"I will see what can be done about it," he stated. "I have a plan which should get results." "Are you going to take up a hobby?" eagerly. "Not a new one; but a hobby I have always had." And with this enigmatic reply he was off. Van Emmon kept track of his further movements, and reported everything to the other three. Powart had not been in flight long before he sent off a wireless despatch, to which he received a most extraordinary reply. It was from the expedition which he had sent to Alma a week before: People of Alma give us warm welcome. Invite us to stay. We propose to do so. The planet infinitely preferable to either Hafen or Holl. Accept our resignations or not, as you please, and be damned to you! Powart made no comment upon this, which he read in privacy after carefully decoding it. Van Emmon had no idea what he was thinking, of course, but wondered mightily how the chairman was going to deal with the situation. He could scarcely read that aerogram to the commission. For some time he paced the cabin of his yacht, and at the end he behaved like a man whose mind had been pretty strongly made up. The commission met, it seems, in a central part of Hafen. Powart reached the place some hours after leaving Mona. He arrived to find the other nine members waiting for him; and without the least delay he took his place at the head of the table. "We will postpone the usual routine until the next session if you like," said he. There was no objection; whereupon Powart produced a message from his pocket. "You will recall the expedition to Alma. I have just received their first report since reaching the planet." And then, to the vast amazement of the people on the earth, he read--not what Van Emmon had seen him receive, but this, in his strong, matter-of-fact voice: "People of Alma facing starvation, due to overpopulation and land-exhaustion. Have disabled our boat and will not permit us to return, although allowing us to use wireless, which they do not understand. "They are constructing a fleet of huge space-boats, all heavily armed, intending to cross over to Hafen and Holl, and conquer the Capellans." Powart glanced keenly around the table. "This is all that has been received. Evidently our men were prevented from sending any more. I expect nothing further. It remains for us to decide, at once, what we should do." The silence of the next few minutes was largely due to consternation. To most of the commissioners the problem was staggering. They looked up in eager relief as the shock-headed man broke the silence. "It seems to me that war is not inevitable. Apparently the thing that Alma needs is food. We still have a good deal of underdeveloped land on Holl; why not make a bargain with them?" "You mean present them with enough land to raise the food they need?" from the former chairman. "Yes, in exchange for whatever manufactured goods they can supply, and which we need. I see no reason for an invasion."