"You little fool!" he shrilled. "I told you not to do anything like that! How can you hold a man like that for two days, single-handed? Call in the police!"
"It seems to me that I already mentioned there aren't any around here," she reminded him patiently.
There was a long silence on the other end of the line. Then Nuwell said, with forced calm:
"I'm leaving immediately. In the name of space, Maya, be careful!"
Maya put the telephone quietly back in its cradle and looked across the table at the Tartar she had caught. Dark smiled at her, easily.
"So the reinforcements you were expecting won't get here tonight, after all," he remarked softly.
"He didn't say that at all!" she retorted, too quickly.
"There's hardly any point in trying to deceive me about it is there?" he pointed out. "I can tell a great deal from your conversation and the expression on your face, and I'd estimate that your help is going to have to come from Mars City by groundcar—a trip I've just made, so I know exactly how long it takes. Do you plan for us to spend these two nights in your room, or mine?"
She looked at him silently, stricken.
"I see our waiter returning," said Dark equably. "I trust you'll enjoy your meal as much as I'm going to enjoy mine, Miss Cara Nome."