hat seemed a long time until abruptly the
strain was relieved and he heard the rising and falling whine of the
rockets that told him the ship was in pulse drive, flickering back and
forth across the speed of light.

He realized that the pilots had not discovered his extra weight, and
that the initial hazards were over. The important thing was to look like
a passenger, a returning soldier like the others, so that no one would
notice him and remember his presence.

His fellow travelers were by this time chatting with one another, some
playing cards, and others watching the teledepth screens. These were the
adventurers who had flocked from all corners of the galaxy to fight in
the first national war in centuries. They were the uncivilized few who
had read about battle and armed struggle in their history books and
found the old stories exciting.

They paid no attention to their silent companion who sat quietly looking
through the quartz windows at the diamond-bright stars, tacked against
the blackness of infinity.

The fugitive scarcely moved the entire time of the passage. Finally when
Earth hung out in the sky like a blue balloon, the ship cut its
pulsations and swung around for a tail landing.

The atmosphere screamed through the fins of the rocket, and the
continents and the countries, and then the rivers and the mountains took
shape. The big ship settled down as gently as a snowflake, shuddered a
few times and was quiet.

* * * * *

The passengers hurriedly gathered up their scattered belongings and
pushed toward the exit in a great rush to be out and back on Earth.

The fugitive was the last to leave. He stayed well away from the others,
being fearful that, if he should touch or brush up against someone, his
identity might be recognized.

When he saw the ramp running from the ship to the ground, he was
dismayed. It seemed a flimsy structure, supported only by tubular steel.
Five people were walking down it, and he made a mental calculation of
their weight--about eight hundred pounds he thought. He weighed five
times that. The ramp was obviously never built to support such a load.

He hesitated, and then he realized that he had caught the eye of the
stewardess waiting on the ground. A little panicky, he stepped out with
one foot and he was horrified to feel the steel buckle. He drew back
hastily and threw a quick glance at the stewardess. Fortunately at the
moment she was look