ey are not sincere nor honest
fundamentally. Their leaders are for the most part Malites, or Oroids
with Malite blood. And they are fooling the people. Their followers are
all the more unintelligent, more gullible individuals, or those in whom
there lies a latent criminal streak.

"The thing doesn't work. Sexual license is growing in Orlog. Crimes
against women are becoming more and more frequent. Offences committed by
those prominent, or in authority, go unpunished. Women's testimony is
discredited, often by concerted lying on the part of men witnesses.

"Many families are leaving Orlog--leaving their land and their homes
deserted. In other cities where the Targos threaten to gain control the
same thing is happening. Most of these refugees come to Arite. We cannot
take care of them; there is not enough land here."

"Why not take your army and clean them up?" suggested the Very Young
Man.

They were seated around a little table, at which Lylda was serving
lunch. At the question she stopped in the act of pouring a steaming
liquid from a little metal kettle into their dainty golden drinking cups
and looked at the Very Young Man gravely.

"Very easy it would be to do that perhaps," she said quietly. "But these
Targos, except a few--they are our own people. And they too are armed.
We cannot fight them; we cannot kill them--our own people."

"We may have to," said the Chemist. "But you see, I did not realize, I
could not believe the extent to which this Targo could sway the people.
Nor did I at first realize what evils would result if his ideas were
carried out. He has many followers right here in Arite. You saw that
this morning."

"How did you catch him?" interrupted the Very Young Man.

"Yesterday he came to Arite," said Lylda. "He came to speak. With him
came fifty others. With them too came his wife to speak here, to our
women. He thought we would do nothing; he defied us. There was a
fight--this morning--and many were killed. And we brought him to the
court--you saw."

"It is a serious situation," said the Doctor. "I had no idea----"

"We can handle it--we must handle it," said the Chemist. "But as Lylda
says, we cannot kill our own people--only as a last desperate measure."

"Suppose you wait too long," suggested the Big Business Man. "You say
these Targos are gaining strength every day. You might have a very bad
civil war."

"That was the problem," answered the Chemist.

"But now you come," said Lylda