His only sore spot was the fact that Terra denied him his right to his secret--and his life. They had been more than unreasonable in that, expecting him to break his oath to them. And that brought back the old argument. Who was right? Should he have agreed to Ertene's oath and then sold them out? He shook his head. Had he been that kind, Ertene would not have permitted him to leave. * * * * * Guy had spent his life under the idea that when things went too quietly too long grief was brewing. He had theorized upon it, and had formulated the relation that the amount of grief was proportional to the length of quiet time. His accounting was piling up to a terrible, staggering total. He knew it wouldn't last, couldn't last. He hoped that Thomakein would move, giving him a chance to lose himself. But Thomakein went about his business quietly, testing the vortex projectors and handling the details of defense. What form the end would take, Guy didn't know. He'd have welcomed it save for the one fact that if and when it came, Guy would then be out of a place to live. Terra had made it impossible to remain there, to have Ertene denied him would make him a man without a planet. And so he fought the idea of alliance with Terra because such an alliance would place him right in the hands of the Terrans themselves. There would be no forgiving if they came, and once they came and disclosed Guy's real identity, Guy would have no Ertinian shelter. Ertene would throw him out for violating his promise never to return. Guy snorted at himself. His was a life of broken promises and cross-purpose oaths. But there was one oath he intended to keep. He would do all he could to keep Ertene free--his life depended upon it! It occurred to Guy that the way to keep things that way was to remove the source of irritation, and so he began to investigate and to reason. How lucky it was that Elanane had passed on as he did. How lucky that Guy resembled him. Guy had accepted these coincidences glibly, without question, until it came to him that Thomakein could have done otherwise if he had found it necessary. Charalas had been lanee once, and the neuro-surgeon would have followed Thomakein's urgings, especially after Thomakein's stories of Terran intrigue. It was too trite. Would a popular ruler, professing isolation, refuse to arm his planet against invasion? Perhaps. There are men who think that if they mind their business, others will mind theirs. But not Terra. Not when known otherwise, would such a policy work. The idea of passive resistance went out when the airplane came in. The real Elanane was quite a man. He was loved, admired, and eulogized. He was intelligent, well-balanced mentally, morally, and physically. Elanane was neither crank nor crackpot, and Guy knew that his theories of government were stable and sensible. Therefore Guy reasoned that Elanane would be certain to take any measures to insure the safety of Ertene.