re I was hit by a period of amnesia that I've just come out
of."

She stared at him.

"A twenty-five year period of amnesia? Impossible! You're not more than
twenty-five years old," she said positively.

"If what people tell me is correct, I'm nearer sixty," said Dark.
"Terrestrial years, of course."

"Of course. But I don't believe it."

Dark shrugged, and cut another bite of steak. He seemed to be enjoying
his meal quite as much as though he were not her prisoner and she his
captor--as, indeed, she was, too.

They chatted pleasantly throughout the meal and Maya found, somewhat to
her surprise, that she was talking about herself a great deal to this
pale-eyed man. She told him of her childhood on Mars, among the
Martians, and of going to Earth to live with her uncle, a World Senator
who had had close and profitable connections with Marscorp.

She went on to tell of her decision to become an agent of the
terrestrial government, despite her uncle's objections but as a result
of his often-expressed enthusiasm for the government's role in
developing the planetary colonies; and of her assignment to Mars to
ferret out a rebel headquarters which had eluded the best efforts of the
Martian government. She even told him how she had met Nuwell and fallen
in love with him.

Some time after the meal's conclusion, she suddenly stopped in
mid-sentence.

"What's the matter?" asked Dark.

"I just realized that you're my prisoner," she answered, smiling at him.
"Frankly, I'm not sure what to do with you. We can't just sit here in
the dining room all night."

"Why not go out and sit on the terrace?" he suggested. "They say that
Solis Lacus is a beautiful sight when Phobos is up and moving."

"And a shadowed terrace is a very convenient place from which to attempt
an escape," she countered.

"Look," he said, "there's no point in making the evening more difficult
than it is. I very definitely intend to get away from you and get out of
here during the next two days if I can, but I'm enjoying this
conversation. If I promise that I won't attempt an escape in the next
two hours, are you willing to go up on the terrace for a while?"

She studied his face carefully. It was a handsome, earnest face, full of
strength, full of wisdom, with a touch of weariness.

"All right," she said at last. "But I warn you that if my trust is
misplaced and you do attempt to escape, I'll burn you down without
compunction."

They went up toget