But she had succeeded in poisoning herself before the drugs took full effect, and two mindless slaves under the direction of a mutant Puva guard had tossed her dying body on a rubbish heap outside the walls. She had intended suicide, meaning to thwart the Faith, but a spying party of Rebels had found her barely breathing and rushed her to the Chamber, the only person ever to escape the clutches of the Faith. "I went to the Thin World while the Chamber repaired the effects of the poison," she told him. "But even the Chamber could not remove _this_. Not so long as Sasso lurks at the Gateway." Before Eldon could interrupt with questions she continued. "They would have been kinder to let me die, even in the Vat." The Forest People remembered the havoc traitorous adherents of the Faith had wrought among them, and would take no chances. Because she bore the slave-mark and was therefore suspect, Krasna had been sent into exile by the Council. "The others can occasionally gather in small groups and fight their loneliness together," she sobbed. "But for two years they have even kept their minds closed against me. I'm completely alone, always." Eldon felt a great longing to comfort the weeping girl. But even in her solitary exile she regarded him only as an object for pity, not as an equal and a friend. So there was nothing he could do but leave her alone with her grief. It made him feel more sorry for himself than ever. * * * * * Next day the alarm in the passageway hummed unexpectedly and Krasna leaped up as a man entered. His clothing was of the same blue-green material as hers, evidently intended to match the forest tints, and a bulging weapon belt encircled his waist. A long sword swung at his side, and he looked capable of using it well. "Bolan!" Krasna greeted him with a happy cry and ran to his arms. He held her affectionately. "How do you dare--?" she asked through tears of joy. The man made a disparaging remark about the Council. "After all, you are my sister." Eldon felt a relaxation of the tension within himself. His hostility toward the man ebbed. But Bolan glowered at the Earthman with black dislike. "You certainly aren't helping yourself with the Council by keeping this Outworldling here," he told the girl. "You'd be well advised to send him into the forest." "To die? But Bolan, he's harmless," the girl protested. The man raised his eyebrows. "You think so? The other two _have not appeared in the slave pits_. You know what that means. And with their Closed World minds--" Eldon interrupted in sudden anger. "Listen here. Margaret would never join that Faith. The man, perhaps, but not the girl. If she's there it is as a prisoner." Bolan turned on him contemptuously. "Be quiet!" Krasna intervened. "Your loyalty is touching--but I fear sadly misplaced," she said quietly.