VII

A WORLD BECALMED





"I think we have learned enough to form some general conclusions,"
said the doctor, after the four had told what each had heard and
seen. "Van Emmon's friend, Powart, seems to be anything but a
democrat. He probably represents the most aristocratic element on
the planet; while this man Fort, who rescued the girl, is also
probably a member of the leisure class.

"On the other hand, we have Smith's agent, whose name we do not
know; he seems to be one of the working class, which Powart
despises. The two are at opposite ends of the social scale. Young
Ernol, whose father is in trouble, appears to be a rising young
revolutionist.

"But Mona--to use the name Powart gave his fiancee--Billie's
surgeon--the girl whose life Fort saved--she is not so easy to
classify. On the earth we would call her occupation a middle-class
one; but that remark she made about people being cattle gives me the
impression that she is an aristocrat at heart. I call her a mystery,
for the time being.

"As for the planet itself--of course, the people simply refer to it