Jon laughed, then thought a minute. "I can tell you a story, about a prison mine. Do you know anything about the prison mines beyond the forest?" "Some," said Let. "Well, once upon a time, there were three prisoners in that prison camp." They started out in the hall. "They'd been there a long time, and they wanted to get out. One was ... well, he looked like me, let's pretend. Another had a limp ..." "And the third one was chubby, sort of," interrupted Let. "I know that story." "You do?" asked Jon. "Sure," Let said. "Then you go on and tell it." Jon was a little annoyed. Let told it to him. They were outside waiting for Arkor when the boy finished. "See," Let said. "I told you I knew it." "Yeah," said Jon quietly. He stood very still. "You say the other two ... didn't make it?" "That's right," Let said. "The guards brought them back and dumped their bodies in the mud so that ..." "Shut up," Jon said. "Huh?" asked Let. He was quiet for a few breaths. "Who told you that ... story?" "Petra," Let answered. "She told it to me. It's a good story, huh?" "Incidentally," Jon said. "I'm the one that got away." "You mean?" The boy stopped. "You mean it really happened?" The early light warmed the deserted street now as Arkor came to the door of the inn and stepped into the street. "All right," he said. "Come on." CHAPTER VII The news service of Toromon in the city of Toron was a public address system that flooded the downtown area, and a special printed sheet that was circulated among the upper families of the city. On the mainland it was a fairly accurate brigade of men and women who transported news orally from settlement to settlement. All announced simultaneously that morning: CROWN PRINCE KIDNAPED KING DECLARES WAR! In the military ministry, directives were issued in duplicate and redelivered in triplicate. At eight-forty, the 27B Communications Sector became hopelessly snarled. This resulted in the shipment of a boatload of prefabricated barracks foundations to a port on the mainland sixty-two miles from the intended destination. Let, Jon, and Arkor were just mounting the private yacht of the Duchess of Petra which was waiting for them at the end of the harbor. Later, as the island of Toron slipped across the water, Let mentioned to Jon, leaning against the railing, that there was an awful lot of commotion on the docks. "It's always like that," Jon told him, remembering the time he'd gone with his father in the morning to the pier. "They're inspecting cargoes. But it does look awfully busy."