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. "Hold it! Not so fast. Inspection first."
I stopped and turned. She had a face that spells "civil servant"-and don't
ask me how. I simply know, from three planets, several planetoids, and still
more habitats, that after racking up a number of years toward retirement, all
civil servants have this look. She wore a uniform that was neither police nor
military. "Just in from Kong?"
I agreed that we were.
"Are you three together? Put everything on the table. Open up everything.
Any fruits, vegetables, or food?"
I said, "What is this?"
Gwen said, "I have a Hershey bar. Want a bite?"
"I think that counts as bribery. Sure, why not?"
"Of course I'm trying to bribe you. I have a small alligator in my purse.
He's neither fruit nor vegetable; I suppose he could be food. In any case he's
almost certainly against your stuffy rules."
"Wait a minute; I'll have to check the lists." The inspector consulted a
very large loose-leaf volume of terminal printout. "Alligator pears; alligator
skins, cured or tanned; alligators, stuffed- Is this one stuffed?"
"Only when he overeats; he's greedy."
"Dearie, are you trying to tell me that you've got a live alligator in that
purse?"
"Put your hand in my purse at your own risk. He's trained as a guard
alligator. Count your fingers before you reach in, then count them again as you
take your hand out
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