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Norton, Andre, 1912-2005

"Plague Ship"


He wasn't denying that on Limbo, he, for one, had been very glad to see
the Patrol blast their way into the headquarters of the pirates holed up
on that half-dead world. And he was never contemptuous of the men in the
field. But like all Free Traders he was influenced by a belief that too
often the laws as enforced by the Patrol favored the wealth and might of
the Companies, that law could be twisted and the Patrol sent to push
through actions which, though legal, were inherently unfair to those who
had not the funds to fight it out in the far off Council courts. Just as
now he was certain that the Eysies were bringing all the influence they
had to bear here against the Queen's men. And Inter-Solar had a lot of
influence.
At the end of their ordeal their statements were read back to them from
the recording tape and they thumb signed them. Were these statements or
confessions, Dane mused. Perhaps in their honest reports they had just
signed their way into the moon mines. Only there was no move to lead them
out and book them. And when Weeks pressed his thumb at the bottom of the
tape, Captain Jellico took a hand.


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