"Let me go."

"Be reasonable. If you look closely you will see that I am nearly forty kilos heavier than you are, and a lot taller. You are tough and strong-I've got to hand it to you-but I'm a hell of a sight stronger and tougher. What you want doesn't matter."

"What do you intend to do with me?"

"Talk to you. Yes, and I think I'll kiss you."

She answered this by giving a brief but entirely futile imitation of a small cyclone, with wildcat overtones. When it was over he said, "Put your face up."

She did not. He took a handful of hair and snapped her head back. "No biting," he warned, "or I'll beat holy hell out of you."

She did not bite him, but she did not help with the kiss either. "That," he observed conversationally, "was practically a waste of time. You 'independent' girls don't know anything about the art."

"What's wrong with the way I kiss?" she said darkly.

"Everything. I'd as lief kiss a twelve-year-old."

"I can kiss all right if I want to."

"I doubt it. I doubt if you've ever been kissed before. Men seldom make passes at girls that wear guns."

"That's not true."

"Caught you on the raw, didn't I? But it is true and you know it. See here-I'll give you a chance to prove that I'm wrong, and then we'll talk about letting you go."

"You're hurting my arm."

"Well-"

This kiss was longer than the first one, about eight times as long. Hamilton released her, drew his breath, and said nothing.

"Well?"

"Young lady," he said slowly, "I've misjudged you. Twice, I've misjudged you."

"Will you let me go now?"

"Let you go? That last deserves an encore."

"That's not fair."

"My lady," he said quite seriously, "'fair' is a purely abstract concept By the way, what is your name?"

"Longcourt Phyllis. You're changing the subject."

"How about the encore?"

"Oh, well!" He relaxed his hold on her completely. Nonetheless, it was as long and as breath-consuming as the last. At its conclusion she ran a hand through his hair, mussing it. "You heel," she said. "You dirty heel!"

"From you, Phyllis, that's a compliment. Have a drink?",

"I could use one."

He made a ceremony of selecting the liquor, fetching glasses, and pouring. He paused with his glass in the air. "Shall we pledge peace?"

She checked her own glass before it reached her mouth. "At this point? I think not. I want to catch you armed."

"Oh, come now. You fought valiantly and were licked with honor. To be sure I slapped you, but you bit me. It's even."

"How about the kisses?"

He grinned. "That was an even exchange. Don't be stuffy. I don't want you hunting me down. Come on. Peace, and let bygones be bygones." He raised his glass a trifle.

He caught her eye and she smiled in spite of herself. "All right-peace."

"Have another drink?"

"No, thanks. I've got to go."

"What's the hurry?"

"I really must go. May I have my blazer now?"

He opened the oubliette, reached in, recovered it, and dusted it off. "It's mine, you know. I won it."

"You wouldn't keep it, would you?"

"That's what I mean," he said, "about you armed women just pretending to take a man's part. A man would never ask for his gun back. He would wear a brassard first."

"Are you going to keep it?"

"No, but I wish you wouldn't wear it."

"Why not?"

"Because I want to take you to dinner tonight. I'd feel a fool, escorting an armed woman."

She looked at him. "You're an odd one, Hamilton Felix. Slap a girl around, then ask her to dinner."

"You'll come?"

"Yes, I'll come." She unsnapped her gun belt and tossed it to him. "Tube them back to me. The address is on the name-plate."

"Twenty hundred?"

"Or a few minutes after."

"Do you know, Phyllis," he said as he dilated the door for her, "I have a feeling that you and I are going to have lots and lots of fun."

She gave him a slow, sidelong look. "You'll find out!"

"I myself am but indifferent honest"

HAMILTON turned away from the door purposefully. There were things to be done, urgent things. He stepped to his phone and called Monroe-Alpha. "Cliff? In your office, I see. Stay there." He clicked off without offering explanation.

"Good morning, Felix," Monroe-Alpha said with his usual formality as he ushered him in. "You seemed perturbed. Anything wrong?"

"Not exactly. I want you to do me a favor. Say-what's gotten into you?"

"Me? What do you mean?"

"Yesterday you looked like a six-day corpse. Today you sparkle, you glow. There's a song on your lips and a hey, nonny, nonny. How come?"

"I didn't know that it showed in my face, but it is true that I am feeling somewhat elated."

"Why? Did the money machine declare another dividend?"

"Didn't you see the news this morning?"

"As a matter of fact, no. Why?"

"They opened the Adirondack Stasis!"

"Well?"

"It had a man in it, a live man."

Hamilton's eyebrows crawled up. "That's interesting, if true. But do you mean to tell me that the discovery of this human fossil is the cause of your childlike glee?"

"But don't you see it, Felix? Don't you feel the significance of it? He's an actual representative out of the golden days when the race was young-back when life was simple and good, before we messed up with a lot of meaningless complications. Think what he can tell us!"

"Maybe. What year is he from?"

"Uh... 1926, on the old scale."

"1926... let's see... I'm no historian but I didn't know that that period was such glowing Utopia. I had a notion it was pretty primitive."

"That's just what I mean-simple and beautiful. I'm not a historian either, but I met a chap last night who told me a lot about it. He's made quite a study of it. " He launched into an enthusiastic description of Frisby Gerald's concept of life in the early XXth century.

Hamilton waited for him to run out of breath, then said, "I don't know. I wouldn't know, but it seems to me your gears don't mesh."

"Why?"

"Well, I don't think this present day is everything it might be, but I will say I think it is probably the best set-up the human race has ever managed. No, Cliff, this 'Back-to-the-Good-Old-Days' stuff is the bunk. We get more for less, with less trouble, nowadays, than ever before in history."

"Well, of course, " Monroe-Alpha answered tartly, "if you have to have an automaton to rock you to sleep at night-"

"Save it. I can sleep on a pile of rock, if necessary, but I think it foolish to go out of your way to seek discomforts."

Monroe-Alpha did not answer. Hamilton saw that his words had rankled and added, "That was strictly a personal opinion. Maybe you're right. Let's forget it."

"What was the favor you wanted?"

"Oh, yes! Cliff, you know Mordan?"

"The district moderator?"

"The same. I want you to call him up and make a date for him to meet me-I mean, to meet you."

"Why should I want to see him?"

"You don't. I'll keep the date."

"Why all the fancy business?"

"Cliff, don't ask me questions. Do it for me."

Monroe-Alpha still hesitated. "You ask me to do this blind. Is it... everything it should be?"

"Cliff!"

Monroe-Alpha flushed. "Sorry, Felix. I know it's all right if you want it. How shall I get him to agree?"

"Make it insistent enough and he'll be there."

"Where, by the way?"

"At my-no, that won't do. Let me use your flat."

"Certainly. What time?"

"Noon."

Mordan came into the flat looking slightly puzzled. He looked still more puzzled and surprised when he saw Hamilton. "Felix! What brings you here?"

"To see you, uh, Claude."

"So? Where is our host?"

"He won't be here. Claude, I arranged this. I had to see you and I couldn't do it openly."