"I told him, 'But we're in free flight. I can't.'

"At this point he swore in an unintelligible voice and the green searchlight turned to bright red. It must have been a tractor beam because he started hauling and I could see the stars spinning and I could feel a definite deceleration forward that almost pulled me out of the astrodome and into space itself. Then there was a metallic clink and in another half minute a tall man in polished leather came in and waved me back to the pilot's chair.

"'Realize you were doing sixty?'

"'Sixty?'

"'Sixty light years per hour in a forty light zone. Let's see your license!'

"'License?' I asked blankly.


"He pulled out a pad and started to scribble. 'Sixty lights in a forty light zone and driving without a license. Boy, oh boy! Say! What kind of a crate is this anyway?'

"'It's a standard reaction drive with mass nullifiers.'

"His eyes gleamed brighter. 'You know that free flight is just plain coasting?'