it set out
seriously to locate one of its missing citizens. But the Dawn City would
be some hours on its way before Mihul even began to think coherently
again. She'd spread the alarm then, but it should be a while before they
started to suspect Trigger had left the planet. Maccadon was her home
world, after all. If she'd just wanted to hole up, that was where she
would have had the best chance to do it successfully.

Evalee, the first Hub stop, was only nine hours' flight away; Garth lay
less than five hours beyond Evalee. After that there was only the long
subspace run to Manon....

They'd have to work very fast to keep her from leaving the Hub this
time!

Trigger glanced over at the Denton lying by the bedside ComWeb on a
little table at the head of the divan-thing. She was aware of a feeling
of great contentment, of growing relaxation. She closed her eyes.

By and large, she thought--all things considered--she hadn't come off
badly among the cloak and dagger experts! She was on her way to Manon.

Some hours later she slept through the Dawn City's thunderous takeoff.

When she woke up next she was in semidarkness. But she knew where she
was and a familiar feeling of low-weight told her the ship was in
flight. She sat up.

At her motion, the area about her brightened, and the cabin grew visible
again. It was rather large, oval-shaped. There were three closed doors
in the walls, and the walls themselves were light amber, of oddly
insubstantial appearance. A rosy tinge was flowing up from the floor
level through them, and as the color surged higher and deepened, there
came an accompanying stir of far-off, barely audible music. The
don't-disturb sign still reflected dimly from the interior panels of the
passage door. Trigger found its control switch on the bedstand and shut
it off.

At once a soft chiming sounded from the miniature ComWeb on the
bedstand. Its screen filled with a pulsing glow, and there was a voice.

"This is a recording, Miss Drellgannoth," the voice told her. "If Room
Service may intrude with an audio message, please be so good as to touch
the blue circle at the base of your ComWeb."

Trigger touched the blue circle. "Go ahead," she invited.

"Thank you, Miss Drellgannoth," said the voice. "For the duration of the
voyage your personal ComWeb will be opened to callers, for either audio
or visual intrusion, only by your verbal permission or by your touch on
the blue circle."

It stopped. An