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"Yer lookin' fer a mon a' ther naent point I require information on He may be called Calde Silk or Patera Silk Can any of you tell me where to find his are not as we'd like in New Viron, you see The rich struggle with one another, each gathering such followers as he can and hoping to rule in a year or two Stronger than any of thee no rule but their own, and desire neither justice nor peace"

Hound said, "That sounds like Viron itself Are you sure you're not talking about that?"

"No I have not set foot in Viron in twenty years, and I as are in such a state Since neither you nor your wife can tell er leads your governo"

"I see" He paused, stirred his soup, and fished out a e for Oreb "We hoped that he could help us-and that he would It's why I came"

Hound asked, "From Blue?"

"Indirectly, yes I knew Calde Silk well in the old days"

Tansy pulled a wad of colored cloth froht napkins, and forgot to give them to you"

He accepted one and wiped his eyes "I'ret I happened to think again about leaving, and the last ti One of those short winters we spoke of, and I only saw half of it Half or less Silk walked away into the snow, and ent down into the tunnels, Nettle and I I was very excited, and felt that ere doing so what Silk wanted, too

"I'o to a wonderful nehorl; we did that, but when I think back to the days when I lived with my mother and father, and my sisters and brothers, and all of us knew Patera Silk, I call the ere!"

"Poor Silk!"

"Not really, Oreb" He sood life, one that's not over yet I've loved a wonderful woman and a very beautiful woman, and I have been loved Not many men can say that"

"H'on wi' yer story, bucky"

"Very well Nettle and I built a house on Lizard, well away fros We were poor, if you like, yet ere happy though there were tih to eat" Re, he spooned up soup and tasted it "This is really excellent I'ry, no doubt, and that always helps But excellent by anyblack hair gleaht

"We lived there quite contentedly, and brought up our sons One day five of the leading citizens called on us They talked about conditions in town, and crop failures-the corn crop, particularly, because it had failed disastrously that year To tell you the truth, I couldn't i at Neither could Nettle, I'ard for our opinions in the past; and if they wanted our advice, I at least had little to give There was Marroho has been one of our leading nizance Patera Remora, and three more I could na to you

"They had been given a way to return soht they had Our own lander would have made that possible and even easy, of course, if only it had not been looted of nearly everything that permitted it to fly the moment it put down; but it had been, and was beyond repair Silk had been our leader until ent into the tunnels I ought to have said that"

"Good Silk!"

He nodded, his face serious "He was He was the greatest reateven bad people like and trust hi her husband a tilance, Tansy ventured, "I e'd known him"

"I wish you had too I knew him, as I said, and it was one of the principal matters of my life Nettle and I even wrote a book about him" He sipped more soup "When we left, he was calde of Viron Can you tell me what happened?"

"Not in any detail," Hound said "He was forced out of office I wish my father were still alive to tell you about it He knew more about it than Tansy and I do"

She said, "We were children then It was-I don't know Ten years ago? Or twelve? About that"

Hound nodded "He wanted everyone to get on the landers and wanted to go hiht to leave, and taking cards out of circulation Nobody liked that There were protests and riots, a lot of trouble I know a lot of people wanted him arrested and tried, but I don't think it was ever really done He was an augur, after all"

"He was married," Tansy objected "Mother still talks about it She doesn't like it"

Pig coughed and spat "Nae gang ter Neat yer soup, bucky? Pity ter waste h'it"

He pushed his bowl over "You ive Oreb a bite or two I'?"

"Nae, bucky What h'about yer?"

"I'll cut you some It will be delicious dipped in that excellent soup, I feel sure"

"There'shot," Tansy put in, "and in the big bowl should be hotter than what you have Let "

Hound said, "I knoe haven't really answered your question, Horn, but we've told you everything we remember"

"You don't knohat becaed "I don't think he was killed or thrown into the pits My father would have talked about it"

Tansy ventured, "People tell stories, you kno it is So in the city under new na people A lot of people think he's gone outside He was always talking about that, they say"

Nodding to hi, who said, "Thank yer, bucky"

Hound yawned "I've seen hiht he onderful, so when he caood look at him They used to sell pictures of him, too, and for a while we had one over the fireplace It's probably still up in the attic"

"We're keeping you and your wife fro anyway"

Hound seconded her "We were asleep when you knocked When the sun goes dark, there isn't much else we can do"

"Candles are very dear," Tansy explained, "and so is oil for the lamps We used to sell them-"

"We still sell oil, but it's pricey these days"