Within minutes, then, the stronghold of Don Loris was startled by a roaring mutter in the sky overhead. Helmeted sentries on the battlements stared upward. The mutter rose to a howl, and the howl to the volume of thunder, and the thunder to a very great noise which made loose pebbles dance and quiver.

Then there was a speck of white cloudiness in the late afternoon sky. It grew swiftly in size, and a winking blue-white light appeared in its center. That light grew brighter and the noise managed somehow to increase and presently the ruddy sunlight was diluted by light from the rockets.

Then, abruptly, the rockets cut off, and something dark plunged downward, and the rockets flamed again and a vast mass of steam arose from scorched ground. The space-boat lay in a circle of wildly smoking, carbonized Darthian soil. The return of tranquility after so much tumult was startling.

Absolutely nothing happened. Hoddan unstrapped himself from the pilot’s seat, examined his surroundings thoughtfully, and turned off the vision apparatus. He went back and examined the feeding arrangements of the boat. He’d had nothing to eat since breakfast in this same time zone. The food in store was extremely easy to prepare and not especially appetizing. He ate with great deliberation, continuing to make plans which milked the necessities of the emigrants from Colin to his own plans and predicaments. He also thought very respectfully about his grandfather’s opinions on many subjects, including space-piracy. Hoddan found himself much more in agreement with his grandfather than he’d believed possible.

Outside the boat, birds which had dived to ground and cowered there during the boat’s descent now flew about again, their terror forgotten. Horses which had galloped wildly in their pastures, or kicked in panic in the castle stalls, returned to their oats and hay.

And there were human reactions. Don Loris had been in an excessively fretful state of mind since the conclusion of his deal with the pair from Walden. Hoddan had estimated that Don Loris ought to get a half-million credits for delivering him to Derec and the Waldenian police. But actually Don Loris had been unable to get the cop to promise more than half so much. But he’d closed the deal and sent for Hoddan — and Hoddan was gone.

Now the landing of this spaceboat roused a lively uneasiness in Don Loris. It might be new bargainers for Hoddan. It might be anything. Hoddan had said he had a secret. This might be it. Don Loris vexedly tried to contrive some useful skulduggery without the information to base it on.

Fani looked at the spaceboat with bright eyes. Thai was back at the castle. He’d told her of Hoddan riding up to the spaceboat near another chieftain’s castle, entering it, and then taking to the skies in an aura of flames, smoke and thunder. Fani hoped that he might have returned. But she worried while she waited for him to do something.

Hoddan did nothing. The spaceboat gave no sign of life.

The sun set, and the sky twinkled with darting lights which flew toward the west and vanished. Twilight followed, and more lights flashed across the heavens as if pursuing the sun. Fani had learned to associate three and then nine such lights with spacecraft, but she could not dream of a fleet of hundreds. She dismissed the lights from her mind, being much more concerned with Hoddan. He would be in as bad a fix as ever if he came out of the boat.

Twilight remained, a half-light in which all things looked much more charming than they really were. And Don Loris, reduced to peevish sputtering, summoned Thai. It should be remembered that Don Loris knew nothing of the disappearance of the spaceboat from his neighbor’s land. He knew nothing of Thai’s journey with Hoddan. But he did remember that Hoddan had seemed unworried at breakfast and explained his calm by saying that he had a secret. The feudal chieftain was worried that this spaceboat contained Hoddan’s secret.

“Thai,” said Don Loris peevishly, sitting beside the great fireplace in the enormous hall. “Thai, you know this Bron Hoddan better than anybody else.”

Thai breathed heavily. He turned pale.

“Where is he?” demanded Don Loris.

“I don’t know,” said Thai. It was true. So far as he was concerned, Hoddan had vanished into the sky.

“What does he plan to do?” demanded Don Loris.

“I don’t know,” said Thai helplessly.

“Where does that — that thing outside the castle come from?”

“I don’t know,” said Thai.

Don Loris drummed on the arm of his intricately carved chair.

“I don’t like people who don’t know things!” he said fretfully. “There must be somebody in that thing. Why don’t they show themselves? What are they here for? Why did they come down, especially here? Because of Bron Hoddan?” don’t know,” said Thai humbly.

“Then go find out!” snapped Don Loris. “Take a reasonable guard with you. The thing must have a door. Knock on it and ask who’s inside and why they came here. Tell them I sent you to ask.”

Thai saluted. With his teeth chattering, he gathered a half-dozen of his fellows and went tramping out the castle gate. Some of the half-dozen had been involved in the rescue of the Lady Fani from Ghek. They were still in a happy mood because of the plunder they’d brought back. It was much more than a mere retainer could usually hope for in a year.

“What’s this all about, Thai?” demanded one of them as Thai arranged them in two lines to make a proper military appearance, spears dressed upright and shields on their left arms.

“Frrrrd harch!” barked Thai, and they swung into motion. Thai said gloomily, “Don Loris said to find out who landed that thing out yonder. He keeps asking about Bron Hoddan, too.”

He strode in step with the others. The seven men made an impressively soldierly group, tramping away from the castle wall.

“What happened to’ him?” asked a rear-file man. He marched on, eyes front, chest out, spear swinging splendidly in time with his marching. “That lad has a nose for loot! Don’t take it himself, though. If he set up in business as a chieftain, now—”

“Hup, two, three, four,” muttered Thai. “Hup, two, three—”

“Don Loris’s a hard chieftain,” growled the right-hand man in the second file. “Plenty of grub and beer, but no fighting and no loot. I didn’t get to go with you the other day, but what you brought back…”

“Wasn’t half of what was there,” mourned a front-file man. “Wasn’t half! Those pistols he issued got shot out and we had to get outta there fast! Hm… here’s this thing, Thai. “What do we do with it?”

“Hrrrmp, halt!” barked Thai. He stared at the motionless, seemingly lifeless, shapeless spaceboat. He’d seen one like it earlier today. That one spouted fire and went up out of sight. He was wary of this one. He grumbled. “Those pipes in the back of it, steer clear of ’em. They spit fire. No door on this side. Don Loris said knock on the door. We go around the front. Frrrrd harch! two, three, four, hup, two, three, four. Left turn here and mind those rocks. Don Loris’d give us hell if somebody fell down. Left turn again. Hup, two, three, four.”

The seven men tramped splendidly around the front of the lifeboat. On the far side, its bulk hid even Don Loris’ castle from view. The six spearmen, with Thai, came to a second halt.

“Here goes,” rumbled Thai. “I tell you, boys, if she starts to spit fire, you get the hell away!”

He marched up to spaceboat’s port. He knocked on it There was no response. He knocked again.

Hoddan opened the door. He nodded cheerfully to Thai.

“Afternoon, Thai! Glad to see you. I’ve been hoping you’d come over this way. Who’s with you?” He peered through the semi-darkness. “Some of the boys, eh? Come in!” He beckoned and said casually, “Lean your spears against the hull, there.”