Commander Mike Gurloff had brought the bottle of stone age brandy from his quarters and was filling the glasses. He said, spiritlessly, "Where's Doc Thorndon? If anybody is to be given credit for bringing us through this time, it's him."

"Saw him just a few minutes before landing. He was talking with Kathy," Johnny Norsen said.

"Well, let's get about it, gentlemen," Gurloff growled. He took up his glass and eyed them, one by one. "My last cruise, gentlemen," he said, his mouth a straight line.

They stood there, holding their glasses, their eyes widening.

He said tightly, "Surprised, gentlemen? What could you expect? It's either that or they'd have this craft out into space in another week or so. - And this time, we wouldn't come back."

They said nothing. There was nothing to say. Each took down the drink, stiff wristed. Then they set their glasses down on the small table.

Dick Roland flushed noticeably and said, "As a matter of fact, sir, the same goes for me."

All eyes went to the second officer.

"Don't be ridiculous," Mike Gurloff rapped. "Your career has just started."

Dick Roland squared his shoulders and said, "Kathy and I are going to be married and -"

"What!" Johnny Norsen blurted, angrily. "Are you trying to make a fool of -"

"Marry you?" Mart Bakr yelled. "Kathy and I are engaged. I'm the one that's quitting the space service and -"

Johnny Norsen spun on him, then back to Roland. "Is this supposed to be some stupid joke?" he bit out. "Kathy and I are -"

Gurloff was looking from one to the other of them in utter astonishment.

"Boys, boys," a voice from behind them said softly. They turned, each still sputtering his indignation. It was Doc Thorndon.

"In the first place," he said mildly, "polyandry is still illegal on Terra and the latest statistics show that Jackie - that is, Kathy -is engaged to forty-three of this ship's complement of forty-five officers and men."

There were four different ejaculations, but he went on. "And, in the second place, in spite of his capable disguise over the past year, Jackie Black is a very masculine character, and I doubt if he'd be interested in marriage - not to anybody of the male sex."

They were dumb. It was just too much to assimilate.

Doc Thorndon handed an envelope to Commander Gurloff. "Jackie Black thinks you'll be able to use these documents in your next speech, Mike, You didn't bring home your usual victory, perhaps, but you'll draw your usual attention!" He rubbed the end of his nose with a forefinger and grinned, cheerfully. "When he saw what a hornet's nest he'd awakened when he swiped them, he could figure only one way of avoiding the regiments of police on his trail - he stowed away on a craft scheduled to be off in space for a year's time. His disguise as a woman went still further in preventing his identity from being guessed."

Gurloff was thumbing through a sheaf of papers in the envelope.

"You mean, that all along h3 planned to hand these over to someone who would expose -"

Doc shrugged. "I don't know Mike. Maybe not. But I think that little story about Robin Hood rather appealed to him, Besides, was rather persuasive, just before he left the ship."

The Doctor turned to go.

"Just a minute," Gurloff snapped, his face dark. "How long have you known the identity of this - this criminal, Jackie Black? Just because these papers are now in our possession doesn't mean we can brush away his existence on my ship for a year. We have a duty to perform. Where is he?"

The doctor allowed himself only the faintest of grins. "As to how long I've known . . . well, I've suspected for some time, really, that. our Kathy wasn't quite as feminine as she'd like to have us all think. I -"

Dick Roland, still in a semistate of shock, blurted, "But . . . but . . . Kathy . . . I thought she was so womanly. So . . ." he reddened again.

The Doctor cleared his throat. "As a matter of fact, my first clue was based on that very factor. In one of my old books I ran into the slang word, falsies and -"

"The kert with all that," Gurloff blurted, "Where is this criminal? Our duty is still to apprehend him."

The Doc said, "I'm afraid that 'Kathy' was the first man off the ship, Mike. Must have been ten minutes ago. Seems to me I saw him leave. by way of the torpedo hatch."

Gurloff was weakening, but he grumbled, "Just because he turned these papers over to you doesn't give him the right to escape the punishment that -"

Doc said patiently, "Good grief, Mike, how sadistic are you? After what that poor man's been through the last twelve months with this ship full of Romeos, you want to punish him further."

For an instant there was silence; then Mart Bakr grinned ruefully. "I guess you got a point there, Doc."

[end]