Suppressed giggles rocked Joan's body. "Oh, if you could have seen yourself." She burst out laughing. "The mother bird defending its young." She rocked back and forth in the chair. "You'd better come eat," said Jaro stiffly, "before the food gets cold." Joan stifled her laughter, wiped the tears out of her eyes, pulled up a chair. * * * * * "I'm not a bit hungry," she protested; "but what a lovely steak." She attacked it with vigor. "Um, um," she said between mouthfuls. "Delicious." There were half a dozen other dishes. Her strong white teeth wrought havoc with their contents. Jaro, a light eater, picked at a salad, but for the most part he watched the girl with growing interest. From time to time she cast covetous glances at his steak which he had pushed aside. "If you're not going to eat your steak," she ventured hesitantly. Jaro pushed it across the table. "For a girl who wasn't a bit hungry," he said; "you've shown remarkable staying powers. What do you do? Store it up in case of famine?" "Really," said Joan polishing off Jaro's steak; "you embarrass me." Just then a loud knock at the door caused her to gulp the last of it unchewed. "What is this?" she asked, "the crossroads of Mercury? You certainly entertain a lot." Jaro drew his slug gun again, tiptoed to the door, pulled it open. A big blond young man was leaning against the door frame. He was a good six feet, three inches tall and his shoulders almost filled the entrance. He had light blue eyes, a short straight nose. The rest of his face wore a broad grin. "Hello, Jaro, you old butcher," said the big young man. "Quit tickling my nose with that slug gun and invite me in." Joan tittered as Jaro holstered the gun. The big young man caught sight of her for the first time. He looked quickly away. "Sorry, old man," he said in a low voice, "didn't know you had company. No end sorry. Meet me tonight at _Mercury Sam's Garden_." Jaro's face broke into a grin. "Come in," he said. "It's much worse than it looks." He turned to Joan. "Miss Webb, this is Irving Landovitch. He's with the Terrestrial Intelligence Service; so naturally he has a suspicious mind." [Illustration: _Landovitch_] Joan blushed hotly. "Oh," she said. "How do you do?" The T.I.S. agent acknowledged the introduction, sat down on the bed. "What are you doing here, Irving?" asked Jaro. "The last time I saw you, you were working on a smuggling case back on Earth." "That's what I should ask you," replied the big young man, "but I don't mind telling you Jaro, I'm investigating a report that a revolution is about to break here on Mercury. Frankly, we didn't put much credence in it until we learned that you'd landed." "How did you find me?" "Oh that," chuckled the T.I.S. agent. "We've had a man shadowing you ever since you hit the space port."