I tucked it into the clasp of my shirtcloak, a reassuring weight.
It was the only weapon I could dare to carry.
The last of the solid objects in the bundle was a flat wooden case,
about nine by ten inches. I slid it open. It was divided carefully into
sections cushioned with sponge-absorbent plastic, and in them lay tiny
slips of glass, on Wolf as precious as jewels. They were lenses--camera
lenses, microscope lenses, even eyeglass lenses. Packed close, there
were nearly a hundred of them nested by the shock-absorbent stuff.
They were my excuse for travel to Shainsa. Over and above the
necessities of trade, a few items of Terran manufacture--vacuum tubes,
transistors, lenses for cameras and binoculars, liquors and finely
forged small tools--are literally worth their weight in platinum.
Even in cities where Terrans have never gone, these things bring
exorbitant prices, and trading in them is a Dry-town privilege. Rakhal
had been a trader, so Juli told me, in fine wire and surgical
instruments.
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