Loris said, with a queer, hurried urgency, "You will. It's almost time
for the other shift...."
He broke off. Men scattered suddenly, crouching back in a rough circle,
grinning with feral nervousness. The room was suddenly quiet.
The crouching man had risen. He stood with his huge corded legs wide
apart, swaying with the swaying of the floor, his round head sunk
between ridges of muscle, studying the Earthman out of pale, flat eyes.
Loris put his old, bitter boy's face close to MacVickers. His whisper
was almost inaudible.
"Birek. He's boss here. He's mad. Don't fight him."