"How's my friend there?"
"He's coming around."
A jet screamed. Lifting his head, he watched it rise into the morning.
"Doctor Warren's on it," Crawford Bell said. "So's Doctor Umbana. The Belderkans agreed to let any two of them through the line and Doctor Warren decided he didn't need all the rest of them after all. Your technique of persuasion isn't one I'd like to use, but it's effective."
He didn't have the strength to answer. It always worked out that way. After a duel, what had seemed beyond compromise suddenly became negotiable. That was the good thing the old man had spoken of. That was the knowledge which had given him that strength to endure.
THE END