Dan's impulse was to jump aside, then tackle the man. Instead, his body turned slightly. His right hand, already partly raised, whipped in a short arc, caught something, flicked it to his left, and blurred straight out again. The man opposite Dan blinked and jumped aside. At the same instant, Dan's left hand shot out. There was a gasp from the crowd. The man collapsed with the butt of a knife jutting from his chest. A voice behind Dan said warmly, "Superb! A return attack complete in one stroke!" Dan turned to see three alert, strong-looking men. One counted bills from a thick roll. The second opened up a square case with carrying handle. The third was unwinding an armband with a badge on it. The man with the case held it out. "If you'll just put your fingertips on these plates, so we'll be sure to get your mating credits--" Dan sensed from the waiting attitude of the people watching that this was some kind of test. Unhesitatingly, he held out his fingertips. There were also two bright flashes as a small tube was held to Dan's eyes. Once Dan could see again, everyone seemed relaxed and friendly. The crowd was excitedly arguing the details of what had happened. The man with the roll of bills handed over a small fistful, saying, "Double, for the return at one stroke." The man with the armband put it on Dan's arm as he rapidly recited the words of some rote formula, of which all Dan caught was a frequent reference to "the Code," and the words "peril and deadly danger," and the last words, "now say, 'I do.'" "I do," said Dan, fervently wishing he were somewhere else. The man with the case was beaming as he snapped the little rod inside. He said genially, "I always know an honest fight when I see it. And these days it's a real pleasure to--" Just then, he clapped the case shut. The case gave out a clang like the general alarm on a space cruiser under surprise attack. The crowd gave a shout. "Unauthorized kill!" The three men beside Dan jumped forward. Dan's left hand lashed out to smash the nearest of the three men in the midsection. The flat edge of his right hand struck the second man just below the nose; then Dan had thrown the first man back against the third, had whirled around and seen the crowd start to surge across the sidewalk to block his escape. He sprinted directly past this crowd, so that when it completely blocked the sidewalk an instant later, he was cut off from the view of the three men he had just knocked down. Dan did not doubt that these three men were officials of the planet, and he strongly suspected that they were armed and knew how to use their weapons. * * * * * Across the street, at the edge of one corner of the green, was a tall hedge of flowering shrubs, back of which was a grove of young trees. Dan dodged past carts and small, square, silent automobiles, and ran through this hedge. Behind him there was a shout of anger.