eeding. He saw the puzzled frown form
on Tawney's face.

The company man motioned the guards into the room, peered suspiciously
at Greg and Johnny. "Am I interrupting something, by any chance?"

"Nothing at all," Johnny blurted. "We were just talking."

"Talking." Tawney repeated the word as if it were some strange language
he didn't quite understand. He looked at the guard. "Let's just check
them."

While one guard patted down their clothes, the other withdrew a stunner,
held it on ready. Tawney prowled the lounge. He glanced at the food on
the table, then reached under the chair cushion and withdrew the
disconnected microphone, looked at the loose wires, and tossed it aside.

"They're clean," the guard said.

Tawney's face was a study of uneasiness, but he clearly could not
pinpoint what the trouble was. Finally he shrugged, turned on the smile
again, although his eyes remained watchful. "Well, maybe you won't mind
if I join in the talking for a while," he said. "You've been
comfortable? No complaints?"

"No complaints," Greg said.

"Then I presume we're ready to talk business." He looked at Greg.

"You said you were ready to bargain," Greg said, "but I haven't heard
any terms yet."

"Terms? Very simple. You direct us to the lode, we give you half of
everything we realize from it," Tawney said, smiling.

"You mean you'll write us a contract? With a U.N. witness to it?"

"Well, hardly ... under the circumstances. I'm afraid you'll have to
take our word."

Greg looked at the company man, and shook his head. "Not that I don't
trust you," he said, "but I'm afraid I can't give you what you want,"
Greg said.

"Why not?"

"Because I don't know where Dad made his strike."

The company man's face darkened. "Somebody knows where it is. Your
father would never have found something like that without telling his
own sons...."

"Sorry," Greg said. "Of course, I can tell you where you can find out,
if you want to go look."

"We've already searched his records...."

"_Some_ of his records," Greg said. "Not all of them. There was a
compartment behind the main control panel in Dad's orbit-ship. Dad used
it to store deeds, claims, other important papers. There was a packet of
notes in there before your men fired on the ship. But of course, maybe
you searched more thoroughly, the second time."

Tawney stared at him for a moment, then at Johnny. Johnny Coombs
shrugged his shoulders solemnly, and shook his head.