s every
so often, depending on how little trouble you have with your crew, and
how much ore they take out."

Hanlon showed that gleam of avarice again. "Sounds very interesting."
Then he leaned forward. "One, more thing. How long does the job last?"

"For several years, if you want it, and if we continue to be satisfied
with you. But we bring the men back every few months for a vacation. We
find that best with most of them--the climate there is not too pleasant,
and the conditions are confining."

"Nothing to do but work, eh?"

"Just about that. The shifts are about eight hours of our time, and
between them you eat, sleep, read or play cards ... but you do not
explore or anything like that! The ship goes there every three weeks,
and we usually figure eighteen weeks there, then the three weeks back
here. The guards and others rotate that way. They have a tendency
to ... uh ... deteriorate if we don't."

Hanlon let himself shiver, but grinned as he did so. "Now that's one
thing I don't want to do--go nuts. Can't make any credits doing that."

The leader raised his hand. "You understand, of course, there will be a
short period of ... uh ... checking and testing before we decide to send
you out on a job."

Hanlon's voice was almost servile, yet confident. "Sure, sir. You name
it; I do it."

He was still probing with everything he had, but still getting nothing
important. A couple of the men seemed to be chuckling about what might
happen to him if he failed the tests--but he had guessed that much,
anyway.

Suddenly the leader leaned across the desk, and his genteel manner
slipped from him like a discarded mask. His eyes became glacial ice.

"Don't get any grandiose ideas in your head, Hanlon. We are not fools.
Nor are we offering you a chance to get in on our complete plans. I am
just, possibly, hiring you to do a simple job."

"Oh, no, sir, I wasn't even thinking of such a thing," Hanlon
looked hurt. "Why, I'm just a kid. I know I couldn't expect anything
else ... at first. Not until I've proved myself to you, or until I've
made my pile and got in a position of power. Then, naturally, I'd want
to get into something where I could really go places. But that's for
years and years ahead, I know that."

The now-hard, cold eyes scrutinized him carefully, but still doubtfully.
When the leader spoke his voice was more cordial, though still harder,
not soft as it had been at first.

"I'll be frank, Hanlon. We're not