Amschel Mayer said, "At this stage progress is faster with the generations closer together. A man is pressed when he knows he has only twenty or thirty years of peak efficiency. We on Earth are inclined to settle back and take life as it comes; you younger men are all past the century mark, but none have bothered to get married as yet." "Plenty of time for that," Watson grinned. "That's what I mean. But a Texcocan or Genoese feels pressed to wed in his twenties, or earlier, to get his family under way." "There's another element," Plekhanov muttered. "The more the natives progress the more nearly they'll equal our abilities. I wouldn't want anything to happen to our overall plans. As it is now, their abilities taper off at sixty and they reach senility at seventy or eighty. I think until the end we should keep it this way." "A cold-blooded view," Kennedy said. "If we extended their life expectancy, their best men would live to be of additional use to planet development." "But they would not have our dream," Plekhanov rumbled. "Such men might try to subvert us, and, just possibly, might succeed." "I think Leonid is right," Mayer admitted with reluctance. * * * * * Later, in the space lighter heading back for Genoa, Mayer said speculatively, "Did you notice anything about Leonid Plekhanov?" Kennedy was piloting. "He seems the same irascible old curmudgeon he's always been." "It seems to me he's become a touch power mad. Could the pressures he's under cause his mind to slip? Obviously, all isn't peaches and cream in that attempt of his to achieve world government on Texcoco." "Well," Kennedy muttered, "all isn't peaches and cream with us, either. The barons are far from licked, especially in the west." He changed the subject. "By the way, that banking deal went through in Pola. I was able to get control." "Fine," Mayer chuckled. "You must be quite the richest man in the city. There is a certain stimulation in this financial game, Jerry, isn't there?" "Uh huh," Jerry told him. "Of course, it doesn't hurt to have a marked deck." "Marked deck?" the other frowned. "It's handy that gold is the medium of exchange on Genoa," Jerry Kennedy said. "Especially in view of the fact that we have a machine on the ship capable of transmuting metals." VI. Leonid Plekhanov, Joseph Chessman, Barry Watson, Khan Reif and several of the Tulan army staff stood on a small knoll overlooking a valley of several square miles. A valley dominated on all sides but the sea by mountain ranges. Reif and the three Earthlings were bent over a military map depicting the area. Barry Watson traced with his finger. "There are only two major passes into this valley. We have this one, they dominate that." Plekhanov was scowling, out of his element and knowing it. "How many men has Mynor been able to get together?"