Astounding Science Fiction, British Edition — page 80: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

78 There’s doubt in my mind but that no they'll sign it. Then—” “They won’t sign it,” Amalfi said. “They can’t even be shown it. Further- more, I want everything you’ve put into your experimental plot here on the heath yanked out.” Hazleton put a hand to his forehead in frank exasperation. “Boss,” he said, “‘don’t tell me that we're still not at the end of the old squirrel-cage routine—intrigue, intrigue, and then more intrigue. I’m sick of it, Pll tell you that directly. Isn’t two thousand years enough for you? I thought we had come to this planet to settle down!” “We did. We will. But as you re- minded me yourself yesterday, there are other people in possession of this planet at the moment—people we can’t legally push out. As matters stand right now, we can’t give them the faintest sign that we mean to settle here; they’re already intensely sus- picious of that very thing, and they’re watching us for evidence of it every minute.” ‘*“Oh, no,” Dee said. She came for- ward swiftly and put a hand on Amalfi’s shoulder. “John, you prom- ised us after the March was over that we were going to make a home here. Not necessarily on this planet, but somewhere in the Cloud. You prom- ised, John.” The mayor looked up at her. It was no secret to her, or to Hazleton either, that he loved her; they both knew, as well, the cruelly just Okie law that forbade the mayor of an Okie city any permanent alliance with a woman—and the vein of iron loyalty in Amalfi that would have compelled him to act by that law even had it never existed. Until the sudden crisis far back in the Acolyte cluster which had forced Amalfi to reveal to Hazle- ton the existence of that love, neither ASTOUNDING SCIENCE FICTION of the two youngsters had suspected it over a period of nearly nine decades. But Dee was comparatively new to Okie mores, and was in addition a woman. Only to know that she was loved had been unable to content her long. She was already beginning to put the knowledge to work. . “Of course .I promised,” Amalfi said. “I’ve delivered on my promises for nearly two thousand years, and I'll continue to do so. The blunt fact is that the City Fathers would have me shot if I didn’t—as they nearly had Mark shot on more than one occasion. This planet will be our home, if you'll give me just the minimum of help in winning it. It’s the best of all the planets we passed on the way in, for a great many reasons—including a couple that won’t begin to show until you see the winter constellations here, plus a few more that won’t become evident for a century yet. But there’s one thing I certainly can’t give you, and that’s immediate delivery.” “All right,” Dee said, She smiled. “I trust you, John, you know that. But it’s hard to be patient.” “Is it?” Amalfi said, surprised. “Come to think of it, I remember once during the tipping of He when the same thought occurred to me. In retrospect the problem doesn’t seem large.” “Boss, you'd better give us some substitute courses of action,” the city manager’s voice cut in, a little coldly. ‘*With the possible exception of your- self, every man and woman and alley cat in the city is ready to spread out all over the surface of this planet the moment the starting gun is fired. You’ve given us every reason to think that that would be the way it would happen. If there’s going to be a delay, you have a good many idle hands to put to work.” “Use straight work-contract pro- cedure, all the way down the line,” Cconmiclooolks.e© im