“Nice to see you again, Sim,” greeted Zip. They sat down in a circle of chairs, Sim sitting near a table on which were placed all the makings necessary for tea. There were already two cups set out, which had been used recently. Sim took one for himself and set the other aside. “This was Kathryn’s,” he said as he produced three new cups for his visitors. “You probably passed her on your way in.”
The conversation continued as Sim poured the tea from a very large brown earthenware teapot. Before long, Zip brought up the subject of their visit.
“I wish we had more time to visit, Sim, but our assignment is extremely urgent. We must find George St. George as fast as possible, and Oritz has told us that only a miner named Montezuma Vly can tell us where he is. We’re on our way to Montezuma’s Castle.”
“Ah, yes,” said Sim Sala Bim, “Sabbath George. He is well known here, but we haven’t seen him in almost a year, I think. Almost a year.”
“Sabbath George?” asked Mark.
“George St. George is a devout man—genial, generous, liked and respected by everyone. Honest to a fault. He’s called Sabbath George because of his beliefs. The nickname is intended to kid him a little bit, but is really meant as a term of respect and affection. But to find him in short order, you will indeed have to go through Montezuma Vly. Montezuma’s Castle is not hard to find, but getting in will be difficult.”
“We are familiar with Mr. Vly’s convictions and we wouldn’t bother him if there were any other way to find St. George. Given the time constraints, we have no choice.”
Sim nodded. “Montezuma’s Castle is easily recognizable by its unusual shape. It is a true crescent, a sliver of stone with Vly’s operation in its very center.” Sim went on to provide its coordinates and other information the Starmen would need to find it.
Zip continued. “On this assignment secrecy is of the utmost importance. It is vital that no one knows who we are or what we’re doing. We obviously can’t take the Star Ranger, as the news media have made that ship easily recognizable. We learned that when we landed on Ceres. I think we’re going to need to use another ship.”
With Sim, the Starmen made plans to leave the Star Ranger on Ceres while the Starmen, dressed in ordinary clothes, quietly departed for Montezuma’s Castle in another ship.