"Well, Mr. Lanyard, what do you say?"
Lanyard lifted his meditative gaze to the face of Phinuit. "But surely
there is more...." he suggested in a puzzled way.
"More what?"
"I find something lacking.... You have shown me but one side of the
coin. What is the reverse? I appreciate the honour you do me, I
comprehend fully the strong inducements I am offered. But you have
neglected--an odd oversight on the part of the plain-spoken man you
profess to be--you have forgotten to name the penalty which would
attach to a possible refusal."
"I guess it's safe to leave that to your imagination."
"There would be a penalty, however?"
"Well, naturally, if you're not with us, you're against us. And to take
that stand would oblige us, as a simple matter of self-preservation, to
defend ourselves with every means at our command."
"Means which," Lanyard murmured, "you prefer not to name."
"Well, one doesn't like to be crude."
"I have my answer, monsieur--and many thanks. The parallel is
complete."
With a dim smile playing in his eyes and twitching at the corners of
his lips, Lanyard leaned back and studied the deck beams.
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