When Ryyn had decided that the news had spread enough, he gave them the word. Ryaa had voted for the space ship to show that she really wasn't afraid of the jinx, but Ryyn forbade that. He had personally chosen a resort, and had used his influence to overcome the owner's reluctance. It was Ryyn, too, who had the would-be interviewers and most of the curious crowd cleared away. Several of the remarks made by the crowd had started Ool to worrying again. And in spite of her brave remarks, he knew that Ryaa was afraid too. "You don't have to go through with this," he told her. "No one would blame you for walking out." Ryaa shook her head. "It will be all right," she insisted. Standing on tiptoe, she caught his face between her hands and pressed her lips to his. "That's how much I think of your old curse," she murmured and fled into the other room. When she returned she had changed into a sheer blue gown that just matched her eyes, and did nothing to hide her perfectly formed body. Ool stared. He knew that she had grown up but he hadn't realized how beautiful she had become. He took a step toward her. But there, standing beside her, were the ghostly figures of Loris and Tanya. He stopped abruptly and his arms fell to his sides. "I must say you don't act much like an ardent bridegroom," Ryaa complained. "After all, we're supposed to behave normally." She caught his arms and drew them around her. Slipping her arms around his neck she raised her face to his. Ool's arms tightened around her and his lips met hers. Behind Ryaa a chair disintegrated with a whispered sigh, unheard by the lovers. But they did hear the crash of splintering glass as two struggling figures hurtled into the room. Ryaa clung to Ool as the fighters threshed around them, unrecognizable at first. Then a slim, golden-haired figure seemed to be forcing his opponent down. "Ryyn," Ryaa exclaimed. "But who--" The two figures were struggling over some sort of a weapon. A sudden twist of Ryyn's wrist sent it hurtling across the room. Ool scooped it up--a strange sort of gun--and stood ready to aid Ryyn. But it was no longer necessary for Ryyn had pinned the other's arms behind him and now forced him to his feet. He was a dark, squat Martian, who looked like a malevolent frog. "Gilk!" The name broke from Ool's incredulous lips. "Gilk," Ryyn agreed. "The only person who had reason to hate you and was clever enough to think up such a fiendish plot. Too clever, really, to be caught in such a simple trap, with you two doing your best to give it away. We were lucky that he was mad with hate, so he didn't notice." He called out and two guards came into the room, one from the door and the other through the broken window. Behind them came the members of the committee. "Here's our murderer," Ryyn told them. "It shouldn't be hard to prove that he killed the others now that we saw him try to kill Ryaa and Ool."