"I got away," he chuckled, grinning more broadly than ever. "But where I was going to, search me. And who the deuce are you, if you don't mind my asking? How did you ever get to this God‑forsaken place?"
I smiled. "You tell us about yourself first; then I'll tell you about myself. You are the earth‑man we've been hearing about, aren't you—the man Tao captured in Wyoming and brought here with him?"
"They caught me in Wyoming all right. Who's Tao?"
"He's the leader of them all."
"Oh. Well, they brought me here, as you say, and I guess they've had me about all over this little earth since. They stuck me in a boat, and Lord knows how far we went. We got here last night, and when my guard went to sleep I beat it." He scratched his head lugubriously. "Though what good I thought it was going to do me I don't know. That's about all, I guess. Who the deuce are you?"
I laughed.
"Wait a minute—don't go so fast. Start at the beginning. What's your name?"
"Oliver Mercer."
His face grew suddenly grave. "My brother was killed up there in Wyoming—that's how I happened to go there in the first place."
"Mercer!" I exclaimed.