seemed to have a life of its own, indicating that the hairs were sense organs.

[9] In the small amount of literature on the subject, it had been noted that there were always three identical features about Algolians, although everything else might be different. These were the three legs, the four eyes, and that any hair on their bodies were invariably sense organs. But because no one had yet seen two Algolians who looked alike, these features were about the only way of identifying natives of that planet.

The visitors turned out to be Sam Warren and Jaba Woo, the representatives of the Greater Solarian Insurance Company, Monopolated. They pretended to have dropped by accidentally and Manning gave no indication that he had other thoughts on the subject.

After considerable idle chatter, the subject of insurance came up. Manning admitted that he might be in the market for some and inquired about joint policies. It just happened that the two insurance salesmen had come equipped for his special problems and it wasn't long before Mr. and Mrs. Melvin Draco were each insured for two hundred thousand credits. Manning had decided to double the minimum suggested by Nadyl on the grounds that this might make him more eager.

"The place," he said to Fanya when the two happy insurance salesmen had left, "is lousy with Algolians. I wonder what the fourth one will look like?"

"Are you going to see him?" Fanya asked.

Manning shook his head. "All I was told was that I should secure his services if anything happened to you. It might be unseemly if I were to go hire an undertaker in advance."

The blonde giggled.

"Are you sure," Manning asked with concern, "that you're not going to be in any danger?"

"Positive," she said. "There are ways, of course, that he could kill me, but they all require personal contact and the device Mr. Cruikshank gave me will protect me from that as well as from what you have in mind ... but you must hurry, Manning."

"I'll hurry," he said. "And I resent the use of the word 'protection' in connection with my intentions. I'll make you eat that word."

"Any time," she said softly.

Manning thrust his hands deeply into his pockets so that they wouldn't get ideas of their own. "In the meantime," he said savagely, "we have to 

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