of lucid, cogent thought did not interfere at all with the steady stream
of speech going into his portable recorder. Garlock also noticed that in
any group of more than a dozen people there was always at least one
guardian. They paid no attention whatever to the people, who in turn
ignored them completely. Garlock wondered briefly. Guardians? The
Arpalones, out in space, yes. But these creatures, naked and unarmed on
the ground? The Arpalones were non-human people. These things
were--what?

At the door of the Field Office the reporter, after turning
Garlock over to a startlingly beautiful, leggy, breasty, blonde
receptionist-usherette, hurried away.

* * *

He flecked a feeler at her mind and stiffened. How could a Two--a high
Two, at that--be working as an usher? And with her guard down clear to
the floor? He probed--and saw.

"Lola!" He flashed a tight-beamed thought. "You aren't putting out
anything about our sexual customs, family life, and so on."

"Of course not. We must know their mores first."

"Good girl. Keep your shield up."

"Oh, we're so glad to see you, Captain Garlock, sir!" The blonde, who
was dressed little more heavily than the cigarette girls in Venusberg's
Cartier Room, seized his left hand in both of hers and held it
considerably longer than was necessary. Her dazzling smile, her laughing
eyes, her flashing white teeth, the many exposed inches of her skin, and
her completely unshielded mind; all waved banners of welcome.

"Captain Garlock, sir, Governor Atterlin has been most anxious to see
you ever since you were first detected. This way, please, sir." She
turned, brushing her bare hip against his leg in the process, and led
him by the hand along a hallway. Her thoughts flowed. "I have been, too,
sir, and I'm simply delighted to see you close up, and I hope to see a
lot more of you. You're a wonderfully pleasant surprise, sir; I've never
seen a man like you before. I don't think Hodell ever saw a man like you
before, sir. With such a really terrific mind and yet so big and strong
and well-built and handsome and clean-looking and blackish. You're
wonderful, Captain Garlock, sir. You'll be here a long time, I hope?
Here we are, sir."

She opened a door, walked across the room, sat down in an overstuffed
chair, and crossed her legs meticulously. Then, still smiling happily,
she followed with eager eyes and mind Garlock's every move.

Garlock had been reading G