Kyer! The name that had been signed to the letter he’d found among Cavelgrune’s belongings! He’d never expected to encounter him, or any other of Talibrand’s confederates, on this voyage—he’d assumed that when the letter, along with everything else he owned, fell into Talibrand’s hands emergency warnings would have been sent out. Could it be that the traders had too efficiently accomplished their assigned task of “losing” him among anonymous androids, so that not even someone in Kyer’s position knew which consignment he was traveling with? The dealer was a little man with sharp eyes. His face revealed anxiety as he glanced into the android compound and rapidly away again. “I didn’t hear anything, Mr. Dize,” he said. “Except the regular chatter. Well, shall we move on to the next batch?” Frantically Horn clawed his way the last few paces to the fence, seized it in both hands and rattled it until the supports rang. “Dize! Dize! Come over here and take a look at me!”
