pe. "The Nipe race must, of necessity, have had some similar
ritualistic tests or they would not have become what they are," he said
when he had puffed the pipe alight. "And we have already agreed that
once the Nipes adopted something of that kind, it remained with them.
Not so? Yes.

"Also, it can be considered extremely unlikely that the Nipe
civilization--if such it can be called--has any geriatric problem. No,
indeed. No old-age pensions, no old folks' homes, no senility. No, nor
any specialists in geriatrics, either. When a Nipe becomes a burden
because of age, he is ritually murdered and eaten with all due
solemnity."

Yoritomo pointed his pipestem at Stanton. "Ah. You frown, my friend.
Have I made them sound heartless, without the finer feelings of which we
humans are so proud? Not so. When Junior Nipe fails his puberty tests,
when Mama and Papa Nipe are sent to their final reward, I have no doubt
that there is sadness in the hearts of their loved ones as the honored
T-bones are passed around the table."

He put the pipe back in his mouth and spoke around it. "My own
ancestors, not too far back, performed a ritual suicide by disemboweling
themselves with a long, sharp knife. Across the abdomen--_so!_--and up
into the heart--_so!_ It was considered very bad form to faint or die
before the job was done. Nearby, a relative or a close friend stood with
a sharp sword, to administer the _coup de grace_ by decapitation. It was
all very sad and very honorable. Their loved ones bore the sorrow with
great pride."

His voice, which had been low and tender, suddenly became very brisk.
"Thank goodness it has gone out of fashion!"

"But how can you be _sure_ they're cannibals?" Stanton asked. "Your
argument sounds logical enough, but you can't be basing your theory on
that alone."

"True! True!" Yoritomo jabbed the air twice with a rapid forefinger.
"Evidence for such a theory would be most welcome, would it not? Very
well, I give you the evidence. He eats human beings, our Nipe."

"That doesn't make him a cannibal," Stanton objected.

"Not _strictly_, perhaps. But consider. The Nipe is not a monster. He is
not a criminal. No. He is a gentleman. He always behaves as a gentleman.
He is shipwrecked on an alien planet. Around him, he sees evidence in
profusion that ours is a technological society. But that is a
contradiction! A paradox!

"For _we_ are not civilized! No! We are not rational! We are not sane!
We do not