eld." He smiled unconvincingly at what must
have been meant as a joke.

[Illustration]

Talk again lapsed, and Chet became uncomfortable. "The corpsman said you
wanted to ask me some things," he said. And added, "You've already
questioned me, haven't you?"

"Only a little," Dr. Pine said, flexing his long fingers and looking
down at them. "We--ah--we had to find out about your shipmates.
Commander Seymour wanted to look for them, naturally...."

Naturally.... "Are we going to leave here now, sir?" Chet asked the
commander.

"Not yet," he said. "Dr. Pine has a job to do."

"What's that, Doctor?"

"I'm going to study your Agvar friends, Mr. Barfield. Want to help?"

"Sure," Chet said. "There's nothing I'd rather do than bring you a few
corpses to dissect."

"That--ah--that isn't the idea," Dr. Pine said, bending his fingers and
rocking from toes to heels. "I--ah--I want to do a little
anthropology--study them in the life...."

"Why?" Chet demanded. "I can tell you all about them. I can tell you
what they did to me, too! They don't deserve to live! And this planet
won't be safe for spacemen till they're dead. Why waste time studying
them? It isn't as if you were a professional anthropologist, sir--didn't
you give me medical care?"

"Yes.... But I do anthropology, too. Medical help--ah--gains the
confidence of the people...."

"You mean--?" Chet was at first incredulous, then outraged. "You mean
you're not going to punish them?"

"That's right," Dr. Pine said, smiling.

"That's wrong!" Chet contradicted.

Cheeks burning, he turned to Commander Seymour. "How about you, sir? Do
you want your men chained to a post if they get captured? Do you want me
to dismiss three years of torture as a mistake, or something? Do you
want--"

"Here, here!" Commander Seymour said. He didn't raise his voice. But as
he rose from the cot, Chet rose with him, and found himself at
attention. They eyed each other.

"Relax," Dr. Pine suggested. "Please sit down--both of you."

Commander Seymour obeyed his subordinate. But Chet, still standing,
still angry, turned hotly on the doctor.

"I can't just sit and let you talk about rewarding the Agvars for
torturing me!" he cried. "We don't have to appease them--they can't
fight. You don't have to be afraid--"

"That'll do, Barfield!" Commander Seymour was on his feet again, and his
tone was sharp. It quieted Chet instantly.

In silence he watched Commander Seymour motion Dr. Pi