The Last Quarter Mile
The Never Ending Quest - Episode 48484
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Astra felt very uneasy. She had time to ponder her situation as she and
Hesht, blindfolded and holding hands, were guided by Nevad, Sog and the
third man (who appeared to be the one in charge) over the last quarter
mile or so to Doazda's. She did not think that Hesht would deliberately
betray her, but she had been expecting their destination to be an ordinary
residence, not the large place that it must be if three people could be
spared for guard duty on a little used trail and in weather that made it
very unlikely that anyone would be travelling. Nor had she expected the
high level of security that those men being on guard clearly implied. What
was being hidden at Doazda's?
More importantly, from what Hesht had said to the men, it seemed that she would be required to remain there until Doazda returned, however long that might be, when she had been expecting to stay only overnight. Why could she not leave whenever she chose? Why had Hesht not mentioned to the men that she would be going on to Petrona? When she had the opportunity to speak to him alone, these would be the questions she would ask. Her thoughts were interrupted by the leader saying: "As I mentioned, we are very busy at the moment. We have a lot of people staying tonight, so you will probably have to share a room." "I c-can sleep in the outhouse," Hesht said. "Don't be silly!" Astra replied. "After the day we've had, I'm not letting you spend a cold, uncomfortable night in some outhouse and probably going down with pneumonia." "The lady's right," Sog said. "Don't worry, Hesht. I'm sure that you can trust her not to take advantage of you." Before Hesht had a chance to protest, the leader spoke again: "There's a pump in the yard that you can use to wash the mud off. I'll try to rustle up some dry clothes for you both. It will probably have to be male attire for the lady, though, I'm afraid." "That will be fine," Astra said. "Men's clothes are much more practical."
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JH
1/16/2005 1:29:14 AM
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