clearly that it would have been far better judgment to proceed on his
own.

But that was how it looked _now_, not _then_, and there was an old
saying that the "retrospectoscope" was the only infallible instrument in
all medicine.

In any event, the thing was done, and couldn't be changed, and Dal knew
that he could only stand on what he had done, right or wrong.

"Well, I'm waiting," Black Doctor Tanner said, scowling at Dal through
his thick-rimmed glasses. "I want to know who was responsible for this
fiasco, and why it occurred in the first place."

Dal spread his hands hopelessly. "What do you want me to say?" he asked.
"I took a careful history of the situation as soon as we arrived here,
and then I examined the patient in the operating room. I thought the
surgery might be over my head, and couldn't see attempting it if a
hospital ship could be reached in time. I thought the patient could be
maintained safely long enough for us to call for help."

"I see," the Black Doctor said. "You've done micro-surgery before?"

"Yes, sir."

"And organ transplant work?"

"Yes, sir."

The Black Doctor opened a folder and peered at it over his glasses. "As