ect to pull rank or a holy attitude on me.
In case you didn't realize it, I'm in a position to exert a great deal
of influence over your little colony--and don't think I won't use it!"

The captain shrugged. "Use it," he said. "Go on. See if your influence
really holds up here. Remember, Mr. Monk--you came to us of your own
volition, and you can always turn around and go back."

"Impossible," said Monk, blanching. "I'm going to live here--for
good."

"Then you'll have to adjust to _our_ way," said the captain grimly.
"You'll have to learn our way of doing things and cooperate a hundred
percent. And the first thing you'll have to do is take a work
assignment--"

"Work?" Monk gasped. "Why should I? You can't force me to work for
you--"

"Remember Captain John Smith, Mr. Monk? He said the same thing to his
colonists that I'm going to say to you now. If you don't work--you
don't eat."

"But what could I do? I'm no scientist. I'm no--"

"There's plenty to do," the captain interrupted. "And most of it is
dirty, physical labor. We have a thousand minerologists, chemists,
geologists, botanists, physicists, meteorologists, and a lot more
technical people at work on this planet. They can use all the help
they can get. Don't worry about that!"

"But I'm _Fletcher Monk_!" the industrialist said. "I won't go
grubbing around this filthy place! You can't enslave me like some
chain-gang prisoner--"

"You'll do what you have to do," said the captain, "and you'll
probably even like it. There's a wonderland outside this door," he
said enthusiastically. "A crazy, wild, improbable wonderland, where we
never see a rain-fall, where the plants grow scarlet, and clouds chase
you down the street! We're uncovering marvelous things here. We have
to fight and sometimes die to do it, but frankly, we enjoy the work."

He gave Monk his first smile. "Nobody's a prisoner on Mars, Mr. Monk.
We're all volunteers."

He started to leave, but Monk stopped him.

"Wait," he said, licking his lips. "I have one more thing to say." He
lowered his voice. "I can make a deal with you, Captain. A deal like
you never had in your whole life." He patted the brown leather bag.
"Name your price," he said. "And don't be shy about the figure."

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I'm talking about, Mr. Moore. Money. Real, hard, Earth
dollars. Just name the amount it would take to buy a few small
creature comforts around this place--and the right to live m