Prule agreed, but he was a sensitive man, and he sighed. And then he said:
"They found him with remarkable celerity, don't you think?"
"Tracing a Galactic—an unequipped Galactic—is not difficult. The wave length, of course."
"Yes, but they had no idea he was coming to this place."
"They certainly did. They expected him at the center of operations—which this town must obviously be—sooner or later. When their men did not return from the desert, or the town, they must have grown apprehensive."
"Well, anyway, we don't need this poor fellow anymore. Why don't we let him go, and mop up ourselves."
Kunklin grinned righteously.
"I'm a great believer in letting these people help themselves," he said. "It seems more sporting that way. He's doing fine so far. I think we ought to leave him in just to see how far he can go. Really, he does deserve to be in at the end."
"I suppose. But you know, we almost didn't finish that last recording in time."
It was a sobering thought.