it
toward a drawer, uncounted. "A damned good thing Security's sending a
ship. Credits won't be worth much until they get this mess straightened
out."

Gordon felt the hair at the base of his neck tingle. "What makes you
think Security can do anything? They haven't shown a hand yet."

"They will," Praeger said. "You guys in Marsport feed yourselves so many
lies you begin to believe them. But Security took Venus--and I'm not
worried here, in the long run. Don't ask me how."

His voice was a mixture of bitterness and an odd certainty. "They set
Security up as a nice little debating society, Gordon, to make it easy
for North America to grab the planets by doing it through that Agency.
Only they got better men on it than they wanted. So far, Security has
played one nation against another enough to keep any from daring to
swipe power on the planets. And this latest trick folded up, too. North
America figured on Marsport folding up once they got a police war
started, with a bunch of chiseling profiteers as their front; they
expected the citizens to yell uncle all the way back to Earth. But out
here, nobody thinks of Earth as a place to yell to for help, so they
missed. And now Security's got Pan-Asia and United Africa balanced
against North America, so the swipe won't work. We got the dope from our
southern receiver. North America's called it all a mistaken emergency
measure and turned it back to Security."

"Along with how many war rockets?" Gordon asked.

"None. They never gave any real power, never will. The only strength
Security's ever had comes from the fact that it always wins, somehow.
Forget the crooks and crooked cops, man! Ask the people who've been
getting kicked around about Security, and you'll find that even most of
Marsport doesn't hate it! It's the only hope we've got of not having all
the planets turned into colonial empires! You staying over, or want me
to give you an engineer and drag car so you can ride back in comfort?"

Gordon stared at the room, where almost everything was a product of the
planet, at Praeger, and at the girl. Here was the real Mars--the men who
liked it here, who were sure of their future. "I'll take the drag car."

* * * * *

He found Randolph waiting in a scooter outside the precinct house after
he'd reported his results. He climbed in woodenly, leaving his helmet on
as he saw the broken window. "A good job," the little man said. "And
news for