CHAPTER : III

New Austin spaceport was a huge place, a good fifty miles outside therncity. As we descended, I could see that it was laid out like a wheel,rnwith the landings and the blast-off stands around the hub, and highrnbuildings--packing houses and refrigeration plants--along the manyrnspokes. It showed a technological level quite out of keeping with thernaccounts I had read, or the stories Hoddy had told, about the simplernranch life of the planet. Might be foreign capital invested there, and Irnmade a mental note to find out whose.rnrnOn the other hand, Old Texas, on Terra, had been heavily industrialized;rnso much so that the state itself could handle the gigantic project ofrnbuilding enough spaceships to move almost the whole population intornspace.rnrnThen the landing-field was rushing up at us, with the nearer ends of thernroadways and streets drawing close and the far ends lengthening out awayrnfrom us. The other lighter was already down, and I could see a crowdrnaround it.rnrnThere was a crowd waiting for us when we got out and went down thernescalators to the ground, and as I had expected, a special group of menrnwaiting for me. They were headed by a tall, slender individual in thernshort black Eisenhower jacket, gray-striped trousers and black homburgrnthat was the uniform of the Diplomatic Service, alias the CookiernPushers.rnrnOver their heads at the other rocket-boat, I could see the gold-gleamingrnhead of the girl I'd met on the ship.rnrnI tried to push through the crowd and get to her. As I did, the CookiernPusher got in my way.rnrn"Mr. Silk! Mr. Ambassador! Here we are!" he was clamoring. "The car forrnthe Embassy is right over here!" He clutched my elbow. "You have no idearnhow glad we all are to see you, Mr. Ambassador!"rnrn"Yes, yes; of course. Now, there's somebody over there Irnhave to see, at once." I tried to pull myself loose from his grasp.rnrnAcross the concrete between the two lighters, I could see the girl pushrnout of the crowd around her and wave a hand to me. I tried to yell tornher; but just then another lighter, loaded with freight, started to liftrnout at another nearby stand, with the roar of half a dozen Niagaras. Thernthin man in the striped trousers added to the uproar by shouting into myrnear and pulling at me.rnrn"We haven't time!" he finally managed to make himself heard. "We'rerndreadfully late now, sir! You must come with us."rnrnHoddy, too, had caught hold of me by the other arm.rnrn"Come on, boss. There's gotta be some reason why he's got himself in anrnuproar about whatever it is. You'll see her again."rnrnThen, the whole gang--Hoddy, the thin man with the black homburg, hisrnyounger accomplice in identical garb, and the chauffeur--all closed inrnon me and pushed me, pulled me, half-carried me, fifty yards across thernconcrete to where their air-car was parked. By this time, the tallrnblond had gotten clear of the mob around her and was waving franticallyrnat me. I tried to wave back, but I was literally crammed into the carrnand flung down on the seat. At the same time, the chauffeur was jumpingrnin, extending the car's wings, jetting up.rnrn"Great God!" I bellowed. "This is the damnedest piece of impudence I'vernever had to suffer from any subordinates in my whole State Departmentrnexperience! I want an explanation out of you, and it'd better be a goodrnone!"rnrnThere was a deafening silence in the car for a moment. The thin manrnmoved himself off my lap, then sat there looking at me with thernheartbroken eyes of a friendly dog that had just been kicked forrnsomething which wasn't really its fault.rnrn"Mr. Ambassador, you can't imagine how sorry we all are, but if wernhadn't gotten you away from the spaceport and to the Embassy at once, wernwould all have been much sorrier."rnrn"Somebody here gunnin' for the Ambassador?" Hoddy demanded sharply.rnrn"Oh, no! I hadn't even thought of that," the thin man almost gibbered."But your presence at the Embassy is of immediate and urgent necessity.rnYou have no idea of the state into which things have gotten.... Oh,rnpardon me, Mr. Ambassador. I am Gilbert W. Thrombley, your chargérnd'affaires." I shook hands with him. "And Mr. Benito Gomez, thernSecretary of the Embassy." I shook hands with him, too, and started tornintroduce Mr. Hoddy Ringo.rnrnHoddy, however, had turned to look out the rear window; immediately, herngave a yelp.rnrn"We got a tail, boss! Two of them! Look back there!"rnrnThere were two black eight-passenger aircars, of the same model,rnwhizzing after us, making an obvious effort to overtake us. Thernchauffeur cursed and fired his auxiliary jets, then his rocket-booster.rnrnImmediately, black rocket-fuel puffs shot away from the pursuingrnaircars.rnrnHoddy turned in his seat, cranked open a porthole-slit in the window,rnand poked one of his eleven-mm's out, letting the whole clip go.rnThrombley and Gomez slid down onto the floor, and both began trying torndrag me down with them, imploring me not to expose myself.rnrnAs far as I could see, there was nothing to expose myself to. The otherrncars kept coming, but neither of them were firing at us. There was alsornno indication that Hoddy's salvo had had any effect on them. Ourrnchauffeur went into a perfect frenzy of twisting and dodging, at thernsame time using his radiophone to tell somebody to get the goddamnrngate open in a hurry. I saw the blue skies and green plains of NewrnTexas replacing one another above, under, in front of and behind us.rnThen the car set down on a broad stretch of concrete, the wings werernretracted, and we went whizzing down a city street.rnrnWe whizzed down a number of streets. We cut corners on two wheels, andrnon one wheel, and, I was prepared to swear, on no wheels. A couple ofrntimes, with the wings retracted, we actually jetted into the air andrnjumped over vehicles in front of us, landing again with bone-shakingrnjolts. Then we made an abrupt turn and shot in under a concrete arch,rnand a big door banged shut behind us, and we stopped, in the middle of arnwide patio, the front of the car a few inches short of a fountain. Fourrnor five people, in diplomatic striped trousers, local dress and thernuniform of the Space Marines, came running over.rnrnThrombley pulled himself erect and half-climbed, half-fell, out of therncar. Gomez got out on the other side with Hoddy; I climbed out afterrnThrombley.rnrnA tall, sandy-haired man in the uniform of the Space Navy came over.rnrn"What the devil's the matter, Thrombley?" he demanded. Then, seeing me,rnhe gave me as much of a salute as a naval officer will ever bestow onrnanybody in civilian clothes.rnrn"Mr. Silk?" He looked at my costume and the pistols on my belt inrnwell-bred concealment of surprise. "I'm your military attaché,rnStonehenge; Space-Commander, Space Navy."rnrnI noticed that Hoddy's ears had pricked up, but he wasn't making anyrneffort to attract Stonehenge's attention. I shook hands with him,rnintroduced Hoddy, and offered my cigarette case around.rnrn"You seem to have had a hectic trip from the spaceport, Mr. Ambassador.rnWhat happened?"rnrnThrombley began accusing our driver of trying to murder the lot of us.rnHoddy brushed him aside and explained:rnrn"Just after we'd took off, two other cars took off after us. We speededrnup, and they speeded up, too. Then your fly-boy, here, got fancy. Thatrnshook 'em off. Time we got into the city, we'd dropped them. Nice job ofrndriving. Probably saved our lives."rnrn"Shucks, that wasn't nothin'," the driver disclaimed. "When you drivernfor politicians, you're either good or you're good and dead."rnrn"I'm surprised they started so soon," Stonehenge said. Then he lookedrnaround at my fellow-passengers, who seemed to have realized, by now,rnthat they were no longer dangling by their fingernails over the brink ofrnthe grave. "But gentlemen, let's not keep the Ambassador standing outrnhere in the hot sun."rnrnSo we went over the arches at the side of the patio, and were about tornsit down when one of the Embassy servants came up, followed by a man inrna loose vest and blue Levis and a big hat. He had a pair of automaticsrnin his belt, too.rnrn"I'm Captain Nelson; New Texas Rangers," he introduced himself. "Whichrnone of you-all is Mr. Stephen Silk?"rnrnI admitted it.rnrnThe Ranger pushed back his wide hat and grinned at me.rnrn"I just can't figure this out," he said. "You're in the right place andrnthe right company, but we got a report, from a mighty good source, thatrnyou'd been kidnapped at the spaceport by a gang of thugs!"rnrn"A blond source?" I made curving motions with my hands. "I don't blamernher. My efficient and conscientious chargé d'affaires, Mr. Thrombley,rnfelt that I should reach the Embassy, here, as soon as possible, andrnfrom where she was standing, it must have looked like a kidnapping.rnFact is, it looked like one from where I was standing, too.rnWas that you and your people who were chasing us? Then I must apologizernfor opening fire on you ... I hope nobody was hurt."rnrn"No, our cars are pretty well armored. You scored a couple of times onrnone of them, but no harm done. I reckon after what happened to SilasrnCumshaw, you had a right to be suspicious."rnrnI noticed that refreshments, including several bottles, had been placedrnon a big wicker table under the arched veranda.rnrn"Can I offer you a drink, Captain, in token of mutual amity?" I asked.rnrn"Well, now, I'd like to, Mr. Ambassador, but I'm on duty ..." he began.rnrn"You can't be. You're an officer of the Planetary Government of NewrnTexas, and in this Embassy, you're in the territory of the SolarrnLeague."rnrn"That's right, now, Mr. Ambassador," he grinned. "Extraterritoriality.rnWonderful thing, extraterritoriality." He looked at Hoddy, who, for thernfirst time since I had met him, was trying to shrink into thernbackground. "And diplomatic immunity, too. Ain't it, Hoddy?"rnrnAfter he had had his drink and departed, we all sat down. Thrombleyrnbegan speaking almost at once.rnrn"Mr. Ambassador, you must, you simply must, issue a public statement,rnimmediately, sir. Only a public statement, issued promptly, will relievernthe crisis into which we have all been thrust."rnrn"Oh, come, Mr. Thrombley," I objected. "Captain Nelson'll take care ofrnall that in his report to his superiors."rnrnThrombley looked at me for a moment as though I had been speaking tornhim in Hottentot, then waved his hands in polite exasperation.rnrn"Oh, no, no! I don't mean that, sir. I mean a public statement to therneffect that you have assumed full responsibility for the Embassy. Wherernis that thing? Mr. Gomez!"rnrnGomez gave him four or five sheets, stapled together. He laid them onrnthe table, turned to the last sheet, and whipped out a pen.rnrn"Here, sir; just sign here."rnrn"Are you crazy?" I demanded. "I'll be damned if I'll sign that. Not tillrnI've taken an inventory of the physical property of the Embassy, andrnfamiliarized myself with all its commitments, and had the books auditedrnby some firm of certified public accountants."rnrnThrombley and Gomez looked at one another. They both groaned.rnrn"But we must have a statement of assumption of responsibility ..." Gomezrndithered.rnrn"... or the business of the Embassy will be at a dead stop, and we can'trndo anything," Thrombley finished.rnrn"Wait a moment, Thrombley," Stonehenge cut in. "I understand Mr. Silk'srnattitude. I've taken command of a good many ships and installations, atrnone time or another, and I've never signed for anything I couldn't seernand feel and count. I know men who retired as brigadier generals orrnvice-admirals, but they retired loaded with debts incurred because asrnsecond lieutenants or ensigns they forgot that simple rule."rnrnHe turned to me. "Without any disrespect to the chargé d'affaires, Mr.rnSilk, this Embassy has been pretty badly disorganized since Mr.rnCumshaw's death. No one felt authorized, or, to put it more accurately,rnno one dared, to declare himself acting head of the Embassy--"rnrn"Because that would make him the next target?" I interrupted. "Well,rnthat's what I was sent here for. Mr. Gomez, as Secretary of the Embassy,rnwill you please, at once, prepare a statement for the press and telecastrnrelease to the effect that I am now the authorized head of this Embassy,rnresponsible from this hour for all its future policies and all itsrnpresent commitments insofar as they obligate the government of the SolarrnLeague. Get that out at once. Tomorrow, I will present my credentials tornthe Secretary of State here. Thereafter, Mr. Thrombley, you can rest inrnthe assurance that I'll be the one they'll be shooting at."rnrn"But you can't wait that long, Mr. Ambassador," Thrombley almost wailed."We must go immediately to the Statehouse. The reception for you isrnalready going on."rnrnI looked at my watch, which had been regulated aboard ship for CapellarnIV time. It was just 1315.rnrn"What time do they hold diplomatic receptions on this planet, Mr.rnThrombley?" I asked.rnrn"Oh, any time at all, sir. This one started about 0900 when the newsrnthat the ship was in orbit off-planet got in. It'll be a barbecue, ofrncourse, and--"rnrn"Barbecued supercow! Yipeee!" Hoddy yelled. "What I been waitin' for forrnfive years!"rnrnIt would be the vilest cruelty not to take him along, I thought. And itrnwould also keep him and Stonehenge apart for a while.rnrn"But we must hurry, Mr. Ambassador," Thrombley was saying. "If you willrnchange, now, to formal dress ..."rnrnAnd he was looking at me, gasping. I think it was the first time he hadrnactually seen what I was wearing.rnrn"In native dress, Mr. Ambassador!"rnrnThrombley's eyes and tone were again those of an innocent spaniel caughtrnin the middle of a marital argument.rnrnThen his gaze fell to my belt and his eyes became saucers. "Oh, dear!rnAnd armed!"rnrnMy chargé d'affaires was shuddering and he could not look directly atrnme.rnrn"Mr. Ambassador, I understand that you were recently appointed from thernConsular Service. I sincerely hope that you will not take it amiss if Irnpoint out, here in private, that--"rnrn"Mr. Thrombley, I am wearing this costume and these pistols on therndirect order of Secretary of State Ghopal Singh."rnrnThat set him back on his heels.rnrn"I ... I can't believe it!" he exclaimed. "An ambassador is _never_rnarmed."rnrn"Not when he's dealing with a government which respects the comity ofrnnations and the usages of diplomatic practice, no," I replied. "But thernfate of Mr. Cumshaw clearly indicates that the government of New Texasrnis not such a government. These pistols are in the nature of arnnot-too-subtle hint of the manner in which this government, here, isrnbeing regarded by the government of the Solar League." I turned tornStonehenge. "Commander, what sort of an Embassy guard have we?" I asked.rnrn"Space Marines, sergeant and five men. I double as guard officer, sir."rnrn"Very well. Mr. Thrombley insists that it is necessary for me to go tornthis fish-fry or whatever it is immediately. I want two men, a driverrnand an auto-rifleman, for my car. And from now on, I would suggest,rnCommander, that you wear your sidearm at all times outside the Embassy."rnrn"Yes, sir!" and this time, Stonehenge gave me a real salute.rnrn"Well, I must phone the Statehouse, then," Thrombley said. "We will havernto call on Secretary of State Palme, and then on President Hutchinson."rnrnWith that, he got up, excused himself, motioned Gomez to follow, andrnhurried away.rnrnI got up, too, and motioned Stonehenge aside.rnrn"Aboard ship, coming in, I was told that there's a task force of thernSpace Navy on maneuvers about five light-years from here," I said.rnrn"Yes, sir. Task Force Red-Blue-Green, Fifth Space Fleet. Fleet AdmiralrnSir Rodney Tregaskis."rnrn"Can we get hold of a fast space-boat, with hyperdrive engines, in arnhurry?"rnrn"Eight or ten of them always around New Austin spaceport, available forrncharter."rnrn"All right; charter one and get out to that fleet. Tell AdmiralrnTregaskis that the Ambassador at New Austin feels in need of protection;rnpossibility of z'Srauff invasion. I'll give you written orders. I wantrnthe Fleet within radio call. How far out would that be, with ourrnfacilities?"rnrn"The Embassy radio isn't reliable beyond about sixty light-minutes,rnsir."rnrn"Then tell Sir Rodney to bring his fleet in that close. The invasion, ifrnit comes, will probably not come from the direction of the z'Srauffrnstar-cluster; they'll probably jump past us and move in from the otherrnside. I hope you don't think I'm having nightmares, Commander. Danger ofrna z'Srauff invasion was pointed out to me by persons on the very highestrnlevel, on Luna."rnrnStonehenge nodded. "I'm always having the same kind of nightmares, sir.rnEspecially since this special envoy arrived here, ostensibly tornnegotiate a meteor-mining treaty." He hesitated for a moment. "We don'trnwant the New Texans to know, of course, that you've sent for the fleet?"rnrn"Naturally not."rnrn"Well, if I can wait till about midnight before I leave, I can get arnboat owned, manned and operated by Solar League people. The boat's arndreadful-looking old tub, but she's sound and fast. The gang who own herrnare pretty notorious characters--suspected of smuggling, piracy, andrnwhat not--but they'll keep their mouths shut if well paid."rnrn"Then pay them well," I said. "And it's just as well you're not leavingrnat once. When I get back from this clambake, I'll want to have a generalrninformal council, and I certainly want you in on it."rnrnOn the way to the Statehouse in the aircar, I kept wondering just howrnsmart I had been.rnrnI was pretty sure that the z'Srauff was getting ready for a sneak attackrnon New Texas, and, as Solar League Ambassador, I of course had the rightrnto call on the Space Navy for any amount of armed protection.rnrnSending Stonehenge off on what couldn't be less than an eighteen-hourrntrip would delay anything he and Hoddy might be cooking up, too.rnrnOn the other hand, with the fleet so near, they might decide to have mernrubbed out in a hurry, to justify seizing the planet ahead of thernz'Srauff.rnrnI was in that pleasant spot called, "Damned if you do and damned if yourndon't...."