"Perhaps something can be arranged. Where are your belongings?"

"They're more or less the clothes on my back and a change of underwear," said Chiike.

"I tend to travel light, in case I want to make a hasty move somewhere."

"Still, you must have the goods you inherited from your grandfather. We shall ship everything to Rosalia and you will feel comfortably at home."

"Not necessarily," said Chiike.

"There's a stuffed moose in the barn, but I don't want it in the front room of my bungalow."

"I'm interested in such things," said Madame Zigonie.

"Perhaps we should go to Big Prairie and make an inventory, or I could go by myself."

"The family wouldn't like it," said Chiike.

"Still, we must do our best to bring you your things."

"It's not all that necessary."

"We shall see."

In due course Chiike arrived at Rosalia, a rough-and-ready little world at the back of the Pegasus Rectangle. Lipwillow on the banks of the Big Muddy River was the principal town and spaceport. Chiike spent a night at the Big Muddy Hotel and in the morning was conveyed to Shadow Valley Ranch.

Madame Zigonie housed him in a small bungalow under a pair of blue-pepper trees, and put him in charge of a hundred indentured workers of an unfamiliar race: handsome golden-skinned young men known as Yips.

"The Yips were a source of total frustration; I could never entice them to work. I tried to be nice and I tried to be cruel. I begged, I threatened, I reasoned, I intimidated.

They just smiled at me. They were quite willing to talk about work, but they always had some more or less sane reason why a certain job could not or should not be done.

"Madame Zigonie watched for a while, laughing to herself.

Finally she explained how to handle the Yips. They are sociable creatures, and detest solitude. Take one of them to a job, tell him that's where he stays, alone, until the job is done. He'll howl and cry, and explain that he needs help, but the more he complains, the faster he'll work,

and if it isn't done right, he must stay and do it all over.

You'll find that they'll work briskly enough once they get the idea."

"I don't know why she waited so long to tell me. She was an odd 5 the, no question as to that. She was not often in residence at the ranch. | Every time she showed up I asked for my salary, and she said: "Yes, | of course; it slipped my mind. I'll see to it directly." But the next thing ^ I knew she was gone again and I was still penniless. Finally I was' reduced to gambling with the Yips and taking what little money they had. When I think back and remember their sad faces I feel just a bit ashamed.

"

"On one occasion Madame Zigonie was gone several months.

She came back in a tense mood. I had lunch with her at the big house and J Ut of a blue sky she said that after careful thought she had decided I to marry me. We were to join our lives, mingle our hopes and dreams, share our possessions and live in connubial bliss. I sat stunned, with 1:ay mouth hanging open. I have mentioned my first impression of Madame Zigonie at Seven Cities. She had not become more appealing in the meantime. She was still tall and portly; her face was round with '"Qund cheeks, and her skin was still the color of lard.

"I said in a polite way that the idea did not fit in with my plans, but, just out of curiosity, what was the sum total of her wealth, and Auld it be signed over to me at once, or only upon her demise?

"At this she became a bit haughty and asked what I proposed to;;

son tribute to the union. I frankly admitted that I had nothing but a | barnful of purple bric-a-brac and a hundred stuffed animals. She didn't < like it, but said it would have to do. I said no, not really. It wasn't fair:

to her, what with all my peculiar hang-ups in regard to ladies; also we i mustn't forget that I was already married to a lady in Winnipeg, which;

made another marriage not only redundant but also unthinkable to a? msa of honor. Madame Zigonie became angry and discharged me on the instant, without paying my salary.

" "I made my way into town and went to Poolie's Place, at the end f a pier reaching fifty yards out into Big Muddy. I sat down with a cold lager and tried to decide what to do. Who should I meet there but Namour, fresh from delivering a gang of indentured Yips to one fthe outback ranches. This was a private side enterprise to his regular:

work, so he told me. I asked how he was able to recruit the Yips; he said it was no problem and actually a fine opportunity for any who showed diligence, since, after working out their indenture, the Yips Auld take up land and become ranchers themselves. I told him that in my opinion the Yips were next to worthless as workers. He just laughed and told me I didn't know how to handle them. He used the telephone, then notified me that he had spoken to Madame Zi^onie, who said I could have my old job back if I wanted it. Namour thought it was a good idea, and that I'd been far too hasty in leaving for town. I told him: "You marry the lady, so she's comfortably taken care of, then come talk to me." He said: "Not bloody likely," but there was another possibility: how would I like managing the airport at Araminta Station? I said: "Yes indeed, I surely would." He said he could guarantee nothing, but the position was open and he thought he could push the job my way.

"But don't forget," he said, 'first and foremost I'm a businessman and I'll take something in return." I told him. he could have his choice of a purple vase with two handles or a stuffed mink earing a stuffed mouse. Namour finally said he'd help me with the job anyway, and if he ever got to Earth he might go pick out something he liked. I said that could be arranged, if a few loose ends were tied up, such as my getting the job. He said not to worry; the details would sort themselves out."

Upon Chilke's arrival at Araminta Station, Namour introduced him to the Bureau D authorities, who put Chiike through an intensive grilling. Chiike declared himself supremely qualified for the position, and in the end no one could prove otherwise and he was hired on a probationary basis.

It soon became evident that, if anything, Chiike had understated his capabilities and the appointment was made permanent.

Chiike at once instituted a general shake-up which in due course ran him afoul of Namour. At issue were the Yips assigned to the airport staff, where they performed such tasks as keeping the field in order, washing and cleaning the aircraft, checking spare parts in and out of the warehouse, and a few simple tasks of routine maintenance, or even mechanical work, under Chilke's supervision.

Up to this time Chiike had not yet been assigned an assistant manager. To lighten his own work load, he trained his four Yips with care, and finally brought them to a level where they actually seemed interested in what they were doing. Nevertheless, at the end of their six-month stint, Namour sent them back to Yipton and assigned Chiike four fresh Yips.

Chiike protested with fervor: "What the bloody hell is going on? Do you think I'm running a ruddy educational institution here? Not on your life!"

Namour said coldly: "These people are here on six-month permits. That is the rule. I did not make this rule, but I am required to enforce it."

"And sometimes you do," said Chiike.

"Sometimes you are busy

elsewhere. At the hospital Yip orderlies get new cards every six months and nothing is said; also in the tailor shop and much of the domestic help. I'm not complaining; it only makes sense. Why train these geezers if you intend to send them back to Yipton? There's no flyers at Yipton, so far as I know. If you want trained Yips for Yipton, you train them yourself."

"You're talking nonsense, Chiike!"

With amiable pertinacity Chiike continued.

"If I can't keep the ones I have now, don't send any at all. I'll bring in my own help."

Namour drew himself up to his full height. Slowly turning his head, he brought a glacial stare to bear on Chiike. He said: "Listen well, Chiike, so that there will be no misunderstanding. Your orders come from me and you will do exactly as you are told. Otherwise, two roads lead into the future. The first is uneventful: you resign with your health and leave Araminta Station by the fast ship."

Chilke's ropy grin grew even broader. He put his hand upon Namour's face and pushed with great force, to send Namour reeling back against the wall. Chiike said: "That kind of talk makes me nervous. If we're going to stay friends, you'll beg my pardon with full sincerity and leave, smiling and closing the door quietly on your way out. Otherwise I'm going to tousle you around a bit."

Namour, a Clattuc and no coward, was nonetheless a trifle daunted. At last he said: "Come on, then; we'll see who gets tousled."

The two men were much of a weight. Namour, with a good physique, stood taller by two inches. Chiike was more compact, burly at the ;

chest and shoulders, with long arms and heavy fists. As the Yips and some boys from the lyceum watched, the two fought an epic battle, and in the end Chiike stood grinning his twisted grin down at Namour, [ half propped against the wall.

"Now, then," said Chiike.