"One thing I love about you people back here is the precision you have with the language," Max observed. "It's degenerated a bit in my and Sierra's time." "Thank you," Astor said. "We already discussed Mark Twain and H. G. Wells with William in 1896," Sierra said. "Chances are if the translator was either of them, he wouldn't have been so cagey." "You think he was being cagey?" Astor asked. "You don't take him at face value when he says he thinks it's safer that way?" "Oh, I agree it's safer," Sierra said. "But I guess after all we've been through, I don't quite believe that William wouldn't tell us the name." "He was trying to protect us?" Max asked. "Yes, always," Sierra said. "But by not telling us who the translator is, William is preventing us from giving that translator our protection, which could be very important, too." "He may also think the opposite," Astor said. "Keeping the translator's name secret may be the best way of protecting the translator." Max nodded. It occurred to him that maybe Appleton didn't reveal the translator because he didn't fully trust Astor.
