Stranger in a Strange Land

reminded himself morosely. Government! Three fourths parasitic and the other fourth Stupid fumbling -oh, he conceded that man, a social animal, could not avoid having government, any more than an individual man could escape his lifelong bondage to his bowels. But Harshaw did not have to like it. Simply because an evil was inescapable was no reason to term it a "good." He wished that government would wander off and get lost?
                But it was certainly possible, or even probable, that the administration knew exactly where the Man from Mars was hiding . . . and for reasons of their own preferred to leave it that way, while they prepared- what?
                If so, how long would it go on? And how long could he keep his defensive "time bomb" armed and ready?
                And where the devil was that reckless young idiot Ben Caxton?

                Jill Boardman forced him out of his spiritual thumb-twiddling. "Jubal?"
                "Eh? Oh, it's you, bright eyes. Sorry, I was preoccupied. Sit down. Have a drink?"
                "Uh, no, thank you. Jubal, I'm worried."
                "Normal. Who isn't? That was a mighty pretty swan dive you did. Let's see another one just like it."
                Jill bit her lip and looked about twelve years old. "Jubal? Please listen! I'm terribly worried."
                He sighed. "In that case, dry yourself off. The breeze is getting chilly."
                "I'm warm enough. Uh, Jubal? Would it be all right if I left Mike here? Would you take care of him?"
                Harshaw blinked. "Of course he can stay here. You know that. The girls will look out for him-and I'll keep an eye on him from time to time. He's no trouble. I take it you're leaving?"
                She didn't meet his eye. "Yes."
                "Mmmm ... you're welcome here. But you're welcome to leave, too, if that's what you want."
                "Huh? But, Jubal-I don't want to leave!"
                "Then don't."
                "But I must!"
                "Better play that back. I didn't scan it."
                "Don't you see, Jubal? I like it here-you've been wonderful to us! But I can't stay any longer. Not with Ben missing. I've got to go look for him."
                Harshaw said one word, emotive, earthy, and vulgar, then added, "How do you propose to look for him?"
                She frowned. "I don't know. But I can't just lie around here any longer, loafing and swimming-with Ben missing."
                "Gillian, as I pointed out to you before, Ben is a big boy now. You're not his mother-and you're not his wife. And I'm not his keeper. Neither of us is responsible for him . . . and you haven't any call to go looking for him. Have you?"
                Jill looked down and twisted one toe in the grass. "No," she admitted. "I haven't any claim on Ben. I just know ... that if I turned up missing Ben would look for me-until he found me. So I've got to look for him!"
                Jubal breathed a silent malediction against all elder gods in any way involved in contriving the follies of the human race, then said aloud, "All right, all right, if you must, then let's try to get some logic into it. Do you plan to hire professionals? Say a private detective firm that specializes in missing persons?"
                She looked unhappy. "I suppose that's the way to go about it. Uh, I've never hired a detective. Are they expensive?"
                "Quite."
                Jill gulped. "Do you suppose they would let me arrange to pay, uh, in monthly installments? Or something?"
                "Cash at the stairs is their usual way. Quit looking so grim, child; I brought that up to dispose of it. I've already hired the best in the business to try to find Ben-so there is no need for you to hock your future to hire the second best."
                "You didn't tell me!"
                "No need to tell you."
                "But- Jubal, what did they find out?"
                "Nothing," he said shortly. "Nothing worth reporting, so there was no need to put you any further down in the dumps by telling you." Jubal scowled. "When you showed up here, I thought you were unnecessarily nervy about Ben-I figured the same as his assistant, that