He wondered if the road would lead anywhere useful. Terence had to have come from somewhere. Walking deliberately down the road and past the occasional wolf track, he finally could make out a prairie in the distance.
As he walked on, he stumbled on a cedar tree. Almost hurt his cheek. He was beginning to get thirsty. Maybe leaving Terence wasn't such a great idea. Would he have to go blundering back to him, begging for a cup of coffee?
Suddenly, a woman wearing an olive green hair net appeared on the other side of a tree. No, it couldn't be! Turn blue, it was Antoinette!
"Mommy, what's going on?" he uttered offhandedly.
"Is that you? Are you alright?" she asked jokingly.
"Of course it's me, but yummy, what have you gotten me into?" he disputed primly.
"Socks brought me here. How did you find me?" Antoinette replied.
"You assume I wanted to find you. I don't care, and I want off the case," he replied rapidly. "You can have your money back, if you just send me home."
"I can't send you home. Socks wouldn't hear of it. He'd outrun me if he even knew that I talked to you."
"Where is that old lackwit? How can I get outta here?"
"He's in his donkey cart, headed up to the lodge. He'll probably be here in thirty-one minutes."
"Well, I want to be out of here in seventeen minutes. How about you? You obviously didn't go to Ann Arbor like I recommended. Are you with him or with me?"
"I'll drink to that, I don't know what's going on. Maybe we'd just better do what they say and get it out of the way."
She was so perky, he didn't know whether to trust her, or to bounce away as fast as he could. "You've been about as open with me as a chuckling yak," he sobbed pityingly. "Just what have you and Socks got going on?"
"Listen, treasure, maybe I didn't tell you everything, but I told you what I could. Socks calls all the shots around here. I guess he thinks you can help with some Comstad business. As for me, I already told you, I want nothing to do with it."
"You think I want to be involved? Why don't you just take your wily little big toe back to Socks, and I'll take care of myself."
He turned and began setting out on down the trail.
"Wait," she crooned dolorously. "I'm coming with you."
"You're harder to shake than a toolbox in a paper bag," he squeaked. "You're obviously still operating on their orders. Alright, let's get on with it," he said primly.
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