"Don't be an idiot!" the man whispered. "And shut the big mouth. We're here to get you out. We're friends." Two more men, dressed the same way, pushed in behind him, and I had a glimpse of a fourth one in the hall. "Friends!" I shouted, "Murderers is more like it! You'll pay dearly for this crime." The fourth man, still in the hall, whispered something and they charged me. I wanted a better glimpse of the boss. He was a small man--if he _was_ a man. His clothes were loose and bulky, and there was a stocking mask over his entire head. Angelina would be just about that tall. But before I could get a better look the thugs were on me. I kicked one in the stomach and ducked away. This was fighting barroom style and they had all the advantages. Without shoes or a weapon I didn't stand a chance, and they weren't afraid to use their coshes. I tried hard not to smile with victory as they worked me over. Only reluctantly did I allow myself to be dragged to the place where I wanted to go. xvi Because the pounding on the head had only made me groggy, one of them broke a sleep capsule under my nose and that was that for a while. So of course I had no idea of how far we had traveled or where on Freibur I was. They must have given me the antidote because the next thing I saw was a scrawny type with a hypodermic injector in his hand. He was peeling back my eyelid to look and I slapped his hand away. "Going to torture me before you kill me, swine!" I said, remembering the role I had to play. "Don't worry about that," a deep voice said behind me, "you are among friends. People who can understand your irritation with the present régime." This voice wasn't much like Angelina's. Neither was the burly, sour-faced owner. The medic slid out and left us alone, and I wondered if the plan had slipped up somewhere. Iron-jaw with the beady eyes had a familiar look--I recognized him as one of the Freiburian nobility. I had memorized the lot and looking at his ugly face I dredged up a mnemonic. A midget painted bright red. "Rdenrundt--The Count of Rdenrundt," I said, trying to remember what else I had read about him. "I might believe you were telling me the truth if you weren't his Highness's first cousin. I find it hard to consider that you would steal a man from the royal jail for your own purposes...." "It's not important what you believe," he snapped angrily. He had a short fuse and it took him a moment to get his temper back under control. "Villelm may be my cousin--that doesn't mean I think he is the perfect ruler for our planet. You talked a lot a about your claims to higher rank and the fact that you had been cheated. Did you mean that? Or are you just another parlor wind-bag? Think well before you answer--you may be committing yourself. There may be other people who feel as you do, that there is change in the wind."