"Only one connects with the Labyrinth. A cage of bars cuts off the pipe at that point, so no workman may by accident come up within the Labyrinth and thus meet his doom."
Narrow-eyed, Burke brooded on the things the smith had told him.
But now Ariadne broke in; and all the poise she'd shown brief moments earlier had vanished: "Dion—you mustn't! Don't you see? This is a trap. Even though you were to slay the Minotaur, you'd never find your way back to safety through all that maze of pitch-black tunnels!"
"On the contrary, princess." Burke smiled thinly. "This is one advantage of coming here from another time. It tells me in advance so many of the things that are scheduled to happen."
Ignoring her obvious blank bafflement, he again spoke to the smith: "Daedalus, do you have cord here—light, strong line such as you use in laying out the walls of each new building?"
"Yes."
"Then get some for me."
The brawny craftsman crossed to a chest against the wall; brought out a thick skein of twine. "Will this do?"
"Is it long enough to guide me to the Labyrinth?"
"Yes."