pirate affirmed. His gauntleted hands fumbled until he succeeded in pulling back the slide and letting it snap forward. "A wonderful modern improvement!" he exclaimed. "Henry Morgan loaded his from the other end of the barrel."

Drusilla made an unseemly noise with her mouth. "I never thought you were brave, Jak," she jeered. "Why didn't the big hero take that away from the Captain?"

"How did I know he didn't have a shell in the chamber? I didn't want you to be hurt--"

"Silence!" commanded the pirate. "Male prisoner, prepare to be perforated. Which wall shall we use?"

"Outside. I wouldn't want Drusilla to see--"

"Yes, outside. We shall spare the fair lady any unpleasantness. Don your armor, male prisoner."

"What?"

Flim said, "Your spacesuit." He bowed to Drusilla. "Soon, I shall return to claim you, fair lady. Together, we shall approach the speed of light."

Drusilla began to pant. Jak pulled his spacesuit from the rack and squirmed into it. "Aren't you going to tell me seelata?" he asked.

"Seelata, Jak," Drusilla said absently, her eyes on Flim.

Several words, the meaning of which Jak did not know, seeped from his unconscious mind. As they became vocal, Flim glanced at him with an expression indicative of faint admiration. The pirate said, "Avast, it is the custom. All male prisoners must be deathed unless they join the jolly crew. You wish to join?"

Clutching his helmet to his aluminum breast, Jak thrust out his wedge of chin and cried, "Never! I regret having one vitality to give for my planet!"

"I salute you," said Flim, and clamped on his helmet. Ger and Looge did likewise; and Jak, with a despairing glance at the entranced Drusilla, sealed his own. Flim adjusted Jak's tuning dial and said, "Hear me?"

"Yes."

"Men! Follow the prisoner. Forward!"

They stepped out on the dark side of the Box, a right quadrangular prism of dull metal. A tube ran through the long axis of the craft with a 

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