As Retief watched, four men arose from the table and sauntered across the room. The first in line, a stony-faced thug with a broken ear, took a cigar from his mouth as he reached the table. He dipped the lighted end in Retief’s coffee, looked at it, and dropped it on the tablecloth.

The others came up, Mr. Tony trailing.

“You must want to get to Jorgensen’s pretty bad,” the thug said in a grating voice. “What’s your game, hick?”

Retief looked at the coffee cup, picked it up.

“I don’t think I want my coffee,” he said. He looked at the thug. “You drink it.”

The thug squinted at Retief. “A wise hick,” he began.

With a flick of the wrist, Retief tossed the coffee into the thug’s face, then stood and slammed a straight right to the chin. The thug went down.

Retief looked at Mr. Tony, still standing openmouthed.

“You can take your playmates away now, Tony,” he said. “And don’t bother to come around yourself. You’re not funny enough.”

Mr. Tony found his voice.

“Take him, Marbles!” he growled.

The thick-necked man slipped a hand inside his tunic and brought out a long-bladed knife. He licked his lips and moved in.

Retief heard the panel open beside him.

“Here you go, Mister,” Chip said. Retief darted a glance; a well-honed french knife lay on the sill.

“Thanks, Chip,” Retief said. “I won’t need it for these punks.”

Thick-neck lunged and Retief hit him square in the face, knocking him under the table. The other man stepped back, fumbling a power pistol from his shoulder holster.

“Aim that at me and I’ll kill you,” Retief said.

“Go on, burn him!” Mr. Tony shouted. Behind him, the Captain appeared, white-faced.

“Put that away, you!” he yelled. “What kind of—”

“Shut up,” Mr. Tony said. “Put it away, Hoany. We’ll fix this bum later.”

“Not on this vessel, you won’t,” the Captain said shakily. “I got my charter to consider.”

“Ram your charter,” Hoany said harshly. “You won’t be needing it long.”

“Button your floppy mouth, damn you!” Mr. Tony snapped. He looked at the man on the floor. “Get Marbles out of here. I ought to dump the slob.”

He turned and walked away. The Captain signaled and two waiters came up. Retief watched as they carted the casualty from the dining room.

The panel opened.

“I usta be about your size, when I was your age,” Chip said. “You handled them pansies right. I wouldn’t give ’em the time o’ day.”

“How about a fresh cup of coffee, Chip?” Retief said.

“Sure, mister. Anything else?”

“I’ll think of something,” Retief said. “This is shaping up into one of those long days.”