The sleeper on the cot stirred and tossed restlessly. The sleeper at the drawing board made a line with his stylus and looked at the sleeper atop Sybelline. «Good, eh? For an old one.»

The sleeper at the console adjusted the toggle and laughed. «We had better keep her down here with us. If she talks we have had it. We can turn her over to the new crew and-«

«Three-four-five-«

The sleeper atop Sybelline groaned and rolled off her. «Yes, you are right. We will keep her for our private needs.» He smiled down at Sybelline. «What of that, woman? You agree? We will treat you well.»

Sart had dropped his bar and fallen to his knees, his eyes rolling in terror. Blade pointed to the man crawling toward them, the bleeding man. He whispered. «Get him. Help him.

«Six-seven-«

The sleeper on the table with Sybelline slapped at her arm in sudden alarm. «Get away from that button, you whore.»

The sleeper at the console whirled toward Blade, staring in astonishment. «Who counts? Who are you?»

«Eight-«

The sleeper at the drawing board leaped toward a square box on a wall. «Something is wrong here-the all-points alarm. I-'

«Nine-«

Sybelline lost her head. She pulled away from the Morphi and tried frantically to reach the OFF button. The Morphi slapped her hard and pushed her off the table away from the button. The man on the cot woke and stared, rubbing his eyes. «What in the name of all the fylfots goes on?»

Sart did not obey Blade. He crept into the doorway to be near his master. The former sleepers saw him and yelled in unison. «Gnomen. Attack-attack-«

«Ten!»

Sybelline screamed and lunged for the OFF button. She was knocked down. Blade went plunging into the knot of struggling Morphi. One held Sybelline and three leaped at him. He laid about him with the bar, drove them to retreat and reached with the hooked end of his bar to press the button. They were coming at him again. The power failed. Darkness.

Blade took his torch from a sconce and waved it about. The four Morphi men, sleepers once more, lay huddled on the floor of the bunker.

Sybelline recovered her torch and did not conceal her anger. «I told you, Blade. They nearly overcame us. You are too bold. We will take no more chances like that.»

He could have told her that only boldness plus guile had kept him alive through a procession of DXs, but all he said was, «Be quiet.»

He was content. He knew what he had to know. When he turned on the power again the Morphi would resume the continuity of their lives with no sense of lost time. The sleepers would never know they had slept. This, he hoped, would give him the element of surprise, an opening wedge, a way to baffle and puzzle them until he could sway them to his thinking. But that must wait.

Blade led the way out of the bunker and pointed. «I saw a Gnoman crawling this way. He was hurt. Hold your torches high.»

Sybelline was incredulous. «A common Gnoman down here? I do not believe it. They would not dare it. Not one alone.»

«I know what I saw.» Blade waved his torch and shouted. «You out there! Give sign of yourself. We will help you.»

A faint cry came from the darkness. «Sybelline! I am hurt. Aid me.»

Blade watched her and did not think she was acting. She gasped in amazement. «Wilf! My son. I do not understand this-«

Sart stopped shaking long enough to say, «It could be a trick of Jantor's, master.»

«A strange trick,» said Blade, «to send one wounded man against me. Come on.» He strode into the darkness.

Wilf lay in a pool of blood. Sybelline held a torch while Blade examined him. He was badly bitten, mostly on the legs, and some of the wounds were deep. At the moment he was unconscious, but Blade thought he would survive. He bade Sart pick up the wounded man and carry him back to the bunker.

Sart grumbled and complained of his own wound but he obeyed. Blade and Sybelline followed him. The woman was silent.

«I accept your surprise,» said Blade at last. «But I must know of this. You say he is your son?»

She shrugged. «One of them. My favorite. I have many sons and daughters among the Gnomen. I do not know what has become of them.»

Blade guessed at what she meant by favorite. He knew the Gnomen attitude toward incest. They did not recognize it nor did he mention it now.

He said, «I find it most strange that he would suddenly appear in this place.»

Sybelline shrugged again. «So do I. I have no understanding of this, nor of Wilf, for that matter. He is only a quarter Morphi, you know, and not of great intelligence. He has always been secretive and keeps his thoughts to himself.»

«We will see about his intelligence. One thing I know-the Morphi, even you who are half Morphi, all make the same mistake. You consistently underestimate the intelligence of some of the Gnomen-perhaps all of them. It is my thought that the native intelligence is there, but has never been allowed to develop.»

He saw her look and forgot it. She was incapable of understanding.

Wilf was placed on the table in the bunker. Blade found a kit and tended the wounds. He used ointments and powders and bound the raw sores with plastic bandages. As he finished, he was aware that Wilf was feining unconsciousness. He smiled down at him and slapped his face lightly. Blade had the beginnings of a plan and if the lad was intelligent enough….

«You do not fool me,» he told Wilf. «I know you listen and understand. Open your eyes and explain how you came here.»

Sart was once again on guard in the door. Sybelline held a torch and peered down at her son. Wilf opened his eyes and stared at his mother sullenly. Sybelline was just as sullen when she spoke to him.

«This is the man Blade, Wilf. You will do well to answer him. How came you here, and why?»

Wilf scowled. He held up a bandaged arm, then stared down at his bitten legs. «The mole rats nearly killed me. I lost my spear bar.»

Blade knew one thing. Wilf had courage. Blade made his voice friendly. «You did not come down the chute?»

Wilf looked at Blade a long time before answering. Suddenly he smiled. He ignored his mother and smiled and Blade saw what he had seen so often in Dimension X-awe, hero worship and a willingness to serve. He could use such things. Wilf could not have come at a better time.

«No,» said Wilf. «I did not come by the chute, though I know of it.»

«How much do you know of it?» Sybelline's tone spoke her emotions. She was not pleased with her son.

Blade glared. «Do not interrupt.»

«I can read Morphi script,» said Wilf. «I go up into the city any time it pleases me. For long I have done this. I have explored, Mother. I have followed you and you never knew. I have studied the Moon and the orbfolk through telescopes. I have watched and listened when you spoke to Onta, the Selene. I-«

Blade put a hand over his mouth. «Enough.» He looked at Sybelline. She did not meet his eye.

«I have no interest in any of that,» said Blade. «How came you here, if not by the chute?»

Wilf laughed, eager to talk to Blade. «I found old drawings in the rock mine files. There are passages that lead down past the pits-«

Sart groaned from the door. «The five mile pits!»

Blade silenced him. «Go on, Wilf.»

«As I saw, I found old drawings. They marked out passages that have been long forgotten. With the aid of such a map I was able to find my way down here. It was easy enough at first. It led me down past the pits-they are all dead there now-and I found a ramp that leads directly into this place. All went well until the mole rats attacked me.»

Blade nodded. «You have such a map with you?»

Wilf was wearing the plastic shorts of the Morphi. He reached into a pocket and drew out a folded square of plastic, tattered and stained. Blade took it from him. He did not examine it but tapped it with a finger and looked at Sybelline. «What other way is there back to the city level?»