Immured! I got a third crack on the head. Suddenly it was hard to breathe. I was walled up, sealed away from the light, buried under the foundations of the giant towers of Bar-Ponderone. I felt their crushing weight.... * * * * * I forced myself to relax, breathe deep. Being immured wasn't the same as being buried alive--not exactly. This was the method these latter-day Vallonians had figured out to effectively end a man's life ... without ending all his lives. They figured to keep me neatly packaged here until my next Change, thus acquiring another healthy newman for the kitchen or the stables. They didn't know the only Change that would happen to me was death. They'd have to feed me; that meant a hole. I ran my fingers along the rough stone, found an eight-inch square opening on the left wall, just under the ceiling. I reached through it, felt nothing but the solidness of its thick sides. How far along the other open end was I had no way of determining. I was feeling dizzy. I lay back and tried to think, but everything remained fuzzy. * * * * * I was awake again. There had been a sound. I moved, and felt something hit my chest. I groped for it; it was a small loaf of hard bread. I heard the sound again and a second object thumped against me. "Hey!" I yelled, "listen to me! I'll die in here. I'm not like the rest of you; I won't go through a Change. I'll rot here until I die. Do you hear me?..." I listened. The silence was absolute. "Answer me!" I screamed. "You're making a mistake...!" I gave up when my throat got raw. I felt for the other item that had been pushed in to me. It was a water bottle made of tough plastic. I fumbled the cap off, took a swallow. It wasn't good. I tried the bread; it was tough, tasteless. I lay and chewed and thought. As a world-saver I was a bust. I had come a long long way and now I was going to die in this reeking hole. I had a sudden vision of steaks uneaten, wines undrunk, girls unhad, and life unlived. And then I had another thought: if I never had them was it going to be because I hadn't tried? Abruptly I was planning. I would keep calm and use my head. I wouldn't wear myself out with screams and struggles. I'd figure the angles, use everything I had to make the best try I could. First, to explore the tomb-cell. It hurt to move but that didn't matter. I felt over the walls, estimating size. My chamber was three feet wide, two feet high, and seven feet long. The walls were relatively smooth, except for a few mortar joints. The stones were big: eighteen inches or so by a couple of feet. I scratched at the mortar; it was rock hard. I wondered how they'd gotten me in. Some of the stones must be newly placed ... or else there was a door. I couldn't feel anything as far as my hands would reach. Maybe at the other end....