Authentic Science Fiction Monthly No. 46 — page 132: what you’re looking at

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

THE MERCHANTS seen them before, Bradley was soon lost in admiration of the exquisite craftsmanship. Deli- cate golden caskets and orna- ments, brilliants cut with a precision never known upon Earth until the coming of the Clotids. A fabulous fortune, half of which was his. Would it last until the next ship called, he wondered? Clear of the Earth’s atmos- phere the Clotids sat before a bottle of colourless liquid in the green cabin, which had been restored to its esthetic proportions by the removal of the chairs. _ “Pm_not going to like it,” said the smaller. The other toyed for a moment with some enormous diamonds, idly dropping them into a golden chalice. “I didn’t at first, but one gets used to it. Imagine going back with over a _ million 131 gallons of water in the hold. Concentrated hydrogen and oxygen, the source of life and all energy, and they give it away for metal and crystal- ised carbon, as common as dirt in the Galaxy. And then it’s quick. One more trip to Creton for a consignment of these cheap trade goods’— impatiently he swept the chal- ice from the table—‘‘and one more cargo of pure Earth water, and I can retire to a decent life.” “The ship will be yours then, my boy. You'll soon overcome your moral scruples when you see your credits mounting. There’s just one thing. Be very careful how you handle the natives. Keep the conversation on a high moral level, and never, no matter how much you are tempted, never laugh at them. Above all, avoid affronting their dignity; they have... er... rather queer ideas.” comicloooks.comn