"A line you didn't anticipate. Solar's stockholders have ordered him to recover what he gave away, and he's taking no chances on losing what personal holdings he has left. He tried to eliminate Perry and me the minute he snapped back to normal, and he'll have you erased as soon as you're taken." I stared at her. "That's going pretty far, even for Shanig. Why should he beam us out?" She gave me an exasperated look. "Because he's afraid you might force Perry and me to swear that he tricked you on your contract release. It didn't matter before when he was powerful enough to smother the charge, but he's been so hard hit that he can't risk a reversal of that contract now. Don't you see? If you brought suit for reparations and won it would ruin him. The only way Shanig can make himself safe is to eliminate you as claimant or to get rid of Perry and me as witnesses." It was a deadly sort of logic. I had expected Shanig to yell foul but I hadn't looked for a planet-wide homo hunt with myself as the quarry. "It's up to us, then," I said. "We'll have to settle Shanig first or he'll get us as sure as sin." She didn't look so frightened now as embarrassed. "That's why I came to you. We can keep out of Shanig's way, perhaps, but poor Perry is trapped. Someone will have to get him out of that horrible place before Shanig reaches him." I gaped a little over that one. "What horrible place? Where is Perry?" "At the Argonaut Club," she said. "As soon as Shanig was himself again he photovised Perry and ordered him to take the smiley there, partly to get Joey away and partly to cut down breakage expense at the Argonaut. Perry's been there all day, associating with Eetee outlanders and drinking skohl like any common spacehand. He'll drink himself to death before Shanig finds a way to get to him, if we don't hurry." I laughed until my face hurt. I couldn't help it. The idea of Perry Acree drinking himself blind in the Argonaut's rowdy company was too much. Thinking about the prayer-meeting hush that Joey must be laying over the toughest shot-slot in the System made it all the funnier until the real reason for Cheryl's hunting me down percolated through my skull and sobered me up. Her motive was enlightening, but not flattering. * * * * * "So that's why you risked your luscious hide to find me," I said. "To talk me into dragging that idiot dwarf out of the Argonaut. Am I right?" She looked hopping mad and pleading at the same time, which is quite a trick even for a redhead. "You can do it if anyone can. I checked on your background this morning, and it seems that--well, that you may not be the windbag I thought you after all. One asteroid prospector told me that you--"