child." He allowed his coldly unmoved gaze to survey her charms. "I am
sorry indeed that it cannot be. I trust that you, Governor Atterlin,
will be kind enough to spread word of our physical shortcomings, and so
spare us further embarrassment?"

"Not shortcomings, sir, and, I truly hope, no embarrassment," Atterlin
protested. "We are immensely glad to have seen you, since your very
existence gives us so much hope for the future. I will spread word, and
every Hodellian will do whatever he can to help you in your quest."

"Thank you, sir and lady," and Garlock took his leave.

"What an act, my male-looking but impotent darling!" came Belle's clear,
incisive thought, bubbling with unrestrained merriment. "For our Doctor
Garlock, the Prime Exponent and First Disciple of Truth, _what_ an act!
_Esthetically_, he'd like to father her a child, it says here in fine
print--Boy, if she only knew! One tiny grain of truth and she'd chase
you from here to Andromeda! Clee, I _swear_ this thing is going to kill
me yet!"

"Anything that would do that I'm very much in favor of!" Garlock growled
the thought and snapped up his shield.

This one was, quite definitely, Belle's round.

* * *

Garlock took the Hodellian equivalent of a bus to the center of the
city, then set out aimlessly to walk. The buildings and their
arrangement, he noted--not much to his surprise now--were not too
different from those of the cities of Earth.

With his guard down to about the sixth level, highly receptive but not
at all selective, he strolled up one street and down another. He was not
attentive to detail yet; he was trying to get the broad aspects, the
"feel" of this hitherto unknown civilization.

The ether was practically saturated with thought. Apparently this was
the afternoon rush hour, as the sidewalks were crowded with people and
the streets were full of cars. It did not seem as though anyone, whether
in the buildings, on the sidewalks, or in the cars, was doing any
blocking at all. If there were any such things as secrets on Hodell,
they were scarce. Each person, man, woman, or child, went about his own
business, radiating full blast. No one paid any attention to the
thoughts of anyone else except in the case of couples or groups, the
units of which were engaged in conversation. It reminded Garlock of a
big Tellurian party when the punch-bowls were running low--everybody
talking at the top of his voice and nobo