He stopped short. From his vantage point behind her, Telis could see that the girl had taken a small cube from her pouch and was holding it to her ear. For several seconds she sat quite still, as though listening, then she turned the cube, held it to her lips for a moment, and returned it to the pouch at her belt.
He scrambled back to his place beside her, demanding, "That cube. What was it?"
"Cube?"
"In there." Telis touched the pouch that hung at her side.
"You must have been mistaken. There is no cube," she said, "Perhaps you saw me checking my compass...." She reached into the pouch and drew out a small magnetic compass in a square metal case. "You see?"
Telis frowned. It was possible that he had been mistaken ... but he was inwardly almost certain that the compass he held in his hand was not the cube he had seen the girl using. For a moment he toyed with the idea of searching her, but reconsidered. The sled would not touch the ground again until it landed in the capital near the Grand Canal. There was no possible way that the girl could harm him or interfere with his plans now. And perhaps the cube was a happy-gas inhaler....
He looked searchingly into the girl's face. She looked as though she could use some stimulant. The blue about her mouth and the tight, pinched look in her face seemed to have worsened since leaving Dorliss. She actually looked ill. She gave him a wan smile, and he decided to question her no more for the present.
Opening the packet of concentrates, he offered her one and passed the pack to Gorla. Then he passed the water flask around, cautioning them to drink sparingly.
As the hours passed and the sun began to slide down toward the western hills, Telis began to worry about their navigation. Not knowing the exact location of the Temple City, he could only guess at the proper course for the capital; and the low altitude made navigating very difficult. Telis decided to climb higher and see if he could not catch a glimpse of the Grand Canal or some other familiar landmark. He nosed the sled upward slightly and edged the throttle forward, sending the sled upward toward the cobalt sky.
The girl was looking down over the side at the desert rushing by. Though there was nothing to be seen but rust-red sand, something about the desolate waste seemed to please her.