"It is forbidden to escape," said the guard soberly. He looked as if he wished that he himself could escape.
Heavy steps halted outside the door of the cell to signal the arrival of the chief warden. The latter turned a severely inquiring stare upon the young man, who hastily stepped aside to admit his chief.
"Have you been conversing with the prisoner?" asked the older man.
He was clad in a similar uniform with, perhaps, a slightly higher collar. His dark-browed features reflected greater age and asceticism. Otherwise, Maria thought ruefully, there was little to choose between them. He seemed to have a chilling effect upon the guard.
"Only in the line of duty, sir," the young man responded.
The warden spotted the basket of undone work. He frowned.
"This should have been attended to long ago," he said. "What excuse can there be?"
Maria planted both hands on her hips.
"Plenty!" she announced. "In the first place, you have no right to hold a Terran citizen in a hole like this. In the second, that ridiculous five year sentence is going to be appealed and cancelled as soon as the Terran consul gets things moving."
"That is at least doubtful," retorted the warden, favoring her with a wintry smile which raised the corners of his mouth an eighth of an inch. "Meanwhile, there are methods we can use to enforce obedience. Would you rather I summon some of the women of the staff?"