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.""And the liner should be bound back inward in a week." Shacklarnodded."But I'm afraid I'll have to ask your indulgence there,Honorable-after all, it is a two-month journey to Terra.""Oh, I quite understand! But if all goes well, we should receive a replyin half a year, Standard Terran.Still, I have hopes we'll recover ourcredentials before then.""I'm sure we'll manage to conclude the manner in some fashion,"Shacklar assured him.Something beeped at his hand, and his brownetted."Can't they get by without me for a short hour? Yes, Fordstam,what is it?" he murmured into his ring, then held it to his ear After amoment, he sighed and spoke into it again."Yes, yes, I'm on my way.You'll excuse me, Honorable, but it seems one of my soldiers hasbeen making decent proposals to a Wolman girl, and the tribe'smayor's concerned.Indecent proposals they're used to, but they don'tknow quite what to make of this one.""Well.I'm sure it had to happen sooner or later," Bhelabhermused."What's your policy on intermarriage?" "None at all, at themoment," Shacklar confessed."But I hope to have one by the time Iget back to HQ.Will you excuse me?" The General went out the door.Dar counted mentally, ticking off seconds on his fingers.When he gotto five, a joyful whoop resounded from the street outside.Bhelabherlooked up, blinking, but Dar nodded.Shacklar'd been waiting a longtime for this "incident." He might not have had the policy, but he surehad it ready."Do your people always express themselves so exuberantly?"Bhelabher seemed smaller; somewhat lost, with Shacklar's departure."Not always," Cholly admitted."They're often depressed.Still, there's no sense just telling you-take the good man and showhim, Ard.""Mm?" It only took Sam's elbow in his ribs to make Dar react to hisnew name."Oh, yes! Yes."He heaved himself to his feet with a sigh."Yes, if we hurry, we can just make the two o'clock war.See you latei;Cholly." It was more of a threat than a promise.aaTTnnssFFffooDDrrPPmmYYeeYYrrBB22.BBAAClick here to buyClick here to buywwmmwwoowwcc.AAYYBBYYBB r rChapter FiveDar lifted a glass in a trembling hand and drank deeply."I tell you, Idon't know if I can last it out.""What for?" Cholly twisted the empty out of his hand and replaced itwith a full one."There's never a chance that he'd recognize yet""Yeah, but I'm running out of things to show him." Dar started to sip,then stared at the glass."I just emptied this.""And he just refilled it." Sam shook her head."You are in bad shape.""Come, now!" Cholly cajoled."A whole planetful of marvels, and youcan't find a week's tour? Come, indeed! What've you shown him?""Well, let me see." Dar started ticking them off on his fingers."TheWall-all-all thirty miles of it.The Two-O'Clock War.A Wolman village.The Eight-O'Clock Wat He had a conference with ShackJar.The Two-O'Clock war.The enlisted men's recreation complex and organicmarket.The officers' recreation complex and fixed market.The Eight-O'Clock War.Conference with Schacklar.The Two-O'Clock War AWolman trading session.A Wolman information-barter.""Adult school," Cholly murmured."That, too.A Wolman workshop.The Eight-O'Clock WatConference with Shacklar The Two-O'Clock Wat He likes wars.""I was beginning to get that impression," Sam agreed."You still haven't shown him the parade ground.Or the gaol."Dar shook his head."Depressing.""Or the Little Theater The Concert Hall.""Boring.""How do you know? Could be he likes amateurs.Then there's theradio studio, the 3DT studio, the barracks.""All the high spots, huh?"Cholly shrugged."Nobody said you had to entertain the man-just toguide him.You wouldn't want him to get a false impression of us,would you?"aaTTnnssFFffooDDrrPPmmYYeeYYrrBB22.BBAAClick here to buyClick here to buywwmmwwoowwcc.AAYYBBYYBB r r"Yes," Dar snapped."Definitely."Cholly straightened up with a sigh."Then ye've nought but yourself toblame if he's hard to get along with.""That's the strange part." Dar's brow knit."He's not."" 'Course he would be.You'd be, too, if.how's that again?""He's not," Dar repeated."He's not tough to get along with at all.He'sbeen getting more and more pleasant every day.In fact, today he wasa real nice guy.I'm amazed at how wrong my first impression of himwas.""I'm amazed at how good a psychiatrist the General is," Chollygrunted.Something beeped in the back corner, and kept on beeping.Sam looked up."A holophone? Here?""Why not?" Dar smiled."Radio waves don't have to have plastretebuildings around them, you know."Cholly ambled back to the phone and pressed the "receive" button
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