“Choseph! That was temper.”
“Trust me, lad,” I begged.
“It is very dangerous work—terribly so if you make a mistake.”
“There will be no mistake.”
“The king is much broken. He is growing old, and the problem of the colony is wearing on him. Choseph, will you think of him as kind and gentle, and as meaning well?”
“Yes.”
“And will you watch Christopher? Sometimes he understands more than you or I.”
“I will.”
“Very well.” Beela was much relieved. “Now I’ll explain. The king is failing rapidly. He needs such friends as you and Christopher, and———”
“Such friends as we, when he is holding us as fattening cattle?”