I
gave up and fished under the mattress for Evarin's Toy.
The _chak_ got a glimpse of the embroideries on the silk in which it was
wrapped, and stood back, his loose furry lips hanging open, while I
gathered my few belongings together and strode out of the room. He would
not touch the coins I offered; I laid them on a chest and he let them
lie there, and as I went into the reddening morning they came flying
after me into the street.
I pulled the silk from the Toy and tried to make some sense from my
predicament. The little thing lay innocent and silent in my palm. It
wouldn't tell me whether it had been keyed to me, the real Cargill, some
time in the past, or to Rakhal, using my name and reputation in the
Terran Colony here at Charin.
If I pressed the stud it might play out this comedy of errors by hunting
down Rakhal, and all my troubles would be over. For a while, at least,
until Evarin found out what had happened. I didn't deceive myself that I
could carry the impersonation through another meeting.
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