"Hmm . . . that rather surprises me. So far as I know the Patrol has never had any occasion to land this near the equator-and if it had I think Captain Yancey would have briefed us about it." .
Burke shrugged. Oscar went on, "It affects what we're to do. You've stirred up a mess, Burke. With the discovery of valuable minerals here, there will be more men coming along. The way you've started things off there could be more and more trouble, until there was nothing but guerrilla warfare between the natives and the men, everywhere you looked. It might even spread to the poles. It's the Patrol's business to stamp out such things before they get started and that's what I construe our mission here to be. I've got to apologize and smooth it over and do my darnedest to correct a first bad impression. Can you give me any more information, anything at all, that might help me when I try it?"
"I don't think so. But go ahead, soft-soap the old girl any way you can. You can even pretend to take me away from here under arrest if it will do any good. Say, that might be a good idea! I'll be agreeable to it just as long as I get out."
Oscar shook his head. "I might take you out under arrest, if she wants it that way. But as far as I can see you are a perfectly legal prisoner here for a crime under the local customs."
"What in the world are you talking about?"
"I might point oat that what you've admitted doing is a crime anywhere. You can be tried for it on Terra if she wants it that way. But it really doesn't matter to me, one-way or the other. It's no business of the Patrol."
"But you can't leave me here!"
Oscar shrugged. "That's the way I see it. Lieutenant Thurlow might snap out of it at any time, then you could take it up with him. As long as I'm in charge I'm not
going to jeopardize the Patrol's mission to try to help you get away with murder-and I do mean murder!"
"But-" Burke looked wildly around him. "Tex! Matt! Are you going to let him side up with those frog-people against a man?"