nd crooks an' fools and murderers who'd pull down civilization
in a minute if they could, just so they could be important because they
did it. But there's no glamour! We're not admired! We just do our job.
And if I sound sentimental, I mean it."

"Yes, sir," said Willis.

"There's a big picture in the big hall in Police Headquarters on Valdez
III," said the sergeant. "It's the story of the cops from the early days
when they wore helmets, and the days when they rode bicycles, and when
they drove ground-cars. There's not only cops, but civilians, in every
one of the panels, Willis. And if you look careful, you'll see that
there's one civilian in every panel that's thumbin' his nose at a cop."

"I've noticed," said Willis.

"Remember it," said Sergeant Madden. "It bears on what we've got to do
to handle these Huks. Soldiers couldn't do what we've got to. They'd
fight, to be admired. We can't. It'd spoil our job. We've got to
persuade 'em to behave themselves."

Then he frowned, as if he were dissatisfied with what he'd said. He
shook his head and made an impatient gesture.

"No good," he said vexedly. "You can't say it. Hm-m-m ... I'll nap a
while until the _Aldeb_ gets here."

He settled back to doze.

Patrolman Willis regarded him with an odd expression. They were aground
on Sirene VIII, on which no human ship had ever landed before them, and
they had stirred up a hornet's nest on Sirene IV, which had orbital
eighty-gee rocket missiles in orbit around it with bust bomb heads and
all the other advantages of civilization. The _Aldeb_ was on the way
with a fifteen-man crew. And seventeen men, altogether, must pit
themselves against an embattled planet with all its population ready and
perhaps eager for war. Their errand was to secure the release of human
prisoners and the surrender of a seized spaceship from a proud and
desperate race.

It did not look promising. Sergeant Madden did not look like the kind of
genius who could carry it through. Dozing, with his chin tilted forward
on his chest, he looked hopelessly commonplace.

* * * * *

The skipper of the _Aldeb_ came over to the squad ship, because Sergeant
Madden loathed spacesuits and there was no air on Sirene VIII. Patrolman
Willis watched as the skipper came wading through the lacy, breast-high
gas-frost. It seemed a pity for such infinitely delicate and beautiful
objects to be broken and crushed.

The sergeant unlocked t