"Greetings, Gabe!" I chortled. "Greetings, Gabe!" I was about to shake hands when I yelled and jumped back about ten feet. Just behind Renn was a snarling tawny. Renn laughed. "Little watchdog I brought back. He's a runt, you'll notice. Only about five feet high. Weighs about fifteen hundred pounds. He keeps prowlers off the grounds at night--so many people are curious these days. But don't worry, he can't get at you." The runt was tied with steel cables about two inches thick. He was giving the cables a hard time. "Come on in," laughed Kettering. "Those cables would hold an elephant." "I don't see what that has to do with holding a tawny," I wheezed, "but if the rest of your guests got through, I guess I can make it." Kettering took my arm and sort of guided me down the hall, and when we passed the tawny all those eyes or whatever they are, all over its body, glared through the fur and it leaped at me. The big choppers clacked a half inch from my ear and I felt a mandible graze my coat. Renn guffawed. "I measured his exact reach," he said chummily. "Sorry if he scared you. A good watchdog--so many people curious these days." That made the second time he'd said that. I gulped a drink before I began to talk to anybody. Practically all the Important Crowd was present.... Dick Lutz, the critic; Sally Flours; Johnny Lambeck of Lambeck & Bowe, and what looked like the whole cast of "Mars Hazard." I was in luck--Arden Montgomery was there with them. I noticed she didn't have a drink, so I brought her one. "Greetings, Gabe," I smirked charmingly, and she gave me the big hello. So far, so good--she was glad to see me. "What's new, Manny?" "Nothing," I said, "Except I'm in love with you." "Wonderful," she said. "I love having people in love with me." I slid my eyes up her legs, which were exhibited considerably. No sign of scars. "How was Mars? I hear it's dry and full of itchy green sand and the sky is a pink that'd turn your stomach. And--horrors--no bars!" "I kinda liked the damned place. Wouldn't mind staying there." A little voice in the back of my mind said "Hm! Something's fishy." "I heard it was lousy," I told Arden. "Not to start an argument." "We liked it. Can't you keep your eyeballs off my legs?" Matter of fact, I hardly could. From looking for scars, I had passed to just looking. I tried higher up and only got absorbed again. There were some things about Arden, if you overlooked her acting, that were spectacular. "Who's the girl lately?" she asked. "Nobody important. Who's the boy?" She shrugged, and her dress nearly slid off her shoulder. "Nobody important. My drink's gone. Let's go get another."