It was faintly light outside and by that faint light Carroll looked at his watch and was amazed to find that it was almost six o'clock in the morning. He quickly replaced the reel and turned to go back to his room. "Pleased with yourself?" asked a quiet voice. Carroll jumped a foot. Then in the dim light he saw the form of a woman, fully dressed, sitting in an easy chair not far from the door. To add to his complete surprise he hadn't known that women were with this outfit. "Who are you?" he demanded. "Plead, do not demand," she said. "For you have not the right to courtesy." "Madam, I am a prisoner here. Courtesy _per se_ has no meaning at all. I have as much right to prowl the place, picking up what I can, as you have to imprison me in the first place." "A nice point of ethics and quite devoid of rational answer," smiled the woman. In the gaining light James Forrest Carroll saw that she was passably good looking though certainly no raving beauty. When she spoke, her white teeth gleamed in the dim light. "However," she said, "I am Rhinegallis, King's sister." Then she laughed. "And that," she said, "is the only thing you learned this evening!" "Oh, I'd not say that," said Carroll. "Then tell me," she said amusedly, "how you justify yourself." * * * * * Carroll paused. Somehow it seemed normal to him that he should not care to appear weak or helpless in front of a woman, even an alien woman. Yet the truth of the matter was that Carroll was a complete captive and at the mercy of this bunch. Whatever he did he did at their sufferance. There was little to be gained by quiet ridicule in explaining that he had taken a recording by sheer blind guesswork because there was no other way. There was little to be gained but open ridicule to be forced to admit to this woman that he, James Forrest Carroll, reputed to be one of the Solar System's foremost physicists, was in a position seldom if ever occupied by any human being. He knew and he knew that he knew, but he knew not what he knew! He laughed helplessly. "_Son lava tin quil norwham enectramic colvay si tin mer vo si_--" "Very lucid," she replied in English. "So in the course of the evening, James Forrest Carroll has a complete course in our science--in our language-pattern in our manner of thinking. And," she laughed merrily, "of none of which he has the slightest comprehension. "That was a nice try, Carroll, but availing nothing. I'll tell you this, however--what you have learned this night is of no more use to you than a complete knowledge of archeology so far as an answer to your present problem goes. "And for your trouble--it is a rather complimentary thing that you'd make such a try, and we'll all commend you--I'll be your guest for breakfast." "Thank you," said Carroll cryptically. "I hope I'm amusing." Rhinegallis stood up and faced Carroll. "You are quite a man," she said earnestly. "And though we must--use you--we still admire you."