iest, slimiest ... _thing_ ... George Hanlon had ever
encountered, and again his heart quailed for the moment. "If I was on my
own," he shuddered inwardly, "I'd sure never team up with a guy like
that!"

For there was no single iota of mercy or compassion in that ice-cold
mind behind that gentle face--of that Hanlon was sure.

There was a long, pregnant moment of silence, while the five men studied
Hanlon more carefully. Finally the man behind the desk spoke more
slowly. "Perhaps--just perhaps, you understand, and nothing definite as
yet--we may have a little job for you before long. On another planet.
You have no objections to travel?"

"Not if there's a bundle of the stuff at the end of the trip, no,"
Hanlon grinned avariciously. But his mind was seeking answers. Why did
they want to send him away? Was this a bona-fide job, or a trap? Should
he go to some other planet? Would he thus get best leads? Perhaps--if it
wasn't for too long a time, of course.

The leader smiled suddenly while Hanlon was thus thinking, and the rest
grinned as though they had been waiting for his lead to relax their
vigilance. "There will be a very large ... uh ... bundle." He paused a
moment, then continued "We need more overseers on ... a certain planet.
It is one that is rich in various metals. The natives mine it under our
direction, and ..."

Hanlon interrupted. "I don't know a thing about mining. Will that make a
difference?" Here, he thought swiftly, was the test. If they still
wanted him--and had a reasonable answer--it might well be a bona-fide
job.

"None at all," the leader smiled again. "We have mining engineers in
charge. Your job would be merely to keep the natives working at top
speed. It is ... uh ... unfortunate, that they are high enough in the
cultural scale so we cannot, under the Snyder dictum, colonize their
planet and work it ourselves. But we will chan ..." he broke off as
though realizing he was saying too much, and Hanlon stiffened inwardly.

This was a real clue. What planet was the man talking about? His most
penetrant mind-probing could not get the answer from any of the minds
there--to the others it was merely "a planet," nothing more. And this
ape, with his perfect mental control, let nothing leak.

But the leader had caught himself and gone on almost as though there had
been no break, "... chance using you, I think. If so, your salary will
be a thousand credits a month, plus all expenses. And a nice bonu