"I'm forty-one," Sar explained. "If I'm divorced now, what chance do you suppose I'll have to become a first-wife again? It's hard enough getting a man when you're young. And I have no intention of becoming a second-wife. The first-wife pension is too good to give up! In nine more years I'll be eligible for it. Then Merl can have his divorce and get himself another first-wife. But not until then!" "What if the court grants the divorce?" "How can they?" Sar demanded. "My competence can't be questioned, no matter how many bribed witnesses Merl may have. Anyone can look at the record and see. And the six sturdy children who bear my name are certainly evidence that I'm not sterile. "No, Dag," she summed up, "I'm not going to lose my rating. I don't know which one of Merl's second-wives aspires to be Mrs. Wisson, but whoever she is, she's going to be disappointed unless she's willing to wait nine years. And by then," she added wryly, "she'll be too old to suit Merl. I'm afraid she'll have to be satisfied to remain a second-wife." Sar laughed. "Once a second-wife, always a second-wife," she said. "Or, what's more to the point--once a first-wife...." * * * * * The courtroom was crowded the next morning when Sar Wisson's attorney rose to present his case. It was up to him to disprove the charge of sexual incompetence, a charge which his opponent had attempted to substantiate solely on the testimony of Sar's husband and several men who claimed to have had unsatisfactory love affairs with her. It was up to him to discredit the testimony of these men, and establish the fact of Sar's competence. "Honorable members of the court," he began. "I shall prove beyond any doubt that the charge against my client, Mrs. Sar Wisson, has no basis in fact. Having established her competence, I shall request the court to deny the petition for divorce. "If it please the court," he announced, "I should like to call Mrs. Sar Wisson to the stand." When Sar had made herself comfortable in the seat opposite the judges' dais, her lawyer began the examination. "_Mrs._ Wisson," he said, emphasizing the title that only a first-wife is entitled to, "do you understand the charge made against you? Do you know what sexual incompetence is?" "I do." "To the best of your knowledge, are you incompetent?" "I am not!" "Object!" shouted Merl's attorney. "Her competence or incompetence is something which she is not in a position to judge. Naturally, she believes herself to be...." Justice Klyutch, the presiding officer of the court, waved the attorney to silence. "Overruled," he said. "The woman has a right to speak in her own defense. However, the court will take note of the source of the testimony, counselor." "Now, Mrs. Wisson," Sar's lawyer resumed, "did you hear the testimony of the witnesses called by the petitioner yesterday? I refer to the four men who said they had been your lovers." "I heard what they said, and it was a pack of lies!"