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the suit, and make yourself
comfortable. You'll roast if you wear that thing in here."
    Very
briefly the man's eyes flickered over Tuck's face; then he looked back at the
Colonel, ignoring the hand. "The supply ship isn't due to arrive for four
months yet," he said finally, not making a move.
    "This isn't a supply
ship."
    "Then what is
it?"
    The
Colonel smiled. "Call it an informal check on production in the mines, if
you like," he said.
    Anson Torm's face
darkened. "So you're the trouble shooter that Security was going to
send?"
    "I'm
representing the Earth Security Commission, yes."
    Slowly
the big man began to peel off his pressure suit. His clothing was coarse, with
a multitude of patches and careful repairs, and his heavy face was wrinkled
with worry and strain. But there was something arresting about the man's face,
something that brought a flicker of warmth to Tuck's mind. Anson Torm looked like a powerful man, and not only in terms of
physical strength. There was a light of pride in his eyes, a curious air of
fierce bravery about him that the coarsest of clothing could not diminish. He
stepped from the suit like a man completely in command of himself and of all
those around him, and when he turned to the Colonel, it was as if he were
meeting the Security Commission President on his own grounds. "All
right—I'm representing the interests of the Titan colonists," he said. "I
suggest that we go where we can talk, and without delay. I also suggest that
you, sir, talk more sensibly than the last few representatives of Earth
Security—"
    The Colonel's eyebrows went up in surprise.
"You mean you've talked to Security men before this?"
    "Until
my tongue froze," Anson Torm replied coldly.
"You must remember that I've lived in this colony for a very long time.
This time, I think it would be wise for us to reach an understanding, and reach
it fast. Because if your ship leaves Titan without an agreement that meets
with the satisfaction of the Titan colonists, I am afraid Earth has received her last cargo of ruthenium."
    The
Colonel's eyes widened. "You mean your people are refusing to work the
mines?"
    "Not at all," said the Titan
leader. He looked at the Colonel, and his voice was heavy with weariness.
"I mean that there will be no mines left for my people to work."

 
    Chapter 4 " There's
Trouble at the Co/ ony /"
    F
    or a moment they
stood in shocked silence, staring at the big man. The Colonel's face was pale,
and all traces of his smile had fled. "If that was meant as a threat, I'm
afraid you're talking to the wrong man," he said quietly. "I'm not
here to listen to threats. I'm here to collect facts, and to draw my own conclusions
on the basis of those facts."
    Anson Torm was shaking his head. "That was not a
threat. It was a simple statement of fact. I don't care to see the mines shut
down—I'll do everything in my power to keep them open.That's why I'm here, to talk to you before you go on to the colony." He eyed Tuck
and the pilot with frank hostility. "I'd prefer to talk privately."
    The
Colonel hesitated for a fraction of a second. Then he nodded. "Would you
mind, Tuck? Perhaps you could get the gear ready to go back to the
colony." He turned to the pilot. "Tuck and I will plan to go to the
colony after I've talked with Mr. Torm . I'd like you
and your crew to stay with the ship, at least for the time being. And we'd
rather not be disturbed by anyone for a while."

 
    Tuck made his way down the corridor toward
the sleeping quarters, trying to make some sense from the colony leader's
words. He was shocked by the big man's appearance far more than he realized.
Granted that he hadn't been entirely sure of what to expect a colonist to look
like—he had had mental pictures of crafty, shifty-eyed, bitter-faced people,
more animal than human—after all, that was the
generally accepted picture back home. But Anson Torm's cold blue eyes could hardly have been called shifty, and far from giving a
crafty appearance, he had