f!
Is it really possible that a man of Garv has become a physician of
Hospital Earth?"

Dal touched Fuzzy to the commander's fuzz-ball in the ancient Garvian
greeting. "It's possible, and true," he said. "I studied there. I am the
Red Doctor on this patrol ship."

"Ah, but this is good," the commander said. "What better way to draw our
worlds together, eh? But come, you must look and see what we have in our
storerooms, feast your eyes on the splendors we carry. For all of you, a
thousand wonders are to be found here."

Jack hesitated as the commander led them back toward the display
corridors. "We'd be glad to see the ship, but you should know that
patrol ship physicians have little money to spend."

"Who speaks of money?" the commander cried. "Did I speak of it? Come and
look! Money is nothing. The Garvian traders are not mere money-changers.
Look and enjoy; if there is something that strikes your eye, something
that would fulfill the desires of your heart, it will be yours." He gave
Dal a smile and a sly wink. "Surely our brother here has told you many
times of the wonders to be seen in a space trader, and terms can be
arranged that will make any small purchase a painless pleasure."

He led them off, like a head of state conducting visiting dignitaries on
a tour, with a retinue of Garvian underlings trailing behind them. For
two delirious hours they wandered the corridors of the great ship,
staring hungrily at the dazzling displays. They had been away from
Hospital Earth and its shops and stores for months; now it seemed they
were walking through an incredible treasure-trove stocked with
everything that they could possibly have wanted.

For Jack there was a dress uniform, specially tailored for a physician
in the Blue Service of Diagnosis, the insignia woven into the cloth with
gold and platinum thread. Reluctantly he turned away from it, a luxury
he could never dream of affording. For Tiger, who had been muttering for
weeks about getting out of condition in the sedentary life of the ship,
there was a set of bar bells and gymnasium equipment ingeniously
designed to collapse into a unit no larger than one foot square, yet
opening out into a completely equipped gym. Dal's eyes glittered at the
new sets of surgical instruments, designed to the most rigid Hospital
Earth specifications, which appeared almost without his asking to see
them. There were clothes and games, precious stones and exotic rings,
watches set w