Thrombley and Gomez looked at one another. They both groaned.

"But we must have a statement of a.s.sumption of responsibility ..." Gomez dithered.

"... or the business of the Emba.s.sy will be at a dead stop, and we can"t do anything," Thrombley finished.

"Wait a moment, Thrombley," Stonehenge cut in. "I understand Mr. Silk"s att.i.tude. I"ve taken command of a good many ships and installations, at one time or another, and I"ve never signed for anything I couldn"t see and feel and count. I know men who retired as brigadier generals or vice-admirals, but they retired loaded with debts incurred because as second lieutenants or ensigns they forgot that simple rule."

He turned to me. "Without any disrespect to the charge d"affaires, Mr.

Silk, this Emba.s.sy has been pretty badly disorganized since Mr.

c.u.mshaw"s death. No one felt authorized, or, to put it more accurately, no one dared, to declare himself acting head of the Emba.s.sy--"

"Because that would make him the next target?" I interrupted. "Well, that"s what I was sent here for. Mr. Gomez, as Secretary of the Emba.s.sy, will you please, at once, prepare a statement for the press and telecast release to the effect that I am now the authorized head of this Emba.s.sy, responsible from this hour for all its future policies and all its present commitments insofar as they obligate the government of the Solar League. Get that out at once. Tomorrow, I will present my credentials to the Secretary of State here. Thereafter, Mr. Thrombley, you can rest in the a.s.surance that I"ll be the one they"ll be shooting at."

"But you can"t wait that long, Mr. Amba.s.sador," Thrombley almost wailed.

"We must go immediately to the Statehouse. The reception for you is already going on."

I looked at my watch, which had been regulated aboard ship for Capella IV time. It was just 1315.

"What time do they hold diplomatic receptions on this planet, Mr.

Thrombley?" I asked.

"Oh, any time at all, sir. This one started about 0900 when the news that the ship was in orbit off-planet got in. It"ll be a barbecue, of course, and--"

"Barbecued supercow! Yipeee!" Hoddy yelled. "What I been waitin" for for five years!"

It would be the vilest cruelty not to take him along, I thought. And it would also keep him and Stonehenge apart for a while.

"But we must hurry, Mr. Amba.s.sador," Thrombley was saying. "If you will change, now, to formal dress ..."

And he was looking at me, gasping. I think it was the first time he had actually seen what I was wearing.

"In native dress, Mr. Amba.s.sador!"

Thrombley"s eyes and tone were again those of an innocent spaniel caught in the middle of a marital argument.

Then his gaze fell to my belt and his eyes became saucers. "Oh, dear!

And armed!"

My charge d"affaires was shuddering and he could not look directly at me.

"Mr. Amba.s.sador, I understand that you were recently appointed from the Consular Service. I sincerely hope that you will not take it amiss if I point out, here in private, that--"

"Mr. Thrombley, I am wearing this costume and these pistols on the direct order of Secretary of State Ghopal Singh."

That set him back on his heels.

"I ... I can"t believe it!" he exclaimed. "An amba.s.sador is _never_ armed."

"Not when he"s dealing with a government which respects the comity of nations and the usages of diplomatic practice, no," I replied. "But the fate of Mr. c.u.mshaw clearly indicates that the government of New Texas is not such a government. These pistols are in the nature of a not-too-subtle hint of the manner in which this government, here, is being regarded by the government of the Solar League." I turned to Stonehenge. "Commander, what sort of an Emba.s.sy guard have we?" I asked.

"s.p.a.ce Marines, sergeant and five men. I double as guard officer, sir."

"Very well. Mr. Thrombley insists that it is necessary for me to go to this fish-fry or whatever it is immediately. I want two men, a driver and an auto-rifleman, for my car. And from now on, I would suggest, Commander, that you wear your sidearm at all times outside the Emba.s.sy."

"Yes, sir!" and this time, Stonehenge gave me a real salute.

"Well, I must phone the Statehouse, then," Thrombley said. "We will have to call on Secretary of State Palme, and then on President Hutchinson."

With that, he got up, excused himself, motioned Gomez to follow, and hurried away.

I got up, too, and motioned Stonehenge aside.

"Aboard ship, coming in, I was told that there"s a task force of the s.p.a.ce Navy on maneuvers about five light-years from here," I said.

"Yes, sir. Task Force Red-Blue-Green, Fifth s.p.a.ce Fleet. Fleet Admiral Sir Rodney Tregaskis."

"Can we get hold of a fast s.p.a.ce-boat, with hyperdrive engines, in a hurry?"

"Eight or ten of them always around New Austin s.p.a.ceport, available for charter."

"All right; charter one and get out to that fleet. Tell Admiral Tregaskis that the Amba.s.sador at New Austin feels in need of protection; possibility of z"Srauff invasion. I"ll give you written orders. I want the Fleet within radio call. How far out would that be, with our facilities?"

"The Emba.s.sy radio isn"t reliable beyond about sixty light-minutes, sir."

"Then tell Sir Rodney to bring his fleet in that close. The invasion, if it comes, will probably not come from the direction of the z"Srauff star-cl.u.s.ter; they"ll probably jump past us and move in from the other side. I hope you don"t think I"m having nightmares, Commander. Danger of a z"Srauff invasion was pointed out to me by persons on the very highest level, on Luna."

Stonehenge nodded. "I"m always having the same kind of nightmares, sir.

Especially since this special envoy arrived here, ostensibly to negotiate a meteor-mining treaty." He hesitated for a moment. "We don"t want the New Texans to know, of course, that you"ve sent for the fleet?"

"Naturally not."

"Well, if I can wait till about midnight before I leave, I can get a boat owned, manned and operated by Solar League people. The boat"s a dreadful-looking old tub, but she"s sound and fast. The gang who own her are pretty notorious characters--suspected of smuggling, piracy, and what not--but they"ll keep their mouths shut if well paid."

"Then pay them well," I said. "And it"s just as well you"re not leaving at once. When I get back from this clambake, I"ll want to have a general informal council, and I certainly want you in on it."

On the way to the Statehouse in the aircar, I kept wondering just how smart I had been.

I was pretty sure that the z"Srauff was getting ready for a sneak attack on New Texas, and, as Solar League Amba.s.sador, I of course had the right to call on the s.p.a.ce Navy for any amount of armed protection.

Sending Stonehenge off on what couldn"t be less than an eighteen-hour trip would delay anything he and Hoddy might be cooking up, too.

On the other hand, with the fleet so near, they might decide to have me rubbed out in a hurry, to justify seizing the planet ahead of the z"Srauff.

I was in that pleasant spot called, "d.a.m.ned if you do and d.a.m.ned if you don"t...."