he stood waiting for the last of the staff to assemble, letting the feel of triumph course through his body. he felt heady, exultant, a little drunk with joy. this was his moment. this made it all worth while—the long hours, the sleepless nights, the relentless work, the struggle. they would see. they would see he hadn't been driving himself and them for nothing.

he stared down for a moment at the piece of ore which he had brought to show them. it contained unpolished zenites.

nemar possessed zenites, the fabulous gems valued all over the galaxy for their shimmering, glowing beauty of changing color. infinitely more precious and rare than diamonds, they served often as a galactic medium of exchange, where weight was important. a handful of them could be worth the whole cargo of a trading ship.

he was not surprised that no one had found the ore deposits before. they were the products of immense and peculiar pressures and no appreciable amount of the ore was ever found except very deep underground. he was very glad now he had specialized in geology and mineralogy instead of social structure and alien psychology. otherwise, the geologic reports he had received of the area would have seemed perfectly routine and ordinary. the nagging feeling that there was something a little unusual about the soil analysis would never have come into consciousness as a definite, tremulous hunch.

he could have sent cortland or one of the others out there with the tools and instruments to dig and make test after test, searching several feet under the surface for the elusive end-trail of a lode. but he had wanted to go himself. he had packed and prepared for the two-day trip, steeling himself against the disappointment he was almost sure to receive.

he looked at the faces of his staff members, all present now, thinking of that first meeting with them and the peculiar reception his plans had received. now it would be different; now everything he had asked of them was justified.

drawing a long breath, he began to tell them what had happened.

as he went on, his fiery enthusiasm began to waver. his voice boomed too loudly in the quiet room. once or twice his words faltered, as he glanced at the dispassionate face of a native. as he finished, he looked around, a sense of dismay and fear creeping into his feeling of triumph.

they had listened too quietly. only cortland and a few other terrans had shown any indication of the excitement and jubilation he expected. the others seemed unimpressed and undisturbed. with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, he called for discussion.

there was a pause. finally, one of the older nemarians spoke. "this is a very important matter. if these mines are put into operation, it will affect the lives of everyone on nemar. i must ask that you give us a little time to think over the implications."

he spoke courteously, but kirk knew the request would have to be respected. he wanted to shout at them, to ask them to understand this wonderful thing that had happened, to tell them they were going to be rich! but this was the way they did things, and this was the way it would have to be done. he pushed down the impatience burning in him. "will a day do?"

the nemarian hesitated a moment, then nodded. "very well. a day should be enough."

kirk watched them file out a few minutes later. he wondered where his sense of elation had gone.