"Admitted." Jackson smiled. "But he might guess. You'd have to be consulting with his people for some time before the conclave, you know. And he'd have time to figure things out. Here you are. Here's the clan book. But where's Gorham? And Gorham went up to find that book. Adds up, you see." "You mean I've got to stay under cover from now on?" "Not necessarily. The clan warden doesn't have to be identified ahead of time. Usually, it's just an honorary job, any way. But this time, he might really have to perform his traditional duty." He looked at Don seriously. "Remember the private conversation between claimant and prime minister? About that time, the warden is the only protection the claimant has. "And this is one time a claimant may really need protection." * * * * * Daniel Stern slapped a folder down on his desk and got to his feet. He circled the large office, then stopped, looking down at Gorham's vacant desk. What had happened to Gorham? Papers were stacked all over his own desk. And they should be here. Most of them had been old Jake's concern. He hadn't realized how much detail the old man had controlled. But where was Gorham? He'd come in from Riandar. Reports showed that much. Then, his flier had suddenly dashed over and landed on the Federation pad. They'd tried to stop him, but---- Something must have gone wrong up there at Riandar. Something must have made Gorham decide to come back and make a separate deal of his own. But why? There was that pile of clothes in the Waern house. Had he----? Maybe that blast had killed Gorham and destroyed his evidence. He looked around hopefully. It was possible. No effort had been made to restrain him. He still controlled the Ministry. No effort had been made to limit his authority. He picked up a sheet of paper. Oh, no? They didn't want to limit him--they wanted everything. Here was this demand for a conclave. And with that Waern kid running around loose, that was bad. And he had no one to talk to! Of all the people in this palace, not a single one could serve as confidant. With Gorham gone---- He shuffled through the papers. Yes, here was the formal demand for a conclave. He looked at it unhappily. And here was the transcript of the Waern claim. It looked too good. He tossed the papers back to the desk. It was good, and he knew it. He'd seen the originals in the heraldric files. They were destroyed, of course. But here was a photo of that clan book! And worse, here was the notice from the Resident Commissioner that the claimant had requested protective intervention from the Galactic Federation. That was really bad. He could remember his interview with the commissioner on that. Jackson had always been something of a problem. He was a stubborn man. But up to now, he'd always backed down--if enough pressure was put on him. This time? Hah! He'd come in, bringing that rancher--that Kent Michaels. Stern frowned.