But I could not run now. I, helpless, naked, chained in place, was being publicly displayed.

A Corcyran merchant had brought charges against him, a matter having to do with a bowl, purportedly silver, but only plated, and one bearing a forged mark, misrepresenting it as the work of the silversmiths of Ar.

Surely he must now have passed by.

Further inquiries had been made and it was found that he had among his goods a set of false weights.

He must now have gone. He mustl Too, it had been discovered that he had sold slave hair to the public, representing it as that of free women.

I was safe. He must have gone by now.

How pleased I was to have sentenced him to his humiliation, pronouncing the judgment of the Tatrix against himl How pleased I was to have seen him dragged by guards from my august presence.

How splendid, too, to have men serving one, obeying one, in this fashion! He had been an itinerant peddler, an obsequious, cringing, ugly, small, vile man with a twisted body. Surely he was one of the most detestable human beings I had ever seen.

I stiffened, again, in terror. Someone had joined me on the cement platform. I kept my head down. Then, as had happened two or three times before, I felt a thumb under my T., chin. My head was pushed up.

18 The Leash

I found myself looking into the eyes of the peddler, Speusippus of Turia.

Speusippus stepped back and regarded me. I kept my head up, looking at him.

He glanced up at the sign over my head. He could doubtless read it.

"Sheila," said he, whispering in my ear. "You are Sheila, Tatrix of Corcyrusl" "No," I whispered. "Nol"

"The office of the Archon will doubtless be pleased to]cam identity of its lovely prisoner," he said.

"They will not believe it," I said.

"They wid conduct inquiries," he said, "with rather clear sequences, I think, for yourself."

"Do not tell them, I beg you," I said. "They will take me k to Argentum for impalementl" le smiled.

"Please, do not tell them, Speusippus," I begged.

"Sir?" he asked.

"Please, do not tell them, Sir," I begged.

"It is pleasant for one such as I to be called sir by the Tatrix of Corcyrus," he said.

"Please do not tell them," I begged, "a€”Sirl"

"Who are you supposed to be?" he asked.

"The Lady Lita, of Lydius," I said.

"Lita'?" he grinned. "That is a splendid name for you. ellent." trembled. That name, especially when not prefixed by Lady', I felt, somehow, did seem to have a certain rightness me; I wondered if, in some sense, I was a "Lita," or, say, Tuka," or a "Lana," other common names for slaves on r. Earth-girl names, too, incidentally, are commonly used lave names on Gor, such as Jean, Joan, Priscilla, Sally, orah, Lois, Sandra and Stacy. At any rate the name did e me feel slightly uneasy, and excited, and rather like a e. This was perhaps a function of its simplicity, loveliness' femininity. I hardly dared speculate what I might feel if it were actually put upon me and I were then to discover that, by a master's will, I had become "Lita." The c was originally given to me, I recalled, by Drusus Ren put upon me as a part of my disguise, and for the pures of my licensing, in the house of Kliomenes. I felt ientarily angry. The beast must have known that it was a mon slave name. Where were you caught?" be asked.

North of Venna," I said, "on the Viktel Aria."

"Well," said Speusippus, "I think I will now call the Arn's man and tell him who you are."

"Please, do not, Sir," I begged.

"Do you have friends who can vouch for you, that she is yours?"

"I am from Turia," said Speusippus. "I am a stranger in this beautiful city." "Things, then, are not so simple," said the Archon's man. "As you can see she is not even collared or branded. She is claiming to be a free woman."

"No, Master," I said.

"Perhaps I could hold her for ten days," said the Archon's man, "and then, if there are no other claimants, turn her over to you." He looked at me. "What did you say?" he asked.

"I am not a free woman, Master," I said. "I am a slave.' "There are still problems," said the Archon's man. "She will deny that she is your slave."

"No, Master," I said. "I am his." I almost choked on the words. Too, the words themselves frightened me, terribly. I knew that I was lying, of course, but still they frightened me. How fearful it would be, I thought, to say such words and know that they were true, that one did belong, fully, to a man.

"Do you admit that you are his slave?" the Archon's man asked me.

"Do you acknowledge that, and freely, and not under torture?"

"Yes, Master," I said. "I am his slave."

"Then you were lying to us before," he said.

"Yes, Master," I said.

He unclipped the whip from his belt.

"No, no," smiled Speusippus. "That will not be necessary. I am sure that little Lita has learned her lesson. Haven't you, Lita?"

"Yes, Master," I said. I twisted in the chains, making sure that the Archon's man had returned the whip to his belt. He had done so, I noted with relief. "You have not even had her branded and collared," said the Archon's man. "If I were you I would see to these details promptly. If she escapes from you again, you might not recover her so easily.

Someone else, having her properly marked and collared, might decide to keep her."

"I shall take all of these matters under the most serious consideration," said Speusippus, nodding soberly.

I smiled to myself. I saw that Speusippus had no intention of doing anything so cruel as putting a brand on me or anything as degrading as putting my neck in a collar. Too, he had not let the Archon's man whip me. I saw that Speusippus would treat me with lenience, kindness and deference. I saw that I had nothing to fear from Speusippus. After all, I was a free woman, and the Tatrix of Corcyrus.

"Thank you, Master," I said, in relief, to the Archon's man, as he released my wrists from the shackles. It felt so good to put my arms down. I almost fell on the platform.

"Poor little Lita," said Speusippbs, sympathetically. He patted me, tenderly, on the shoulder. "This has been such a terrible experience for you. But do not worry now, little Lita, It is over. I will take you away with me now." "Thank you, Master," I whimpered, playing my role.

But then I felt my hands tied behind my back, with a wire-cored cord. I was tied, and well.

Then I was leashed like a dog, or less than a dog. It was a slave leash. I was leashed like a slave.

"May I reimburse you for her keep?" inquired Speusippus.

"No," said the Archon's man. "Such serVices'are furnished by the city." "Splendid," said Speusippus. "Come along, Lita." I felt the tug of the leash. I was leashed!

"Do not spoil her," cautioned the Archon's man.

"We would not want to spoil you now, would we, Lita?" asked Speusippus. "No, Master," I whispered. I shuddered. Gorean slaves, I suspected, were seldom in any danger of being spoiled. They were commonly held under disciplines of iron.

I followed Speusippus down from the platform. I did not want the leash to be pulled taut.

"Master," I said.

"Yes?" he said.

"Can you read the sign that was posted over my head, please?"

"Yes," said he. "It says, "Who owns this slave? Who can identify her?'" "That is all?" I said.

"Yes," he said.

"Thank you, Master," I said. For so little I had been struck by the free woman, and tricked and frustrated in the chains!

He pulled me closer to him by the leash. I did not want to stand so close to him.

On the sign, it seemed, it had been presupposed that I was a slave.

To be sure, Gorean men tended to look upon me, it seemed, as though I belonged in that degraded category, or as though it might, in fact, be mine.