Moments later he had handed Dal the yellow telephone message sheet, and
Dal was studying the words with a puzzled frown:

CALL AT MY QUARTERS ON ARRIVAL REGARDLESS OF HOUR STOP
URGENT THAT I SEE YOU STOP REPEAT URGENT

The message was signed THORVOLD ARNQUIST, BLACK SERVICE and carried the
priority seal of the Four-star Pathologist. Dal read it again, shifted
his pack, and started once more for the subway ramp. He thrust the
message into his pocket, and his step quickened as he heard the whistle
of the pressure-tube trains up ahead.

Black Doctor Arnquist, the man who had first defended his right to study
medicine on Hospital Earth, now wanted to see him before the council
meeting took place.

For the first time in days, Dal Timgar felt a new flicker of hope.




CHAPTER 2

HOSPITAL SEATTLE


It was a long way from the students' barracks to the pathology sector
where Black Doctor Arnquist lived. Dal Timgar decided not to try to go
to the barracks first. It was after midnight, and even though the