Company and its stockholders, if
he hasn't; put it in those terms and he may understand you."

"Yes, I'll try that out on Meyerstein, too. He's in a hell of a state
about the losses the Banking Cartel are taking on this deal.... Well,
I'll call you when there's anything new."

By 0330, it was daylight; the attacks against the northwest corner of
the perimeter stopped entirely. Wallingsby had the three-hundred-odd
Skilkan laborers at work; he had gathered up all the tarpaulin he could
find, and had the two sewing-machines in the tentmaker's shop running on
sandbags. Jules Keaveney, to von Schlichten's agreeable surprise, had
taken hold of his ARP assignment, and was doing an efficient job in
organizing for fire-fighting, damage-control and first aid. Colonel
Jarman had his airjeeps and combat-cars working in ever-widening circles
over the countryside, shooting up everything in sight that even looked
like contragravity equipment. Some of these patrols had to be recalled,
around 1030, when sporadic nuisance-sniping began from the side of the
mountain to the west. And, along with everything else, Paula Quinton
managed, along with her other work, to get a complete digest prepared of
the situation elsewhere in the Terran-occupied parts of the planet.

The situation at Konkrook was brightening steadily. The second wave of
Kankad's improvised airlift, reenforced by contragravity from
Konkrook, had come in; there were now close to two thousand fresh
Kragans on Gongonk Island and the mainland farms, Kankad himself with
them. The _Aldebaran_ had reached Kankad's Town, and was loading
another thousand Kragans.... There was nothing more from Keegark. A
message from Colonel MacKinnon had come in at dawn, to the effect that
the geeks had penetrated his last defenses and that he was about to
blow up the Residency; thereafter Keegark went off the air.... By
0730, the _Northern Star_ had landed the regiment Murderers, armed
with first-quality Terran infantry-rifles and a few machine-guns and
bazookas, at the Palace at Krink, and by 0845 she had returned with
another regiment, the Jeel-Feeders. The three-street lane connecting
the Palace and the Residency had been widened to six, and then to
eight.... Guido Karamessinis, at Grank, was still at uneasy peace with
King Yoorkerk, who was still undecided whether the rebels or the
Company were going to be the eventual victors, and afraid to take any
irrevocable step in either direction.... E