Thor-na'thor gave a slight shrug. "Money—that is not so important on Vardia. But it is true that I should be the object of a great deal of gratitude from my people if I introduced it to them."

"You'd like that?" Scott asked. "You Vardians value that?"

"We value it greatly. I should like it very much."

"It's yours," Scott said, holding out the stereo projector.

An expression of extreme pleasure came over Thor-na'thor's face. "Thank you!" he said, extending his hand. "You are very generous."

"If," Scott hurried on, "you'll tell us why the Vardians don't die."

Thor-na'thor pulled his hand back. "I beg your pardon," he said quietly. "I had thought it was a gift."

Scott's cheeks began to burn. "Oh, heck," he said bruskly, "take the th—"

"Shut up, Scott," Frost broke in. And then, to Thor-na'thor, "We'll give it to you, and gladly—and a lot of other stuff, too—if you'll do what Scott said. How can it hurt you to tell us? Why don't you want us to know?"

"You are joking. You terrestrials are always joking. There are things of which one does not speak."

"Then take us to the building we've never been allowed inside."

"You mean the library? No, it would do you no good. I am sorry, my boy." Thor-na'thor always addressed the two earth-men as "my boy" though only heaven knew what the temporal relationship between them was. "It is impossible."

"You can have this too if you'll only tell us the secret," Frost said. He brought out a power generator, a model of compactness, less than thirty centimeters on a side, with a sealed-in permanent power source, and added it to the stereo projector.

Thor-na'thor listened politely while Frost explained the generator's working and use, and at the end shook his head once more. "No. I am sorry, there is no secret. No." He nodded good-by to both of them, and started toward the airlock.

"Hey!" Scott shouted after him. And then, when he turned, "take the projector with you!"

"But—"

"It's okay. We want you to have it. It's a gift."

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