another. At last, he looked up.

"Of course, I shall have to count all of these carefully," he remarked
grimly, "but I see no coin from this Teron you have listed." He stared
coldly at Gerda. "And the tower lookout confirms that you had seven
barges. That was a considerable amount. What did you do with that
money?"

"Why, I counted it. It was all there." Gerda shook his head
unbelievingly. "My count agreed with that of my clerk, and I dropped
tallies in and closed the bags again." He looked uneasily at the two
guards who flanked him. "Surely, you don't think I'd be so foolish as to
tamper with the Baron's taxes? Think, man! I know the Baron's ways!"

"I'm not sure just what I think--yet." The steward shook his head. He
picked up one of the empty bags, opened it, and gave it a shake. The
small tally chip fell out and he picked it up, comparing it with the
list on the tablet. Frowning thoughtfully, he opened the other two bags.
More small blocks of wood fell out. He looked at the bags, then tossed
them aside and looked coldly at the guard officer.

"It's witchcraft," cried Gerda. "I had nothing----"

"We'll see." The steward motioned at the two guards. "Search this man."

* * * * *

Dazedly, Gerda stood still, submitting as one of the guards went through
his clothing while the other stood ready to deal with any resistance.
The searcher made a thorough examination of Gerda's clothing, muttered
to himself, and went over his search again. A pile of personal objects
lay on the table when he had finished. At last, he looked at the
prisoner, then faced his chief.

"He has nothing on him, sir, not even a teloa."

"So I see." The steward frowned, then looked at Gerda.

"You may reclaim your possessions now, captain. Is there any chance that
your clerk might have opened the money chest?"

Gerda shook his head. "I don't see how he could, sir, unless he had a
duplicate key, and that's hardly possible. I kept the chest locked at
all times, and the key never left my person."

"And there is no chance that any of your men could have hidden anything
on the way here?"

Again, Gerda shook his head. "None," he said positively. "I was behind
them all the way, and would have seen if any had made any unusual
motion."

"Very well." The steward clapped his hands sharply.

There was a clatter of arms, followed by the scuffle of feet. Across the
room, a door opened and a detachment of the castle gu