"Easy," Retief said. "I made it up."
"You what!" Magnan looked wild. "But the agreement—it's been revised! Ambassador Crodfoller has gone on record...."
"Too bad. Glad I didn't tell him about it."
Magnan leaned back and closed his eyes.
"It was big of you to take all the ... blame," Retief said, "when the Ambassador was talking about knighting people."
Magnan opened his eyes.
"What about that gambler, Zorn? Won't he be upset?"
"It's all right," Retief said, "I made another arrangement. The business about making blasters out of common components wasn't completely imaginary. You can actually do it, using parts from an old-fashioned disposal unit."
"What good will that do him?" Magnan whispered, looking nervous. "We're not shipping in any old-fashioned disposal units."
"We don't need to," Retief said. "They're already installed in the palace kitchen—and in a few thousand other places, Zorn tells me."