Two of the men nodded and took Kirk away down a flight of stone steps. One of the four who were left looked over the wall and spat. "Rock's pretty near clean," he said, "but even so...." He shook himself like a dog. "That Jakk Randl, he was always talking." One of the others flicked a quick look around and whispered, "Yeah. And maybe he knew what he was talking about!" * * * * * The little stone room was cold and quiet. It was dark, too, but the sucking-plant carried its own light. Kirk lay on his back watching the cool green fire pulse on his chest and belly. It looked cool, but underneath the sprawling tentacles of it he was burning with the pain of little needles that bit and sucked. He was spreadeagled with leather thongs. He made no sound. The sweat ran into his eyes and the blood went out of his body into the hungry plant, drop by drop. Somebody came in, somebody too quick and light to be a fighting man. Kirk let his pupils spread. First a slim tall shape moving, a kilt of little skins swirling beneath the shimmering sinthi-mesh overall suit. Small sharp breasts and a heavy mane of hair caught back. Then color. Yellow. Yellow like the Sunstar, from head to foot. Kirk's jaw shut and knotted. The sucking-plant was ripped away very deftly by its upper fronds and thrown into a corner. Kirk went rigid, but he didn't make a sound. The yellow girl took a knife from her belt sheath and slashed him free with four quick strokes. Kirk didn't move. "Well," she said. "Aren't you going to get up?" He could see her eyes, great black shining things. "What did you come here for?" "They told me about you. I said I thought it was criminal to discipline you when you didn't know what you were doing. So I came down to see what I could do about it." She always came with the other women after a raid, to help the wounded. Kirk looked at her stonily. "You must have just missed my speech." "They told me about it. Whatever made you say things like that?" "Aren't they true?" "No!" Kirk laughed. It was not a pleasant laugh. "You could have saved yourself the trouble. This isn't going to make me believe you." The girl tossed her thick hair back impatiently. "You're acting like a child." She was no older than Kirk. "We're all terribly sorry about your father," she went on gravely, "but that doesn't give you the right...." "I have the right to tell the truth." "But you're not telling the truth!" She was down on her knees now, beside him. "I don't know what this Jakk Randl saw, or whether he saw anything, but...." Kirk said slowly, "Jakk's dead. He was my friend, and he didn't lie." "Perhaps not. But he was mistaken." "He saw you, taking heat-stones into the Ship." "But only a very few! We're not hoarding them. We wouldn't!" "Then what do you use them for?" "I can't tell you that. And it doesn't matter anyway."