life had not been long enough to acquire
every bit of knowledge he needed.

His work had been long and tedious. There were many things that could
neither be made in his workshops nor obtained from the natives, things
he did not know how to make and which the local species had not yet
evolved in their own technology. Or, more likely, which had not been
allowed them. In such cases, he had had to make do with other, lesser
techniques, which added to the complexity of his job.

But now another problem had intruded itself into his schedule.

He had a name. Colonel Walther Mannheim. The meaning of the verbal
symbolism was unknown to him. The patterns of the symbolism were even
more evasive than the patterns of the language itself. "Colonel" seemed
simple enough. It indicated a certain sociomilitary class that was
rigidly defined in one way and very hazy in another. But the meanings
and relationships of both "Walther" and "Mannheim" were beyond him. What
difference, for instance, was there between a "Walther" and a "William"?
Did a "Mannheim" outrank a "Mandeville", or the other way around? What
functions differentiated a "John Smith" from a "Peter Taylor"? He knew
what a "john" was and what a "smith" was, but "John Smith" was not,
apparently, necessarily associated with sanitary plumbing. The meaning
of some other names eluded him entirely.

But that made little difference at the moment. The meaning of Colonel
Walther Mannheim's symbolic nomenclature was secondary in comparison
with his known function.

That required that the Nipe must eventually find and confront Colonel
Walther Mannheim.

It meant time lost, of course. It meant that precious time, which should
be given to building his communicator, must be given over to what was
merely a protective action.

But there was nothing to do but go on. It would never have occurred to
the Nipe to give up, for to quit meant to die. And to die--here,
now--was unthinkable.

His alarms were all functioning, his defenses all set. He could now
leave his hideaway knowing that if it were broken into while he was away
he would be warned in time. But he had no real fear of that. He had done
everything he could do. And no intelligent creature, to the Nipe's way
of thinking, would waste time worrying about a situation he could not
improve upon.

Taking with him the equipment he needed for the job he had to do, he
entered the tunnel that ran southward from his base of operations. Onc