thought I was Craddock.'
Her green eyes flashed. 'Darum has left the castle, with a band of soldiers. I've learned that.'
'Then he believed me! He went to get Craddock himself.' Raft hesitated. No, he realized, the king had not taken his word for the substitution. Instead, Darum was investigating the possibility, cutting the Gordian knot of uncertainty by going directly to the source—Parror.
'Parror is resourceful,' Janissa said. 'I don't know…' She shook her head, the soft curls stirring with her movement.
'Well, what am I supposed to do? Sit here waiting till Darum gets back?'
The girl pondered.
'Let me use the mirror again,' she said at last. She took out the tiny lens, bending her head to stare intently into those cloudy depths. Raft saw her start,
'What's wrong?'
'Wait.' She held up a warning hand. 'It is difficult to get through. There's a barrier…'
She straightened, thrusting the mirror back into her dress.
'Craddock is tranced,' she said. 'Not the spell of the mirror, but a kind of hypnosis. Parror is taking him somewhere—I can't see where. But they have left the castle.'
Raft bit at his lower lip. 'Can't you communicate with Craddock at all?'
'I can catch only a few stray thoughts. Not much.'
'Can you find out where they're going? Try again, Janissa. If we could discover that, it might help.'
She took out the lens, bent above it in an agony of concentration. Raft saw diamonds of perspiration glittering on her forehead.
'It's hard. His mind is veiled.'
'Try!'
She let the mirror drop, amazement in her eyes. 'No. Kharn—no! He'd never go there!'
Raft gripped the girl's slim arms. 'Kharn? Is that where the Flame is?'
Janissa drew away, shivering.
'Oh no. I thought he might take the unseen road, but to go to Kharn. He must have some method of protection I know nothing about. Or else it's suicide.'
'What is Kharn? Where is it?'
'At the source of the great river,' she said. 'The river that flows here, under Doirada Castle. That is Kharn. But no man goes there.'
'Why not?'
Janissa seemed to draw inward into herself.
'The Garden of Kharn has life which isn't like ours. There are beings in Kharn who are—I don't know what. I've never been in the Garden. But I've been near it, though. I've felt something reaching out to touch my mind, something cold and crawling and deadly.'
Raft uttered a harsh laugh.
'I'd be willing face any ghost if I had my rifle back.'
'Kharn is unhealthy,' the girl said quietly. 'If Parror has found a way to protect himself against the Garden, he's wiser than I thought. But I fear for Craddock.'
'Why? Parror will take mighty good care of Dan Craddock, till he get the information he wants. Apparently this Kharn is taboo. Which is fine for Parror. He can take his time getting the information he wants.'
A change had come over Janissa.
'This alters things, Brian. When Darum reached Parror's castle, he'll find Parror gone. But if he knew his quarry goes to Kharn, he might intercept him, if he goes fast.' She rose to her feet in a lithe, smooth motion. 'Yes, this changes the face of our plans. I must get to Darum and warn him.'
'I'll go with you,' Raft said.
'No, you cannot. You couldn't leave by my path.' She waved toward the window. 'And there are guards outside the door.'
'I can take care of them.'
'You are not that strong. I must move fast, and alone.'
Raft caught her arm as she moved away. 'At least tell me how to open that door!'
The elfin face smiled up at him maliciously.
'Lay your hand on the brightest spot of light. But you'd better wait here for my return, Brian. A door sometimes has more than one lock.'
They were on the balcony now, and Janissa swung a slim leg over the railing.
'You'll be back?' Raft said.
'I promise.'
'Her mind is like the wind,' Darum had said. How much could Raft trust this cat-girl of an alien species?
He gripped her arms hard. He drew her toward him. That slim, strong body tensed in revolt, but Raft's mouth came down hard and covered hers.
After a moment he let her go. There was a touch of mockery in his eyes now.
'At least, you may not find it so easy to forget now,' he said.
Janissa touched her lips with questioning fingers. She stared at him.
'No,' she said enigmatically. 'I shall not forget—that.'
She slipped over the balustrade and was gone, writhing to avoid the keen blades, clinging precariously to the face of the stone. Raft watched her descent till her figure vanished around a turret. Then, still undecided, he returned to his luxurious prison.
He had solved nothing.
He had learned a great deal, but nothing that could be of immediate use. Except—he nodded—the key to the door. That might be of very real help. Unless he wanted to sit here quietly until Janissa or the king returned.
He found a heavy metal statuette, wrapped it in a silken scarf, and went to the door. He stared at the translucent panel, seeing now that glowing flecks of light moved slowly within the oval, like pallid moon-flames caught in a lazy current.
The brightest spot of light.
He found it and laid his palm over its glow. But nothing happened. The fleck slid from under his hand. He tried again, with no result.
A door has more than one lock. That was what she had meant, then. Smiling sourly, Raft tossed his weapon away and returned to the balcony.
Janissa had descended, but he could not follow her. He had no illusions on that score. Nor would any rope he might improvise reach to firm footing. He bent and tried to break off one of the swords. All he accomplished was the wounding of a finger.
Raft swore softly and savagely. After that he felt a little better. He dropped on a pile of cushions and tried to plan. It was difficult. What he wanted, obviously, was to get out of Paititi and take Craddock with him. The way to do that—what was the method?
He knew the road out. Once back in the Amazon jungle, he'd take his chance, even without a rifle. But escaping wouldn't solve Raft's problems now.
The amulets, Parror's, and the one taken by the king. They, apparently, gave the possessor power to live outside Paititi, to slow down the metabolism to a speed normal to life beyond the valley's cliffs. But the effects were variable. Back in the hospital, Parror had once moved too fast for human eyes to observe.
Suppose, then, Raft thought, he and Craddock managed to escape. They might reach the Jutahy. They might get a week's start, or a month's. But in a day pursuers from Paititi could overtake them. With the aid of the amulets, Parror or the king could flash through the jungle in pursuit, and kill or hypnotize with Janissa's trick mirror. And back he and Craddock would go to Paititi.
So he was up against a dead end there.
It was difficult to judge time. The sun didn't move appreciably, and the second-hand on his watch went so slowly he couldn't see its progress. He was living at an abnormally increased rate of speed here, which meant that in Paititi he was on more nearly equal terms with the cat-people. Once outside, that slight advantage would be instantly lost, as his metabolism slowed to its former rate.
