as running. The Administration building was empty. His
footsteps echoed through the long, silent halls. He headed for an
emergency exit that led directly to the blast tunnel. All doors were
locked.

The only way was over the wall. He paused and tossed the awkward, heavy
object over the ten-foot wall. Then, backing toward the building, he ran
and jumped for a hold onto the wall's edge. He failed by several inches
to reach it.

"Earthmen, we have come for your solution."

He ran at the wall once more. This time he caught a fair hold with one
hand. Digging at the rough concrete with his feet he was able to secure
the hold and begin pulling his body upward.

Quickly he was over the wall and onto the apron, a hundred yards from
the shining metal ship.

"Wait!" he shouted. "Wait, for God's sake!"

Picking up the object he had tossed over the wall, he raised it above
his head and ran toward the alien ship.

"Wait! Here is the solution," he gasped.

Somehow the command to fire was not given. There was a long moment of
complete silence on the field. Nothing moved.

Then the voice of the frog boomed from the alien ship.

"The solution appears to be correct."

* * * * *

The alien left three days later. Regular communications would begin
within the week. Future meetings would work out technical difficulties.
Preliminary trade agreements, adequately safeguarded, were drafted and
transmitted to the ship. The Races of Man and the Races of Wan were in
harmony.

* * * * *

"It was simply too obvious for any of us to notice," explained Harrison.
"It took that street-corner evangelist to jar something loose--even then
it was an accident."

"And the rest of us--" started Mills.

"While _all_ of us worked on the assumption that the test involved a
showing of strength--a flexing of technological muscle."

"I still don't see--"

"Well, the evangelist put the problem on the right basis. He humbled us,
exalted the aliens--that is, he thought the alien was somehow a
messenger from God to put us in our places."

"We were pretty humble ourselves, especially the last day," protested
Mills.

"But humble about our _technology_," put in Harrison. "The aliens must
be plenty far beyond us technologically. But how about their cultural
superiority. Ask yourself how a culture that could produce the ship
we've just seen could survive without--well destroying itself."