e went on, "besides being nervous, is also very bitter. In
retrospect, he says, it's all very plain what you've done here. You
and your associates--a couple of tough boys named Hagready and Boltan,
and others not identified--are also after these Hlats. The Duke made
some mention of that, too, you remember. The commodore and Ryter
bought the story you told them because a transmitter check produced
the information that Hagready and Boltan had, in fact, left their
usual work areas and gone off on some highly secret business about a
month ago.

"Ryter feels that your proposition--to let your gang in on the deal
for twenty per cent, or else--was made in something less than good
faith. He's concluded that when you learned of the operation being
planned by Velladon and the Brotherhood, you and your pals decided to
obstruct them and take the Hlats for delivery to Yaco yourselves,
without cutting anybody in. He figures that someone like Hagready or
Boltan is coming in on the _Camelot_ with a flock of sturdy henchmen
to do just that. You, personally, rushed to the Seventh Star to
interfere as much as you could here. Ryter admits reluctantly that
you did an extremely good job of interfering. He says it's now obvious
that every move you made since you showed up had the one purpose of
setting the Star group and the Brotherhood at each other's throats.
And now that they've practically wiped each other out, you and your
associates can go on happily with your original plans.

"But, of course, you can't do that if Ryter and Orca are picked up
alive by the Federation cops. The boys down in the subspace section
don't matter; they're ordinary gunhands and all they know is that you
were somebody who showed up on the scene. But Ryter could, and
certainly would, talk--"

"Ah, he's too imaginative," Quillan said, taking a swallow of his
drink. "I never heard of the Hlats before I got here. As I told you,
I'm on an entirely different kind of job at the moment. I had to make
up some kind of story to get an in with the boys, that's all."

"So you're not going to knock those two weasels off?"

"No such intentions. I don't mind them sweating about it till the Feds
arrive, but that's it."

"What about Boltan and Hagready?"

"What about them? I did happen to know that if anyone started asking
questions about those two, he'd learn that neither had been near his
regular beat for close to a month."

"I'll bet!" Reetal said cryptically.

"Wha