Transcriber's Note:

 This etext was produced from Analog Science Fact & Fiction December 1961. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U. S. Copyright on this publication was renewed. 

 the helpful hand of

 god

 . .. Can be very helpful indeed. But of course, it's long been known that God helps those who wisely help themselves. .. . 

 BY TOM GODWIN

 ILLUSTRATED BY BARBERIS

 * * * * *

(From "Vogarian Revised Encyclopedia":

_SAINTS: Golden Saints, properly, Yellow Saints, a term of contemptapplied by the Vogarian State Press to members of the Church Of TheGolden Rule because of their opposition to the war then being plannedagainst Alkoria. See CHURCHES. _

_CHURCH, GOLDEN RULE, OF THE: A group of reactionary fanatics whoresisted State control and advocated social chaos through "IndividualFreedom. " They were liquidated in the Unity Purge but for two-thousandof the more able-bodied, who were sentenced to the moon mines of BelenNine. The prison ship never arrived there and it is assumed that thecondemned Saints somehow overpowered the guards and escaped to someremote section of the galaxy. )_

Kane had observed Commander Y'Nor's bird-of-prey profile with detachedinterest as Y'Nor jerked his head around to glare again at thechronometer on the farther wall of the cruiser's command room. 

"What's keeping Dalon?" Y'Nor demanded, transferring his glare toKane. "Did you assure him that I have all day to waste?"

"He should be here any minute, sir, " Kane answered. 

"I didn't find the Saints, after others had failed for sixty years, tothen sit and wait. The situation on Vogar was already very criticalwhen we left. " Y'Nor scowled at the chronometer again. "Every hour wewaste waiting here will delay our return to Vogar by an hour--Ipresume you realize that?

"It does sound like a logical theory, " Kane agreed. 

Y'Nor's face darkened dangerously. "You will--"

Quick, hard-heeled footsteps sounded in the corridor outside. Theguard officer, Dalon, stepped through the doorway and saluted; hiseyes like ice under his pale brows and his uniform seeming to bristlewith weapons. 

"The native is here, sir, " he said to Y'Nor. 

He turned, and made a commanding gesture. The leader of the Saintsappeared; the man whose resistance Y'Nor would have to break. 

A frail, white-bearded old man, scuffed uncertainly into the room instraw sandals, his faded blue eyes peering nearsightedly toward Y'Nor. 

"Go to the commander's desk, " Dalon ordered in his metallic tones. 

The old man obeyed and stopped before Y'Nor's desk, his hands claspedtogether as though to hide their trembling. 

"You are Brenn, " Y'Nor said, "and you hold, I believe, the impressivetitles of Chief Executive of the Council Of Provinces and SupremeElder of the Churches Of The Golden Rule?"

"Yes, sir. " There was a faint quaver in old Brenn's voice. "I welcomeyou to our world, sir, and offer you our friendship. "

"I understand you can produce Elusium X fuel?"

"Yes, sir. Our Dr. Larue told me the process is within our ability. We--" He hesitated. "We know you haven't enough fuel to return toVogar. "

Y'Nor stiffened in his chair. "What makes you think that?"

"It requires a great deal of fuel to get through the Whirlpool starcluster--and even sixty years ago, the Elusium ores of Vogar werealmost exhausted. "

Y'Nor smiled thinly. "That reminds me--you would be one of the Saintswho murdered their guards and stole a ship to get here. "

"We killed no guards, sir. In fact, all of them eventually joined ourchurch. "

"Where is the ship?"

"We had to cut it up for our start in mechanization. "

"I presume you know you will pay for it?"

"It was taking us to our deaths in the radium mines--but we will paywhatever you ask. "

"The first installment will be one thousand units of fuel, to beproduced with the greatest speed possible. "

"Yes, sir. But in return"--the old man stood a little straighter andan underlying resolve was suddenly revealed--"you must recognize us asa free race. "

"Free? A colony founded by escaped criminals?"

"That is not true! We committed no crime, harmed no living thing. .. . "

The hard, cold words of Y'Nor cut off his protest:

"This world it now a Vogarian possession. Every man, woman, and childupon it is a prisoner of the Vogarian State. There will be noresistance. This cruiser's disintegrators can destroy a town withinseconds, your race within hours. Do you understand what I mean?"

The visible portion of old Brenn's face turned pale. He spoke at lastin the bitter tones of frightened, stubborn determination:

"I offered you our friendship; I hoped you would accept, for we are apeaceful race. I should have known that you came only to persecute andenslave us. But the hand of God will reach down to help us and--"

Y'Nor laughed, a raucous sound like the harsh caw of the Vogarianvulture, and held up a hairy fist. 

"This, old man, is the hand for you to center your prayers around. Iwant full-scale fuel production commenced within twenty-four hours. Ifthis is done, and if you continue to unquestioningly obey all mycommands, I will for that long defer your punishment as an escapedcriminal. If this is not done, I will destroy a town exactlytwenty-five hours from now--and as many more as may be necessary. Andyou will be publicly executed as a condemned criminal and an enemy ofthe Vogarian State. "

Y'Nor turned to Dalon. "Take him away. "

 * * * * *

"Scared sheep, " Y'Nor said when Brenn was gone. "Tomorrow he'll saythat he prayed and his god told him what to do--which will be to savehis neck by doing as I command. "

"I don't know--" Kane said doubtfully. "I think you're wrong about hisconscience folding so easily. "

"_You_ think?" Y'Nor asked. "Perhaps I should remind you that theability to think is usually characteristic of commanders rather thansub-ensigns. You will not be asked to try to think beyond the smallextent required to comprehend simple commands. "

Kane sighed with weary resignation. An unexpected encounter with anAlkorian battleship had sent the Vogarian cruiser fleeing through theunexplored Whirlpool star cluster--Y'Nor and Kane the two survivingcommissioned officers--with results of negative value to those mostaffected: the world of the Saint had been accidentally discovered andhe, Kane, had risen from sub-ensign to the shakily temporary positionof second-in-command. 

Y'Nor spoke again:

"Since Vogarian commanders do not go out and mingle with the nativesof a subject world, you will act as my representative. I'll let Brennsweat until tomorrow, then you will go see him. In that, and in allsubsequent contacts with the natives, you will keep in mind the factthat I shall hold you personally responsible for any failure of myprogram. "

 * * * * *

The next afternoon, two hours before the deadline, Kane went out intothe sweet spring air of the world the Saints had named Sanctuary. 

It was a virgin world, rich in the resources needed by Vogar, withtwenty thousand Saints as the primary labor supply. It was also, hethought, a green and beautiful world; almost a familiar world. Thecruiser stood at the upper edge of the town and in the late afternoonsun the little white and brown houses were touched with gold, halfhidden in the deep azure shadows of the tall trees and flowering vinesthat bordered the gently curving streets. 

Restlessness stirred within him as he looked at them. It was likegoing back in time to the Lost Islands, that isolated little region ofVogar that had eluded collectivization until the year he was sixteen. It had been at the same time of year, in the spring, that the StateUnity forces had landed. The Lost Island villages had been drowsing inthe sun that afternoon, as this town was drowsing now--

He forced the memories from his mind, and the futile restlessness theybrought, and went on past a golden-spired church to a small cottagethat was almost hidden in a garden of flowers and giant silver ferns. 

Brenn met him at the door, his manner very courteous, his eyesdark-shadowed with weariness as though he had not slept for manyhours, and invited him inside. 

When they were seated in the simply-furnished room, Brenn said, "Youcame for my decision, sir?"

"The commander sent me for it. "

Brenn folded his thin hands, which seemed to have the tremblingsometimes characteristic of the aged. 

"Yesterday evening when I came from the ship, I prayed for guidanceand I saw that I could only abide by the Golden Rule: _Do unto othersas you would have them do unto you. _"

"Which means, " Kane asked, "that you will do what?"

"Should we of the Church be stranded upon an alien world, our fuelsupply almost gone, we would ask for help. By our own Golden Rule wecan do no less than give it. "

"Eighteen hours ago I issued the order for full-scale, all-out fuelproduction. I've been up all night and day checking the operation. "

Kane stared, surprised that Y'Nor should have so correctly predictedBrenn's reaction. He tried to see some change in the old man, someevidence of the personal fear that must have broken him so quickly, but there was only weariness, and a gentleness. 

"So much fuel--" Brenn said. "Is Vogar still at war with Alkoria?"

Kane nodded. 

"Once I saw some Alkorian prisoners of war on Vogar, " Brenn said. "They are a peaceful, doglike race. They never wanted to go to warwith Vogar. "

Well--they still didn't want war but on Alkoria were Elusium ores andother resources that the Vogarian State had to have before it couldcarry out its long-frustrated ambition of galactic conquest. 

"I'll go, now, " Kane said, getting out of his chair, "and see whatyou're having done. The commander doesn't take anybody's word foranything. "

 * * * * *

Brenn called a turbo-car and driver to take him to the multi-purposefactory, which was located a short distance beyond the other side oftown. The driver stopped before the factory's main office, where aplump, bald man was waiting, his scalp and glasses gleaming in thesunshine. 

"I'm Dr Larue, sir, " he greeted Kane. He had a face that under normalcircumstance would have been genial. "Father Brenn said you werecoming. I'm at your service, to show you what we're doing. "

They went inside the factory, where the rush of activity was like abeehive. Machines and installations not needed for fuel productionwere being torn out as quickly as possible, others taking their place. The workers--he craned his neck to verify his astonishedfirst-impression. 

All of them were women. 

"Father Brenn's suggestion, " Larue said. "These girls are as competentas men for this kind of work and their use here permits the release ofmen to the outer provinces to procure the raw materials. As you know, our population is small and widely scattered--"

A crash sounded as a huge object nearby toppled and fell. Kane took aninstinctive backward step, and bumped into something soft. 

"Oh . .. Excuse me, sir!"

He turned, and had a confused vision of an apologetic smile in apretty young face, of red curls knocked into disarray--and ofamazingly short shorts and a tantalizingly wispy halter. 

She recovered the notebook she had dropped and hurried on, leaving afaint cloud of perfume in her wake and a disturbing memory of curving, golden tan legs and a flat little stomach that had been exposed bothnorth and south to the extreme limits of modesty. 

"A personnel supervisor from Beachville, " Larue said. "She wassunbathing when the plane arrived to pick her up and had no time toobtain other clothing. Father Brenn firmly insisted upon losing notone minute of time during this emergency. "

A crane rumbled into view and its grapples seized the huge object thathad fallen. 

"Our central air-conditioning unit, " Larue said. "It had to go. "

"You're putting something else in its place, of course?"

"Oh yes. We must have more space but Father Brenn opposed the plan ofbuilding an annex as too dangerously time consuming. The onlyalternative is to tear out everything not absolutely essential. "

Kane left shortly afterward, satisfied that the Saints were doing asBrenn had said. 

 * * * * *

He went back out in the spring sunshine where the turbo-car was stillwaiting for him, debated briefly with himself, and dismissed thedriver. After so many weeks in the prison-like ship, it would bepleasant to walk again. 

[Illustration]

A grassy, tree-covered ridge ran like the swell of a green seabetween the plant and the town. He stopped on top of it, where thetown was almost hidden from view, and looked out across the widevalley. Shadows moved lazily across it as cotton-puff clouds drifteddown the blue dome of the sky, great white birds like swans weresoaring overhead, calling to one another in voices like the singing ofviolins, bringing again the memories of the Lost Islands--

"And the Vogarian lord gazed upon his world and found it good!"

He swung around, his hand dropping to his holstered blaster, andlooked into the green, mocking eyes of a tawny-haired girl. She wasbeautiful, in the savage way that the hill leopards of Vogar werebeautiful, and her hand was on a pistol in her belt. 

Her eyes flickered from his blaster up to his face, bright withchallenge. 

"Want to try it?" she asked. 

She wore a short skirt of some rough material and her knees weredusty, as though she had walked for a long way. These things henoticed only absently, his eyes going back to the bold, beautifulface. For twenty years he had been accustomed to the women of Vogar;colorless in their Party uniforms and men's haircuts, made even moredrab by the masculine mannerisms they affected. Not since the springthe Lost Islands died had he seen a girl like the one before him. 

"Well?" she asked. "Do you think you'll know me next time?"

He walked to her, while she watched him with catlike wariness. 

"Hand me that pistol, " he ordered. 

"Try to take it, you Vogarian ape!"

He moved, and a moment later she was sitting on the ground, her eyeswide with dismayed surprise as he shoved the pistol in his own belt. 

"Resisting a Vogarian with a deadly weapon calls for the deathpenalty, " he said. "I suppose you know what I can do?"

She got up, defiance like a blaze about her. 

"I'll tell you what you can do--you can go to hell!"

The thought came to him that there might be considerable pleasure inlaying her over his knee and raising some blisters where they would doher the most good. He regretfully dismissed the idea as tooundignified for even a sub-ensign and asked:

"Who are you, and what are you doing here with that pistol?"

She hesitated, then answered with insolent coolness:

"My name is Barbara Loring. I heard that you Vogarians had demandedthat we agree to surrender. I came down from the hills to disagree. "

"Is a resistance force meeting here?"

"Do you think you could make me tell you?"

"There are ways--but I'm not here to use them. I am not your enemy. "

A little of the hostility faded from her face and she asked, "But howcould a Vogarian ever not be our enemy?"

He could find no satisfactory answer to the question. 

"I can tell you this, " she said. "I know of no resistanceorganization. I can also tell you that we're not the race of cowardsyou think and we'll fight the instant Father Brenn gives the word. "

"For one who speaks respectfully of Brenn, " he said, "your recentwords and actions weren't very religious and refined. "

Fire flashed in the green eyes again. "Up in the Azure Mountains, where I come from, we're not very refined and we like being that way!"

"And why do you carry guns?" he asked. 

"Because all along our frontier lines are rhino-stags, cliff bears, thunder hawks, and a lot of other overgrown carnivora that don't likeus--that's why. "

"I see. " He took the pistol from his belt and held it out to her. "Goback to your mountains, where you belong, before you do something toget yourself executed. "

 * * * * *

Y'Nor, waiting impatiently in the ship, was grimly pleased by the newsof Brenn's change of attitude. 

"Exactly as I predicted, as you no doubt recall. How long until theycan have a thousand units of fuel produced?"

"Larue estimated fourteen days at best. "

Y'Nor tapped his thick fingers on his desk, scowling thoughtfully. "Aslittle as seven extra days might force Vogar to accept the Alkorianpeace terms because of lack of fuel--the natives can work twice ashard as they expected to. Tell old Brenn they will be given exactlyseven days from sunrise tomorrow. 

"And summon Dalon and Graver. I want them to make use of every man onthe ship for a twenty-four hour guard-and-inspection system in theplant. The natives will get no opportunities for stalling orsabotage. "

 * * * * *

Brenn was writing at his book-laden table when Kane went into hiscottage the next morning. 

"These are called edicts, " Brenn said, after greeting him, "but Ipossess no law-making powers and they are really only suggestions. "

Brenn shoved the paper to one side. The script was somewhat differentfrom that of Vogar. 

_The Vogarian inspection and guard system is no more than an expectedprecaution against sabotage. The Vogarians must be regarded aspotential friends who now treat us with suspicion and arrogance onlybecause they do not yet realize the sincerity of our desire to helpthem to any extent short of surrender--_

Kane looked up from the uncompleted, surprisingly humble, edict andBrenn asked:

"Your commander, sir--he is now pleased with our actions?"

"Not exactly. He will disintegrate a town seven days from sunrise thismorning if all the fuel isn't produced by then. "

"_Seven_--only _seven_ days?" There was startled disbelief on Brenn'sface. "But how can he expect us to produce so much fuel in so short atime?"

"I don't know. I'm sorry--it's something I would have argued againstif I hadn't had too much sense to try. "

"Seven days--" Brenn said again. "We can only pray that God will letit be time enough. "

 * * * * *

Kane walked on to the plant. The hilltop where he had met the girl wasdeserted and he felt a vague disappointment. 

The plant was hot without the air-conditioner, especially in thevicinity of the electronic roasters. The girls looked flushed anduncomfortable, but for the redhead who still wore her scanty sunsuit. The armed Vogarians looked incongruously out of place among the girlsand were sweating profusely. Kane made a mental note to have themordered into tropical uniforms. 

He found Dalon prowling like a wolf among his guards. 

"It's inconceivable that these women could ever be a menace, " Dalonsaid, "but I'm taking no chances. "

He saw Graver, the cruiser's Chief Technician; a thin, dry man whoseemed to be as emotionless as the machines and electronic circuitsthat were his life. 

"They're doing everything with astonishing competence, " Graver said. "My technicians are watching like hawks, though. "

Larue was not in his office. His secretary, a brown-eyed woman ofstrikingly intelligent appearance, said, "I'm sorry, sir--Dr. Laruehad to go back to town for a few minutes. May I give him yourmessage?"

"No, thanks, " he said. "Father Brenn is probably performing thatunpleasant chore right now. "

 * * * * *

Since Dalon and Graver seemed to have the situation at the plant wellin hand, Kane decided to make a tour of the outer provinces where theores were being mined. An efficient plant would be worthless if it didnot receive sufficient ore. 

He spent four days on the inspection tour; much longer than he hadexpected to be gone but made necessary by the fact that the smallElusium mines were widely scattered in rugged, roadless areas and hehad to walk most of the distance. The single helicopter on Sanctuarywas being used to fly the ore out but it was operating on a schedulethat caused him to miss it each time. 

Each mine was being worked by full day-and-night crews; in fact, bymore men than necessary. The reason for that, and for the way the mensilently withheld their hostility, was made apparent in a bit ofconversation between two miners that he overheard one day:

_". .. So why all of us here when not this many are needed?"_

_"They say Father Brenn wanted to get all the men out of town, awayfrom the cruiser, so there would be no trouble--and you know therewould have been if we had stayed. He wants to get the cruiser on itsway back to Vogar, they say, so we can get busy producing weapons tofight the Occupation force. .. . "_

He returned on the fifth evening of the allotted seven days andstopped by Brenn's cottage before going on to the ship. The old manwas working in his garden, his trembling hands trying to tie up ared-flowered vine. 

Kane tied it for him and he said, "Thank you, sir. Did you find themining to be as I had said?"

"I found more than that. You know, don't you, that Y'Nor will returnwith the Occupation force a hundred days after leaving here?"

"Yes--I know that that is his intention. "

"I understand that you're going to try to build weapons while he'sgone. Don't, if you think anything of your people, let them do it. Nothing you could build in a hundred days would last a minute againsta cruiser's disintegrators. "

"I know, " Brenn said. "We are supposed to choose between bloody, hopeless resistance and eternal slavery, aren't we? But why shouldeither fate befall a peaceful race?"

Kane asked the logical question: "Why shouldn't it?"

"The laws of God have always been laws of justice and mercy. Not eventhe Vogarian State can change them. "

He thought of the way the State had changed the Lost Islands in onebloody, violent afternoon. Brenn, watching his face, said:

"You are skeptical and bitter, my son--but you will learn that aharmless old man can speak with wisdom. "

"No, " he said. "There is neither justice nor mercy in the universe. Iknow from experience. A man can only choose between the lesser of twoevils--and almost anything is less evil than Y'Nor when he's mad. "

 * * * * *

He went to the plant the next morning. Inside, wherever he looked, hesaw girls in shorts and halters. The place seemed to be alive withpartially clad women. He went to the nearest bulletin board and readBrenn's edict of four days before:

_Since the excessively warm temperature of the plant causes muchdiscomfort and thereby impairs the efficiency of all workers, andsince maximum efficiency will be required to produce the fuel in theextremely short time permitted us, it is suggested that the coolsunsuits of the Beachville girls become the standard work uniformuntil further notice. These may be obtained for the asking inDepartment 5-A. _

The next day's edict read:

_Some have hesitated to follow yesterday's edict through a sense ofmodesty. This is most commendable. However, the situation is verycritical, our lives depend upon the highest degree of efficiency wecan attain, and a hot, miserable worker is not efficient. Your bodiesare God's handwork--do not be ashamed of them. _

The edict for the next day read simply, warningly:

_THOU SHALT NOT COMMIT ADULTERY. _

 * * * * *

The Vogarian guards and inspectors, now in tropical uniforms, stilllooked out of place with their holstered weapons but their formercold arrogance was gone and the attitude of the girls had changed frompolite reserve to laughing, chattering friendliness. 

He found Dalon in a far corner; cornered, literally, by the red-hairedpersonnel supervisor who was spitting like a cat as she said:

". .. Then tell your commander how one of your men tried to make one ofmy girls and got hit with a wrench for it! Ask him whether he wants usto produce fuel or make love! Go ahead--ask him! Or let me--_I'll_ askhim!"

"You'll have to see to it that your girls don't lead my men on. " Dalonran his finger around his collar, worry on his face. "Florence, areyou trying to get me ruined?"

"Then inform your men that there is a certain commandment we allbelieve in and anything beyond our willingness to be friends calls formarriage first. "

"_Marriage?_" Dalon spluttered the word, recovered his poise with aneffort, and said stiffly, "My men are soldiers, not suitors. I wantthem respected as such. "

He strode away without seeing Kane. The girl stared after him, fuming, and Kane went in search of Graver. 

Graver and the brown-eyed secretary were in Larue's office, theirheads together over a flow sheet of some kind. The secretary excusedherself and when she was gone, Kane asked:

"Where's Larue?"

"Checking the catalytic processors, I think, sir. " Graver answered, almost vaguely. "Mar . .. His secretary was just showing me how theyimprovised so much of their equipment so quickly. " There was a strangelight in Graver's usually expressionless eyes. "It's incredible!"

"Well--the commander gave them no time to waste, you know. "

"Sir? Oh . .. I was referring to her intelligence, sir. It's amazingthat a woman should have such a thorough knowledge of such a complexprocess. "

Kane felt the birth pains of the first dark premonition. 

"If you don't want a thorough knowledge of the interior of Stateprison, " he said in grim warning, "you'd better get that silly lookoff your face and concentrate on your duties. Tell Dalon the sameorder applies to him. And tell Larue that the commander reminds himthey now have less than forty hours to finish the job. "

 * * * * *

He decided, again, to walk back to the ship. There was now a multitudeof paths through the grass were girls had been walking to and fromwork. Two groups from the last shift-change were a short distanceahead of him, several of Dalon's guards and Graver's technicians amongthem, all of them talking and laughing. 

In that area they could not be spied upon by Y'Nor with the ship'sview-screen scanners and even as he watched, a tall, dark young guardput his arm around the girl walking close beside him. She twisted awayfrom him and ran on to the next group, there to look back with ateasing toss of her head. 

Kane watched both groups disappear over the hill, then followed, muttering thoughtfully. He felt he could safely assume--if anythingcould be said to be safe about the situation--that the lack ofdiscipline he had just witnessed was typical of all the men. They wereall young and healthy and for sixteen hours out of each day they wereside by side with the almost nude, provocatively feminine, Sanctuarygirls. 

Their weakness was understandable. It was also very dangerous. Headswould roll if Y'Nor ever learned what was going on and it required nopsychic ability to guess whose head would roll the fastest andfarthest. 

He would have to have it stopped, at once. 

He took a short cut to Brenn's cottage, by a sleepy, shady street hehad never been down before. Halfway along it was an open-air eatingplace of some kind, with tables placed about under the trees. Thereseemed to be no customers at the moment but he stopped, anyway, totake a closer look for errant guards. 

A tawny head lifted at a table half hidden by a nearby tree and helooked into the surprised face of the mountain girl, Barbara. 

"Well!" she said. "Come on over and let me offer you a glass ofcyanide. "

He walked over to her table. She was wearing a blouse and skirtsimilar to that of the day he had met her but the pistol was gone. 

"I thought I told you to go back to your hills, " he said. 

"I decided it would be more fun to work in the plant and sabotagethings. "

"Let Y'Nor learn you said that and you'll be in a fix I can't help youout of. "

"Should a Vogarian care?" But the jeering was gone as she said, "Whenyou gave my pistol back to me--I thought it was a trick of some kind. "

"I told you I wasn't your enemy. "

"I know . .. But it's hard for a Saint to believe any Vogarian couldever be anything else. "

"It doesn't seem to be very hard for the girls in the plant, " heobserved glumly. 

"Oh . .. That's different. " She made a gesture of light dismissal. "Those soldiers and technicians are good boys at heart--they haven'tbeen brain-washed like you officers. "

"That's interesting to know, I'm sure. I suppose--"

He stopped as a gray-haired woman came and set down a tray containinga sandwich and a mug. From the foamy top of the mug came theunmistakable aroma of beer. 

"Do you Saints _drink_?" he asked incredulously. 

"Sure. Why?"

"But your church--"

"Earth churches used to ban alcohol as sinful because it would cause amean person to show his true character. My church is more sensibleand works to change the person's character, instead. "

[Illustration]

She took a bite of the sandwich. "Cliff bear steak--it and beer goperfectly together. Shall I order you some?"

"No, " he said, thinking of Y'Nor's fury if Y'Nor should learn he hadhad a friendly lunch with a native girl. "About your church--what kindof a church is it, anyway?"

"What its name implies. Heaven isn't for sale at the pulpit--everybodyhas to qualify for it by his own actions. We have to practice ourbelief--just looking pious and saying that we believe doesn't count. "

He revised his opinion of the Saints, then asked, "But were youpracticing your Golden Rule when you came to this town with a gun toshoot Vogarians?"

"For Vogarians we have a special Golden Rule that reads: _Do untoVogarians as they have come to do unto you. _ And you came here toenslave or kill us--remember?"

It could not be denied. When he did not answer she smiled at him; asmile surprisingly gentle and understanding. 

"You honestly would like to be our friend, wouldn't you? The Statepsychiatrists didn't do a good job of brainwashing you, after all. "

It was the first time since he was sixteen that anyone had spoken tohim with genuine kindness. It gave him a strange feeling, a lonelysense of something rising up out of the past to mock him, and hechanged the subject:

"Are the Azure Mountains the edge of your frontier?"

She nodded. "Beyond is the Emerald Plain, a great, wide plain, andbeyond it are mountain ranges that have never been named or explored. I'm going into them some day and--"

 * * * * *

Time passed with astonishing speed as he talked with the girl and itwas late in the afternoon when he continued on to Brenn's cottage. Heput the thoughts of her from his mind and told Brenn of the too-warmassociation between the girls and the Vogarians. 

"But it is only friendship, " Brenn said soothingly. "You can assureyour commander that nothing immoral is being done. "

"If he knew what was going on, it would be my neck. It has to bestopped. Write an edict--do anything that will stop it at once. "

Brenn stroked his white beard thoughtfully. "I'm sorry this unforeseensituation has occurred, sir. Will you have strict orders to the sameeffect given your men?"

"There's a severe penalty for unauthorized fraternization. I'll seethat they're well reminded of it. "

"I'll write another edict, at once, forbidding the girls to speak toyour men, sir. "

 * * * * *

Y'Nor was pacing the floor when Kane went to the ship, his face blackand ugly with anger. 

"Have you been blind?" he demanded. 

Kane tried to swallow a sinking feeling, wondering just how much Y'Norhad seen, and said, "Sir?"

"My guards--my so-called guards--how long have they been strollingback from the plant in company with the native women?"

"Oh, " he said, feeling a great relief that Y'Nor had not seen the truesituation, "it's only that some of the out-going shifts coincide, sir, and--"

"You know, don't you, that military men march to and from duty inmilitary formation?"

"Yes, sir. "

"You are aware of the importance of discipline?"

"Yes, sir. "

"You are further aware of the fact that you, Dalon, and Graver, willbe guilty of treason if this lack of discipline imperils my plans inany way?"

"Yes, sir. "

"You have heard of the punishment for treason?"

"Yes, sir. "

 * * * * *

He went below when the unpleasant business with Y'Nor was finallyover. It was the beginning of the eight-hour sleep period for Dalonand Graver but they were still up, sitting on their bunks and staringdreamily into space. It was only belatedly, almost fuzzily, that theybecame aware of his glowering presence in the doorway. 

"I bring you glad tidings, " he said, "from the commander's own lips. The multiple-gallows at State prison is still in perfect workingorder, especially the first three trapdoors--"

The last day dawned, bright and sunny, and he went to see Brenn. 

"I had the new edict posted immediately, " Brenn said. "I hope it willundo the damage. "

"Let's see it, " Kane requested and Brenn handed him the handwrittenoriginal. It was:

_Despite our affection for the Vogarians among us, we must notendanger them by any longer talking to them. A Vogarian military ruleis now being enforced which forbids Vogarians to speak to Sanctuarygirls except in the line of duty. There is a severe penalty for thosewho disobey this rule. _

_It must also be pointed out, sternly to the Sanctuary girls andrespectfully to the Vogarians, that flight into the uninhabitedSanctuary mountains would result in execution for the fleeing couplesif Commander Y'Nor should ever find them. _

"What's this?" Kane demanded, pointing to the last paragraph. 

"Why--a warning, sir. "

"Warning . .. It's a suggestion!"

"A suggestion?" Brenn lifted his hands in shocked protest. "But, sir, how could anyone think--"

"I, personally, wouldn't give a damn if the entire crew was toolove-sick to eat. But the commander does and my future welfare, including the privilege of breathing, depends upon my retaining whatpasses for his good will. "

"Good heavens--I shall have this edict removed from the bulletinboards at once!"

"A great idea. It should fix up everything to lock the stable doornow that the horse is stolen. "

 * * * * *

He went to the plant and felt the air of resentment as soon as hestepped inside. Dalon was patrolling among his men, his haggard facebecoming more haggard each time the red-haired personnel supervisorwent by with her hips swinging and her head held high in hurt, aloofsilence. The guards were pacing their beats in wordless quiet, Graver's technicians were speaking only in the line of duty. The girlswere not talking even to one another but in the soft, melting glancesthey gave the Vogarians they said _We understand_ in a manner moreeloquent than any words. 

In fact, far too eloquent. He considered the plan of having Brennforbid the girls to look at the guards, discarded that as impractical, for a moment wildly considered ordering the guards not to look at thegirls, discarded that as even more impractical, and went, muttering, to Larue's office. 

Larue was at his desk, his face lined with fatigue. 

"It's been a difficult job, " he said, "but we'll meet the deadline. "

"Good, " Kane answered. "Did Brenn phone you about having that edictremoved?"

"Ah--which one?"

"Which one? You mean. .. . "

He turned and ran from the office. 

A girl was removing the offending edict from the nearest bulletinboard. Another, later, one proclaimed:

_We must abandon as hopeless the suggestion of some that if there mustbe an Occupation force, we would like for it to be these men whom wehave come to respect, and many of us to love. This can never be. OnlyCommander Y'Nor will leave the ship at Vogar, there to select his ownOccupation force, while the men now among us continue directly on tothe Alkorian war from which many of them will never return. _

_We must not resent the fact that on this, their last day among us, these men are forbidden to speak to us or to let us speak to them norsay that this is unfair when Commander Y'Nor's Occupation troops willbe permitted to associate freely with us. These things are beyond ourpower to change. We must accept the inevitable and show only by oursilent conduct the love we have for these warriors whom we shall neversee again. _

Kane gulped convulsively, read it again, and hurried back to Larue'soffice. 

"How long has that last edict been up?" he demanded. 

"About twelve hours. "

"Then every shift has seen it?"

"Ah . .. Yes. Why--is something wrong with it?"

"That depends on the viewpoint. I want them removed at once. And tellthat sanctified old weasel that if this last edict of his gets mehanged, which it probably will, I'll see to it that he gets the samemedicine. "

He went back into the plant and made his way through the bare-legged, soft-eyed girls, looking for Dalon. He overheard a guard say in low, bitter tones to another: ". .. _Maybe eight hours on Vogar, and wecan't leave the ship, then on to the battle front for us while Y'Norand his home guard favorites come back here and pick out theirharems_--"

He found Dalon and said to him, "Watch your men. They're resentful. Some of them might even desert--and Y'Nor wasn't joking about thatgallows for us last night. "

"I know. " Dalon ran his finger around the collar that seemed to begetting increasingly tighter for him. "I've warned them that theOccupation troops would get them in the end. "

 * * * * *

He found Graver at a dial-covered panel. The brown-eyed secretary--hereyes now darker and more appealing than ever--was just leaving, anotebook in her hand. 

"Since when, " Kane asked, "has it been customary for technicians toneed the assistance of secretaries to read a dial?"

"But, sir, she is a very good technician, herself. Her paper work isnow done and she was helping me trace a circuit that was fluctuating. "

Kane peered suspiciously into Graver's expressionless face. 

"Are you sure it was a circuit that was doing the fluctuating?"

"Yes, sir. "

"Did you know that half of Dalon's guards seem to be ready to jumpship?"

"Yes, sir. But their resentment is not characteristic of mytechnicians. "

He realized, with surprise, that that was true. And Graver, incontrast to Dalon's agitation, had the calm, purposeful air of a manwho had pondered deeply upon an unpleasant future and had taken stepsto prevent it. 

"I have no desire to hang, sir, and I have convinced my men that itwould be suicide for part of them to desert. I shall do my best toconvince Dalon's guards of the same thing. "

He went back through the plant, much of his confidence restored, andback to the ship. 

Y'Nor was pacing the floor again, his impatience keying him to a moodmore vile than ever. 

"This ship will leave at exactly twenty-three fifteen, Vogar time, "Y'Nor said. "Any man not on it then will be regarded as a deserter andexecuted as such when I return with the Occupation force. "

He stopped his pacing to stare at Kane with the ominous anticipationof a spider surveying a captured fly. 

"Although I can operate this ship with a minimum of two crewmen, Ishall expect you to make certain that every man is on board. "

Kane went back out of the ship, his confidence shaken again, and backto the plant. 

 * * * * *

Night came at last and, finally, the first shielded tank of fuel wasdelivered to the ship. Others followed, one by one, as the hours wentby. 

It was almost morning when Graver came to him and said, "My duties andthose of my men are finished here, sir. Shall we go to prepare theship for flight?"

"Yes--get busy at it, " Kane answered. "Don't give the commander anyexcuse to get any madder than he already is. "

An hour later the last of the fuel went into the last tank and washauled away. Someone said, "That's all, " and a switch clicked. Amachine rumbled off into silence, followed by others. Control panelswent dark. Within a minute there was not a machine running, not apanel lighted. 

Dalon's whistle for Guard Assembly sounded, high and shrill. A girl'svoice called to one of the guards: "Hurry back to your ship, Billy--the thunder hawks might get you if you stayed--" and broke on asob. Another girl said, "Hush, Julia--it's not his fault. "

He went out of the plant, and past Larue's office. He saw that thebrown-eyed secretary was gone, her desk clean. Larue was still there, looking very tired. He did not go in. The fuel had been produced, hewould never see Larue again. 

He took the path that led toward town. Part of the Whirlpool starcluster was still above the horizon, a white blaze of a thousand suns, and the eastern sky was lightening with the first rays of dawn. Adozen girls were ahead of him, their voices a low murmur as theyhurried back toward town. There was an undertone of tension, all ofthe former gaiety gone. The brief week of make-believe was over andthe next Vogarians to come would truly be their enemy. 

He came to the hilltop where he had met the mountain girl, thought ofher with irrational longing, and suddenly she was there before him. 

The pistol was again in her belt. 

"You came with all the stealth of a plains ox, " she said. "I couldhave shot you a dozen times over. "

"Are we already at war?" he asked. 

"We Saints have to let you Vogarians kill some of us, first--ourpenalty for being ethical. "

"Listen to me, " he said. "We tried to fight the inevitable in the LostIslands. When the sun went down that day, half of us were dead and therest prisoners. "

"And you rose from prisoner to officer because you were too selfish tokeep fighting for what was right. "

"I saw them bury the ones who insisted on doing that. "

"And you want us to meekly bow down, here?"

"I have no interest of any kind in this world--I'll never see itagain--but I know from experience what will happen to you and yourpeople if you try to fight. I don't want that to happen. Do you thinkthat because a man isn't a blind chauvinist, he has to be a soullessmonster?"

"No, " she said in a suddenly small voice. "But I had hoped . .. We weretalking that day of the mountains beyond the Emerald Plain and afrontier to last for centuries . .. It was just idle talk but I thoughtmaybe that when the showdown came you would be on our side, afterall. "

She drew a deep breath that came a little raggedly and said with alightness that was too forced:

"You don't mind if I have a silly sentimental fondness for my world, do you? It's the only world I have. Maybe you would understand if youcould see the Azure Mountains in the spring . .. But you never will, will you? Because you lied when you said you weren't my enemy and nowI know you are and I"--the lightness faltered and broke--"am yours . .. And the next time we meet one will have to kill the other. "

She turned away, and vanished among the trees like a shadow. 

He was unaware of the passage of time as he stood there on the hillthat was silent with her going and remembered the day he had met herand the way the song swans had been calling. When he looked up at thesky, it was bright gold in the east and the blazing stars of theWhirlpool were fading into invisibility. He looked to the west, wherethe road wound its long way out of the valley, and he thought he couldsee her trudging up it, tiny and distant. He looked at his watch andsaw he had just time enough to reach the ship before it left. 

 * * * * *

Brenn was standing by his gate, watching the dawn flame intoincandescence and looking more frail and helpless than ever. Thecruiser towered beyond, blotting out half the dawn sky like a sinisteromen. A faint, deep hum was coming from it as the drive went into thepreliminary phase that preceded take-off. 

"You have only seconds left to reach the ship, " Brenn said. "You havealready tarried almost too long. "

"You're looking at a fool, " he answered, "who is going to tarry in theAzure Mountains and beyond the Emerald Plain for a hundred days. Thenthe Occupation men will kill him. "

There was no surprise on Brenn's face but it seemed to Kane that theold man smiled in his beard. For the second time since he was sixteen, Kane heard someone speak to him with gentle understanding:

"Although you have not been of much help to my plans, your intentionswere good. I was sure that in the end this would be your decision. Iam well pleased with you, my son. "

A whine came from the ship and the boarding ramp flicked up like adisappearing tongue. The black opening of the air lock seemed towink, then was solid, featureless metal as the doors slid shut. 

"_Bon voyage_, Y'Nor!" Kane said. "We'll be waiting for you with ourbows and arrows. "

"There is no one on the ship but Y'Nor, " Brenn said. "Graver saw to itthat the Ready lights were all going on the command room controlboard, then he and all the others followed my . .. Suggestion. "

Kane remembered Graver's calmness and his statement concerning hismen: ". .. It would be suicide for part of them to desert. "

For _part_ of them. But if every last one deserted--

The drives of the ship roared as Y'Nor pushed a control button and theship lifted slowly. The roaring faltered and died as Y'Nor pushedanother button which called for a crewman who was not there. The shipdropped back with a ponderous thud, careened, and fell with a forcethat shook the ground. It made no further sound or movement. 

He stared at the silent, impotent ship, finding it hard to realizethat there would be no hundred-day limit for him; that the new world, the boundless frontier--and Barbara--would be his for as long as helived. 

"Poor Commander Y'Nor, " Brenn said. "The air lock is now under theship and we shall have to dig a tunnel to rescue him. "

"Don't hurry about it, " Kane advised. "Let him sweat in the dark for afew days with his desk wrapped around his neck. It will do him good. "

"We are a kind and harmless race, we could never do anything likethat. "

"Kind? I believe you. But harmless? You made monkeys out of Vogar'schoicest fighting men. "

"Please do not use such an uncouth expression. I was only the humbleinstrument of a greater Power. I only . .. Ah . .. Encouraged thenatural affection between man and maid, the love that God intendedthem to have. "

"But did you practice your Golden Rule? You saw to it that fifty youngmen were forced to associate day after day with hundreds ofalmost-naked girls. Would you really have wanted the same thing doneto you if you had been in their place?"

"Would I?" There was a gleam in the old eyes that did not seem to comefrom the brightness of the dawn. "I, too, was once young, my son--whatdo _you_ think?"

 * * * * *