Hoddan thought it over. He started. He put his arms around her with singularly little skill. He kissed her, at first as if amazed at himself, and then with enthusiasm. There were scraping sounds on the stone nearby. Footsteps. Don Loris appeared, gazing uncertainly about. "Fani!" he said plaintively. "Hoddan? Our guests are going to the spaceships. I want to speak privately to Hoddan." "Yes?" said Hoddan. Don Loris peered blindly about. He kissed Fani again. "I've been thinking," said Don Loris fretfully. "I've made some mistakes, my dear boy, and I've given you excellent reason to dislike me, but at bottom I've always thought a great deal of you. And ... ah ... there seems to be only one way in which I can properly express how much I admire you. Ah-- How would you like to marry my daughter?" Hoddan looked down at Fani. She did not try to move away. "What do you think of the idea, Fani?" he asked. "How about marrying me tomorrow morning?" "Of course not!" said Fani indignantly. "I wouldn't think of such a thing! I couldn't possibly get married before tomorrow afternoon!" THE END Transcriber's Notes: This etext was produced from Astounding Science Fiction February, March and April 1959. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed. Spelling and typography have been normalized. End of Project Gutenberg's The Pirates of Ersatz, by Murray Leinster