"You don't really believe that? Sure, every few years you hear those stories, but Ketrik always shows up again." Janus sighed. "You know, I've almost come to believe that he's not human. Where other men go--men like us--they find that Ketrik has been there first. I've personally made two fortunes, and lost them, in following his trail!" Mark was skeptical. "But even he wouldn't dare try for Planet X! He hasn't the speed that we have. It would take him--" "Ketrik would dare anything! Why, six months ago I heard that he was planning this venture; that's why we're here. We five men pooled our savings to finance Brownell's Frequency Tuner and build this spacer, in secret, of course. Sure--it would take Ketrik maybe three months to reach Planet X in some dilapidated little rocket-powered craft. We'll make it in three days--but I'll wager he's already there!" "With the whole populace kow-towing at his feet, most likely." It was Driscoll who spoke as he entered the room, followed by the other men. "Sure, I'll back the luck of Ketrik every time!" Dethman shook his head. "Planet X is probably uninhabitable. But I'll bet my last pair of socks Ketrik's located a cave of diamonds, or maybe a platinum vein. Toss him in a Venusian sink-hole, he'd come up wreathed in swamp pearls!" "He's that sort," Janus agreed. "It was platinum on Mars, cinnabar on Mercury, plumes on Venus. By the way, I got in on the plumes--made a fortune. And the other time I saw Ketrik--" "I recall the time he showed up at the Venusian Prison Swamp," Driscoll put in. "One day he wasn't there, the next day he was--just like that. Inside a week he had organized a group of us for a getaway attempt. Hundreds of others had tried it and failed. Well, he led us safely across two hundred miles of swamp, supposed to be impassable. Know what was on the other side? A spaceship, all waiting and ready. He just wanted to prove it could be done, I guess." "I only saw him once," Kaarj shrilled eagerly. "That was on Deimos. He had discovered the secret shrine of the Deimian ancients. He came out of that shrine decked from head to foot with blazing jewels--but the Deimians were waiting for him. They're a blood-thirsty tribe, and they were plenty angry...." "I never heard this story before," Janus said. "What happened?" "I stayed a safe distance away in my spaceship, watching and this is what happened. Ketrik made them a speech! I swear it! He climbed up on a block of stone in full range of their weapons--and do you know what his speech consisted of? The entire first chapter of the 'Advanced Principles of Space Navigation'. He quoted it most violently. Those Deimians didn't understand a word of it, but I swear to you, when Ketrik had finished they weren't angry any more! They cheered him! He walked calmly over to his space-cruiser and blasted away, jewels and all!"