nd I don't know where to take you."

"Where," asked Hoddan, "did those characters from Walden come down?"

Thal told him. At the castle of a considerable feudal chieftain, on the
plain some four miles from the mountain range and six miles this side of
the spaceport.

"We ride there," said Hoddan. "Liberty is said to be sweet, but the man
who said that didn't have blisters from a saddle. Let's go."

They rode away. There would be no immediate pursuit, and possibly none
at all. Don Loris had left Hoddan at breakfast on the battlements. The
Lady Fani would make as much confusion over his disappearance as she
could. But there'd be no search for him until Don Loris had made his
deal.

Hoddan was sure that Fani's father would have an enjoyable morning. He
would relish the bargaining session. He'd explain in great detail how
valuable had been Hoddan's service to him, in rescuing Fani from an
abductor who would have been an intolerable son-in-law. He'd grow almost
tearful as he described his affection for Hoddan--how he loved his
daughter--as he observed grievedly that they were asking him to betray
the man who had saved for him the solace of his old age. He would
mention also that the price they offered was an affront to his paternal
affection and his dignity as prince of this, baron of that, lord of the
other thing and claimant to the dukedom of something-or-other. Either
they'd come up or the deal was off!

But meanwhile Hoddan and Thal rode industriously toward the place from
which those emissaries had come.

All was tranquil. All was calm. Once they saw a dust cloud, and Thal
turned aside to a providential wooded copse, in which they remained
while a cavalcade went by. Thal explained that it was a feudal chieftain
on his way to the spaceport town. It was simple discretion for them not
to be observed, said Thal, because they had great reputations as
fighting men. Whoever defeated them would become prominent at once. So
somebody might try to pick a quarrel under one of the finer points of
etiquette when it would be disgrace to use anything but standard
Darthian implements for massacre. Hoddan admitted that he did not feel
quarrelsome.

They rode on after a time, and in late afternoon the towers and
battlements of the castle they sought appeared. The ground here was only
gently rolling. They approached it with caution, following the reverse
slope of hills, and dry stream-beds, and at last penetrating horse-high
brus