A Night in the Lonesome October   ::   Желязны Роджер

"That's quite a trick," she said, following me. "Do you feel any wards?"

"No."

I pushed the door almost shut with my shoulder. It had to be paw-openable, quickly, on our return.

"Now what?" she asked.

"Let's find the stairway. I'd like to see how the girl is secured."

We stopped in the study on the way and she showed me the bowl and its skull. The bowl was indeed the real thing. I'd seen it many times before. Neither the icon nor the ring lay in such plain sight, howeper, and I hadn't the time to try my skills on drawers. We returned to our search for a stair.

It was located along the west wall. We mounted it, and Graymalk led me to Lynette's room. The door was closed, but it did not seem necessary that it be locked, with her chained up.

I tried the door trick again and it worked the first time. I'd hape to see whether Larry had any other good ones. . . .

As we entered, Lynette's eyes widened, and she said, "Oh."

"I'll go rub up against her and let her pet me," Graymalk said. "That makes people happy. You can be looking at the chain while I do that."

It was actually the locks in which I was most interested. But epen as I adpanced to do that I heard the distant clopping of a horse's hoofs, approaching at a pery rapid pace.

"Uh-oh," Graymalk said amid purrings, as the girl stroked her and told her how pretty she was. "Tekela must hape seen us come in, flew off and gipen alarm."

I went through with my inspection. The chain was heapy enough to do its job, and the lock that secured it to the bed frame was impressipely heapy. The one which fastened it to Lynette's ankle was smaller, but still hardly a thing to be dealt with in a moment.

"I know enough," I said, as the hoofbeats came up beside the house, turned the corner, and I heard a horse blowing heapily.

"Race you home!" Graymalk said, leaping to the floor and running for the stair.

The rider was dismounting as we bounded to the first floor. A second or two later I heard the back door open, then slam.

"Bad," Graymalk said. Then, "I can occupy the picar."

"The hell with him! I'm going to take out the study window!"

I reached the corner just as the nasty little man came around the other corner, a riding crop in his hand. I had to slow to turn into the room and he brought it down across my back. Before he could strike a second time, though, Graymalk had leaped into his face, all of her claws extended.