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pictures called "Histories of Ancient Yarthe." Now and then he sipped at a cool green, faintly intoxicating drink Toll had placed quietly beside him some while before, or sucked an aromatic smoke from the enormous pipe with a floor rest, which he understood was a favorite of Toll's husband.
    Then the Leewit woke up suddenly, uncoiled, gave him a look between a scowl and a friendly grin, slipped off the porch and vanished among the trees. He couldn't quite figure that look! It might have meant nothing at all in particular, but—
    The captain laid down his book then and worried a little more. It was true, of course, that nobody seemed in the least concerned about his presence. All of Karres appeared to know about him, and he'd met quite a number of people by now in a casual way. But nobody came around to interview him or so much as dropped in for a visit. However, Toll's husband presumably would be returning presently and— How long had he been here, anyway? Great Patham, he thought, shocked. He'd lost count of the days! Or was it weeks? He went in to find Toll.
    " It's been a wonderful visit," he said, "but I'll have to be leaving, I guess. Tomorrow morning, early..."
    Toll put some fancy sewing she was working on back in a glass basket, laid her strong, slim witch's hands in her lap, and smiled up at him. "We thought you'd be thinking that," she said, "and so we... you know . Captain, it was quite difficult to decide on the best way to reward you for bringing back the children."
    "It was?" said the captain, suddenly realizing he'd also clean forgotten he was broke! And now the wrath of Onswud lay close ahead.
    "However," Toll went on, "we've all been talking about it in the town, and so we've loaded a lot of things aboard your ship that we think you can sell at a fine profit!"
    "Well, now," the captain said gratefully, "that's fine of —"
    "There are furs," said Toll, "the very best furs we could fix up—two thousand of them!"
    "Oh!" said the captain, bravely keeping his smile. "Well, that's wonderful!"
    "And the Kell Peak essences of perfume," said Toll. "Everyone brought one bottle, so that's eight thousand three hundred and twenty-three bottles of perfume essences!"
    "Perfume!" exclaimed the captain. "Fine, fine— but you really shouldn't— "
    "And the rest of it," Toll concluded happily, "is the green Lepti liquor you like so much and the Wintenberry jellies. I forget just how many jugs and jars, but there were a lot. It's all loaded now." She smiled. "Do you think you'll be able to sell all that?"
    "I certainly can!" the captain said stoutly. "It's wonderful stuff, and I've never come across anything like it before."
    The last was very true. They wouldn't have considered miffel fur for lining on Karres. But if he'd been alone he would have felt like bursting into tears. The witches couldn't have picked more completely unsalable items if they'd tried! Furs, cosmetics, food, and liquor—he'd be shot on sight if he got caught trying to run that kind of merchandise into the Empire. For the same reason it was barred on Nikkeldepain —they were that afraid of contamination by goods that came from uncleared worlds!
    He breakfasted alone next morning. Toll had left a note beside his plate which explained in a large rambling script that she had to run off and catch the Leewit, and that if he was gone before she got back she was wishing him goodbye and good luck.
    He smeared two more buns with Wintenberry jelly, drank a large mug of cone-seed coffee, finished every scrap of the omelette of swan hawk eggs and then, in a state of pleasant repletion, toyed around with his slice of roasted Bollem liver. Boy, what food! He must have put on fifteen pounds since he landed on Karres.
    He wondered how Toll kept that slim figure. Regretfully, he pushed himself away from the table, pocketed her note for a souvenir and went out on the porch. There a tear-stained Maleen b ur i ed herself into his arms.
    "Oh, Captain!" she sobbed.