drink … what do you do, when there’s nothing more to fight against, or even for?”

He straightened up; the splint on Mara’s arm was set now. He settled her back in a drift of sand as comfortably as possible.

“I’ve got another question,” Rynason said. “What were you doing among those men who came at me on the steps earlier?”

Malhomme’s face broke into a wide grin. “That was a suicidal rush on you, Lee. A damned stupid tactic … a rush like that is only as strong as the weakest coward in it. All it takes is one man to break and run, and everybody else will run too. So it was easy for me to break it up.”

Rynason couldn’t help chuckling at that; and once he had started, the tension that had gripped him for the past several hours found release in a full, stomach-shaking laugh.

“Rene Malhomme,” he gasped, “that’s the kind of leadership this planet needs!”

Mara smiled up from where she lay. “You know,” she said, “now that Manning is dead they’ll have to find someone else to be governor….”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” said Malhomme.

Here’s a quick checklist of recent releases of

ACE SCIENCE-FICTION BOOKS

35¢

THE SUPER BARBARIANS

NO WORLD OF THEIR OWN

THE HOUSE ON THE BORDERLAND

THE TRIAL OF TERRA

40¢

THE DARKNESS BEFORE TOMORROW

THE LADDER IN THE SKY

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