His father said, "Son, you can't take that attitude."

Jim said, "Can't I? Well, I do. Why don't you find out what the score is before you talk about giving me up?" His voice was a bit shrill.

His father bit his lip. His mother said, "Please, Jameswhy don't you wait and hear what he has to say?"

"Of course I want to hear what he has to say," Mr. Marlowe answered irritably. "Didn't I say that? But I can't let my own son sit there and declare himself an outlaw."

"Please, James!"

"Speak your piece. Son."

Jim looked around. "I don't know as I'm so anxious to, now," he said bitterly. "This is a fine homecoming. You all act like I was a criminal or something."

"I'm sorry, Jim," his father said slowly. "Let's keep first things first. Tell us what happened."

"Well... all right. But wait a minutePhyllis said there was a warrant out for me. For what?"

"Well... truancy-but that's not important. Actions to the prejudice of good order and discipline at the school and I myself don't know what they mean by mat. It doesn't worry me. But the real charges are burglary and theft-and another one they tacked on a day later, escaping arrest."

"Escaping arrest? That's silly! They never caught us."

"So? How about the others?"

"Theft is silly, too. I didn't steal anything from himHowe, I mean. Headmaster Howe-he stole Willis from me. And then he laughed at me when I tried to get him back! I'll 'theft' him!" If he ever shows up around me, I'll burn him down!"

"Jim!"

"Well, I will!"

"Go on with your story."

"The burglary business has got something to it. I busted in to his office, or tried to. But he can't prove anything. I'd like to see him show how I could crawl through a ten-inch round hole. And we didn't leave any fingerprints." He added, "Anyhow, I had a right to. He had Willis locked up inside. Say, Dad, can't we swear out a warrant against Howe for stealing Willis? Why should he have it all his own way?"

"Wait a minute, now. You've got me confused. If you have a cause for action against the headmaster, I'll certainly back you up in it. But I want to get things straight. What hole? Did you cut a hole in the headmaster's door?"

"No, Willis did."

"Willis! How can he cut anything?"

"Darned if I know. He just grew an arm with a sort of a claw on the end and cut his way out. I called to him and out he came."

Mr. Marlowe rubbed his forehead. "This gets more confusing all the time. How did you boys get here?"

"By subway. You see-"

"By subway!"

Jim looked thwarted. His mother put in, "James dear, I think perhaps he could tell his story better if we just let him tell it straight through, without interrupting."

"I think you are right," Mr. Marlowe agreed. "I'll reserve my questions. Phyllis, get me a pad and pencil."

Thus facilitated, Jim started over and told a reasonably consecutive and complete story, from Howe's announcement of military-school inspections to their translation via Martian "subway" from Cynia to Charax. When Jim had done, Mr. Marlowe pulled his chin. "Jim, if you didn't have a life-time reputation for stubborn honesty, I'd think you were romancing. As it is, I have to believe it, but it is the most fantastic thing I ever heard."

"You still think I ought to surrender?"

"Eh? No, no-this puts it in a different light. You leave it up to Dad. I'll call the Resident and-"

"Just a second, Dad."

"Eh?"

"I didn't tell you all of it."

"What? You must. Son, if I am to-"

"I didn't want to get my story fouled up with another issue entirely. I'll tell you, but I want to know something. Isn't the colony supposed to be on its way by now?"

"It was supposed to have been," agreed his father. "Migration would have started yesterday by the original schedule. But there has been a two-week postponement."

"That's not a postponement, Dad; that's a frame-up. The Company isn't going to allow the colony to migrate this year. They mean to make us stay here all through the winter."

"What? Why, that's ridiculous, Son; a polar winter is no place for terrestrials. But you are mistaken, it's just a postponement; the Company is revamping the power system at North Colony and is taking advantage of an unusually late winter to finish it before we get there."

"I'm telling you. Dad, that's just a stall. The plan is to keep the colony here until it's too late and force you to stay here through the winter. I can prove it."

"How?"

"Where's Willis?" The bouncer had wandered off again, checking up on his domain.

"Never mind Willis. You've made an unbelievable charge. What makes you think such a thing?"

"But I've got to have Willis to prove it. Here, boy! Come to Jim." Jim gave a rapid summary of what he had learned through Willis's phonographic hearing, following which he tried to get Willis to perform.

Willis was glad to perform. He ran over almost all of the boys' conversation of the past few days, repeated a great amount of Martian speech that was incomprehensible out of context, and sang iQuien Es La Sefiorita? But he could not, or would not, recall Beecher's conversation.

Jim was still coaxing him when the phone sounded. Mr. Marlowe said, "Phyllis, answer that."

She trotted back in a moment. "It's for you. Daddy."

Jim shut Willis up; they could hear both ends of the conversation. "Marlowe? This is the Resident Agent. I hear that boy of yours has turned up."

Jim's father glanced over his shoulder, hesitated. "Yes. He's here."

"Well, keep him there. I'm sending a man over to pick him up."

Mr. Marlowe hesitated again. "That's not necessary, Mr. Kruger. I'm not through talking with him. He won't go away."

"Come, come, Marlowe-you can't interfere with orderly legal processes. I'm executing that warrant at once."

"You are? You just think you are." Mr. Marlowe started to add something, thought better of it, and switched off. The phone sounded again almost at once. "If that's the Resident," he said, "I won't speak to him. If I do, I'll say something I'll regret."

But it was not; it was Frank's father. "Marlowe? Jamie, this is Pat Sutton." The conversation showed that each father had gotten about to the same point with his son.

"We were just about to try to get something out of Jim's bouncer," Mr. Marlowe added. "It seems he overheard a pretty damning conversation."

"Yes, I know," agreed Mr. Sutton. "I want to hear it, too. Hold it till we get there."

"Fine. Oh, by the way-friend Kruger is out to arrest the kids right away. Watch out."

"How well I know it; he just called me. And I put a flea in his ear. 'Bye now!"

Mr. Marlowe switched off, then went to the front door and locked it. He did the same to the door of the tunnels. He was none too soon; the signal showing that someone had entered the pressure lock came on shortly. "Who is it?" called out Jim's father.

"Company business!"

"What sort of Company business and who is it?"

"This is the Resident's proctor. I've come for James Marlowe, Junior."

"You might as well go away again. You won't get him." There was a whispered exchange outside the door, then the lock was rattled.

"Open up that door," came another voice. "We have a warrant."

"Go away. I'm switching off the speaker." Mr. Marlowe did so.

The pressure lock indicator showed presently that the visitors had left, but shortly it indicated occupancy again. Mr. Marlowe switched the speaker back on. "If you've come back, you might as well leave," he said.

"What sort of a welcome is this, Jamie my boy?" came Mr. Sutton's voice.

"Oh, Pat! Are you alone?"

"Only my boy Francis and that's all."

They were let in. "Did you see anything of proctors?" Mr. Marlowe inquired.

"Yep, I ran into 'em."

"Pop told them that if they touched me he'd burn their legs off," Frank said proudly, "and he would, too."