I sat up in the sweltering darkness of the cell. Mortar dropped on the
bed from between the logs of the primitive wall. I grabbed a boot to
defend myself against rodents but a voice whispered, "Kinlock. Is Betty
Toal."
"High, Toal," I said. "What did they do to you?"
"Have not caught me. Brought food and water. Ordinance 102 forbids a
meal for criminal aliens. Find the tube? Did they give you water?"
"A few sips." I gulped slightly metallic water from the tube extending
through the hole she had made in the daubing. Toal shoved something
through the crack. So far as I could determine in the darkness, it was
meat between slices of bread.
I munched the concoction and mumbled, "Thanks, Toal. You'd best run
before the guards find you. If I ever get out, and you need anything,
let me know."
Toal said, too loudly for secrecy, "Am happy to help. Do not worry
about prison. Several Maximums and Dominants opposed calling an outside
hunter. May be why they arrested you."
"Stand still, Betty Toal!" a rough voice cried in the dark.