y, knobby-kneed kid, I listened to your first
doctorate disputation. Ever since then, my purpose in life has been to
land you."

III

"But listen!" he exclaimed. "I _can't_, even if I want...."

"Of course you can't." Pure deviltry danced in her eyes. "You're the
Director. It wouldn't be proper. But it's Standard Operating Procedure
for simple, innocent, unsophisticated little country girls like me to go
completely overboard for the boss."

"But you can't--you _mustn't_!" he protested in panic.

Temple Bells was getting plenty of revenge for the shocks he had given
her. "I can't? Watch me!" She grinned up at him, her eyes still dancing.
"Every chance I get, I'm going to hug your arm like I did a minute ago.
And you'll take hold of my forearm, like you did! That can be taken,
you see, as either: One, a reluctant acceptance of a mildly distasteful
but not quite actionable situation, or: Two, a blocking move to keep me
from climbing up you like a squirrel!"

"Confound it, Temple, you _can't_ be serious!"

"Can't I?" She laughed gleefully. "Especially with half a dozen of those
other cats watching? Just wait and see, boss!"

Sandra and her two guests came aboard. The natives looked around; the
man at the various human men, the woman at each of the human women. The
woman remained beside Sandra; the man took his place at Hilton's left,
looking up--he was a couple of inches shorter than Hilton's six feet
one--with an air of ... of _expectancy_!

"Why this arrangement, Sandy?" Hilton asked.

"Because we're tops. It's your move, Jarve. What's first?"

"Uranexite. Come along, Sport. I'll call you that until ..."

"Laro," the native said, in a deep resonant bass voice. He hit himself a
blow on the head that would have floored any two ordinary men. "Sora,"
he announced, striking the alien woman a similar blow.

"Laro and Sora, I would like to have you look at our uranexite, with
the idea of refueling our ship. Come with me, please?"

Both nodded and followed him. In the engine room he pointed at the
engines, then to the lead-blocked labyrinth leading to the fuel holds.
"Laro, do you understand 'hot'? Radioactive?"

Laro nodded--and started to open the heavy lead door!

"Hey!" Hilton yelped. "That's hot!" He seized Laro's arm to pull him
away--and got the shock of his life. Laro weighed at least five hundred
pounds! And the guy _still_ looked human!

Laro nodded again and gave himself a terrific thump on