understand."

"It's superhuman. Before we adopted Professor Halder's suggestion, we
gave him a few tests. The results simply left us gasping. We could mix
all sorts of spices--the most delicate, most exotic herbs from Venus or
Mars, and the strongest, coarsest flavors from Earth or one of the
plant-growing asteroids--and he could tell us everything we had added,
and exactly how much."

* * * * *

"I find that hard to believe, Matilda."

"Isn't it? It's honestly incredible. If I hadn't seen him do it myself,
I wouldn't have believed it."

"But he doesn't have human preferences. Wasn't he--wasn't he--"

"Carnivorous? Oh, yes. They say he was the most vicious creature
imaginable. Let an animal come within a mile of him, and he'd scent it
and be after it in a flash. He and the others of his kind made the moon
he came from uninhabitable for any other kind of intelligent life. Come
to think of it, it ma