The dancer's stride broke and her head turned sharply in Majesky's direction. Then she ignored the interruption and went on with her dance. But Majesky was not to be ignored. He climbed to his feet and stood with his head hunched between his shoulders, watching her. Then he lurched forward, caught the girl up in his arms and swung her around in a staggering circle. It had happened too suddenly for any of the Earthmen to stop him, and now they were unable to decide just what they should do. Most of them turned to Bruckner. To Sweets, it seemed that Bruckner had gone pale, but it was difficult to be certain in the uneven light cast by the fire. His mouth opened twice before he could speak. And when he did, Sweets almost laughed at the staginess and absurdity of what he said. "Unhand that woman!" Bruckner commanded. Bruckner's voice was loud and it penetrated through the haze of Majesky's drunken elation. He stopped his spinning and set the girl on her feet, but he kept his right arm around her waist and glared back at Bruckner. "Go to hell," he said. The natives apparently had been as surprised as the crew, for they had not moved. Now, however, one of them rose and lunged at Majesky. Majesky's face twisted into an expectant grin and he tossed the girl aside and stood with wide-spread legs, waiting. As the native dived in with his head lowered, Majesky brought his right fist up in a powerful uppercut and smashed it into the tribesman's mouth. The native continued his dive and landed face down. Natives and Earthmen were on their feet now and moving toward Majesky. Sweets reached him first. The grin of pleasure was still on Majesky's face as he hit Sweets on the left cheek and spun him half-around. He butted his head into the chest of the next man to reach him, but they pulled him down then and held him helpless. The natives had paused when they saw the Earthmen grab Majesky. Now Bruckner made his voice heard above the noise. "Bring him over here!" he yelled. Two men pinned Majesky's arms while a third held one kicking leg. They dragged him over to Bruckner. "You damn, dumb fool!" Bruckner cursed fervently. He raised his voice. "All of you," he ordered, "back to the ship!" The natives made no attempt to stop them. Sweets glanced back over his shoulder at Chief Faffin as they went. He was standing and intoning sadly, "_Lacigule, lacigule, lacigule_." * * * * * The following day, Bruckner called Sweets to his quarters. "That was a rotten piece of business last night," Bruckner said. "But I'm proud of the way you acted. You did some mighty quick thinking there." Sweets grunted. He knew the flattery was leading to something. "I've been giving the matter some deep thought since," Bruckner continued, "and I don't think it's too late yet to patch things up. But I need a man with guts." He laughed. "How brave do you feel this morning?" Sweets shrugged and regarded the other levelly.