"Disperse," he said, evenly, "to respective stations.
Maintain full vigil for six hours after dispersion of crowd.
Double stations for forty-eight hours thereafter.
Further instructions at that time.
Twer, come with me."
They were alone in Mallow's private quarters.
Mallow indicated a chair and Twer sat down.
His stocky figure looked shrunken.
Mallow stared him down, sardonically.
"Twer," he said, "I'm disappointed.
Your three years in politics seem to have gotten you out of trader habits.
Remember, I may be a democrat back at the Foundation, but there's nothing short of tyranny that can run my ship the way I want it run.
I never had to pull a blaster on my men before, and I wouldn't have had to now, if you hadn't gone out of line.
"Twer, you have no official position, but you're here on my invitation, and I'll extend you every courtesy - in private.
However, from now on, in the presence of my officers or men, I'm 'sir,' and not 'Mallow.'
And when I give an order, you'll jump faster than a third-class recruit just for luck, or I'll have you handcuffed in the sub-level even faster.
Understand?"
The party-leader swallowed dryly. He said, reluctantly,
"My apologies."
"Accepted!
Will you shake?"
Twer's limp fingers were swallowed in Mallow's huge palm.
Twer said, "My motives were good.
It's difficult to send a man out to be lynched.
That wobbly-kneed governor or whatever-he-was can't save him. It's murder."
"I can't help that.
Frankly, the incident smelled too bad.
Didn't you notice?"
"Notice what?"
"This spaceport is deep in the middle of a sleepy far section.
Suddenly a missionary escapes.
Where from?
He comes here.
Coincidence?
A huge crowd gathers.
From where?
The nearest city of any size must be at least a hundred miles away.
But they arrive in half an hour.
How?"
"How?" echoed Twer.
"Well, what if the missionary were brought here and released as bait.
Our friend, Revered Parma, was considerably confused.
He seemed at no time to be in complete possession of his wits."
"Hard usage-" murmured Twer bitterly.
"Maybe!
And maybe the idea was to have us go all chivalrous and gallant, into a stupid defense of the man.
He was here against the laws of Korell and the Foundation.
If I withhold him, it is an act of war against Korell, and the Foundation would have no legal right to defend us."
"That - that's pretty far-fetched."
The speaker blared and forestalled Mallow's answer: