Only where? Fortunately, the street outside Lirld’s laboratory seemed deserted. Maybe the flefnobes were afraid of the dark? Maybe they were all good, respectable homebodies and everyone, without exception, toddled into his bed at night to sleep the darkness through? Maybe—

Rabd. He had to find Rabd. That was the beginning and the end of the only solution to his problems he had come even close to, since his materialization on Professor Lirld’s lab table.

Rabd.

He tried “listening” with his mind. All kinds of drifting, miscellaneous thoughts were sloshing around in his brain, from the nearer inhabitants of the city.

“All right, darling, all right. If you don’t want to gadl, you don’t have to gadl. We’ll do something else…”

“That smart-aleck Bohrg! Will I fix him properly tomorrow.

“Do you have three zamshkins for a plet? I want to make a long-distance send…”

“Bohrg will roll in tomorrow morning, thinking everything is the same as it’s always been. Is he going to be surprised…”

“I like you, Nernt, I like you a lot. And that’s why I feel it’s my duty to tell you, strictly as a friend, you understand.

“No, darling, I didn’t mean that I didn’t want to gadl. I thought you didn’t want to; I was trying to be considerate like you always tell me to be. Of course I want to gadl. Now please don’t look at me like that…”

“Listen here. I can lick any flefnobe in the place…”

“To tell you the truth, Nernt, I think you’re the only one who doesn’t know. Everybody else…”

“So you’re all scared, huh? All right, I’ll take you on two at a time. Come on, come on….”

But no hint of Rabd. Manship began to walk cautiously down the stone-paved streets, sloshing through the little rivulets.