feeling of uncertainty came back, crowding out the
minor matter of his memory of the date. He stared at the richness of
even this poor section of an Earth that huddled here as if afraid of
its own shadows, yet reeked with self-satisfaction. He thought of Meloa
and Throm, and the gallant try at Federation that had been made on the
Outer Worlds. Strength had to lie in union and action; yet all the
evidence seemed to say that it lay in timidity and sloth.

Reluctantly he turned the page away from the news, to seek for the job
sections. From the alley, there came the sound of a police whistle, and
shouts that faded into the distance. It was probably the breaking up of
the teen-age argument. A few people ran by, heading for the excitement,
but Duke had lost all interest. A taxi stopped nearby and he heard a
patter that might have been that of children's feet, but he didn't look
up.

* * * * *

Then a sharper whistle shrilled almost in his ear and he twisted around
to stare at a creature who was gazing at him. Four spindly legs led up
to a globular body encased in a harness-like contraption. Above the
body, two pairs of thin arms were waving about, while a long neck ended
in a bird-like head, topped by two large ears.

The ears suddenly seemed to shimmer in the air, and a surprisingly
human voice sounded. "You're Captain Duke O'Neill!"

Before Duke could answer, a small hand came out quickly to find his and
begin shaking it, while the ears twittered on in excitement. "I'm
honored to meet you, Captain O'Neill. I've been studying your work
against Throm. Amazingly clever strategy! Permit me--I'm Queeth, lately
a prince of Sugfarth. Perhaps you noticed our ship? No, of course not.
You must have landed at the government field. My crew and I are on the
way to the war about to begin between Kloomiria and Cathay."

"Why tell me about it?" Duke asked roughly. Sugfarth--the ship he'd
seen diagrammed had come from there. If one of those titans was to be
used against Cathay, Earth's colony was doomed. And the impertinent
little monster--!

The creature tried to imitate a shrug with his upper set of arms. "Why
not, captain? We're registered here as a recruiting ship for Cathay, so
it's no secret. We thought we might as well carry along some of the men
going out to help, since we had to pass near Earth anyhow. And I
dropped by here in the hope that there might be a few who had failed to
join