y Young Man feared for Loto's safety if he allowed that to
happen. He seemed to be able to make out the city of Orlog now. It was
smaller than Arite, and lay partially behind a hill, with most of its
houses strung along the lake shore. If only they were not so tall they
could not be seen so readily. But if they became smaller it would take
them much longer to get there. And eventually they would have to become
normal Oroid size, or even smaller, in order to get into the city
unnoticed. The Very Young Man thought of the lake. Perhaps that would be
the best way.

"Can you swim?" he asked. And Aura, with her ready smile, answered that
she could. "If we are in the water," she added, seeming to have followed
his thoughts, "they would not see us. I can swim very far--can you?"

The Very Young Man nodded.

"If we could get near to Orlog in the water," he said, "we might get a
boat. And then when we were small, we could sail up. They wouldn't see
us then."

"There are many boats," answered the girl in agreement. "Look!"

There were, indeed, on the lake, within sight of them now, several
boats. "We must get the one nearest Orlog," the Very Young Man said. "Or
else it will beat us in and carry the news."

In a few minutes more they were at the lake shore. The Very Young Man
wore, underneath his robe, a close-fitting knitted garment very much
like a bathing-suit. He took off his robe now, and rolling it up, tied
it across his back with the cord he had worn around his waist. Aura's
tunic was too short to impede her swimming and when the Very Young Man
was ready, they waded out into the water together. They found the lake
no deeper than to Aura's shoulders, but as it was easier to swim than to
wade, they began swimming--away from shore towards the farthest boat
that evidently was headed for Orlog.

The Very Young Man thought with satisfaction that, with only their heads
visible, huge as they would appear, they could probably reach this boat
without being seen by any one in Orlog. The boat was perhaps a quarter
of a mile from them--a tiny little toy vessel, it seemed, that they
never would have seen except for its sail.

They came up to it rapidly, for they were swimming very much faster than
it could sail, passing close to one of the others and nearly swamping it
by the waves they made. As they neared the boat they were pursuing--it
was different from any the Very Young Man had seen so far, a single,
canoe-shaped hull, with