"I've got it. But—"
There were footsteps outside the door. "So long," Newhouse whispered. "Don't slip up." He moved away from the window just as the door opened, and he heard the Shannil say: "What's so interesting at the window, dear? Getting homesick?" There was more than a trace of sarcasm in her voice.
Newhouse made his way back to his own quarters as fast as he could.
"Hope I didn't worry anyone," he said as he popped into the window.
"Nope," said Pemberton. "We figured if you'd been caught there would have been an uproar and we'd have heard about it. Come in and have a sandwich. And some coffee."
"In a minute," said Newhouse. "I've got some radioing to do."
"The call box is on the table," said Captain Virginia Smith.
The next day was largely devoted to discussion between Her Supremacy, the Captain, and Her Splendor, the Shanni, on the increased production of gakgak milk. The Shanni, after much careful negotiation, promised that more would be forthcoming.
Newhouse, personally, had a hunch that the Shanni was trying to negotiate a treaty with the southern nomads for gakgak milk, with the intent of selling it to the Earthmen at a profit—which was all right with everyone, if she could swing it.