| OCR Text |
Show Yeofolk, Merchants, Techs?" She looked at her mother. "Hoqqam, for instance-where didst the villain go?" "Know I not," her good mother said. "I heard only that he'd had a desire of a sudden to travel south to the lower Commendiums." "From whence didst thou hear such a thing, my Mother?" asked Janni. "Shimu." "Shimu!" Dr'Anya looked up at the roof beams for a moment, remembering her old HeadHerdsman. "Hoqqam, it seems, had tried to carry off Shimu's youngest daughter from their new cottage in the Jumbles one night," she said. "I understood from the old man that Hoqqam had gotten the urge to travel south right after Shimu's two sons caught him at the girl's bedroom window." "Who be this Hoqqam?" asked Dr'Igor. "Hoqqam was an electronics Tech," Dr'Anya said. She sat back in her chair and inspected .her fingernails. "Specializing in countinghouses," she added. "Aye, rememberest I that villain! Did he not have a sister?" asked Igor. Janni nodded her head. Her face was full red. "Aye! 'Twas so then. And her name?" Mother and daughter looked at each other, surprised. "Marry, and never did we find out her name!" said Dr'Anya. "She was ever just.. .Hoqqam's sister." Dr'Anya laughed. "'Twas a curious thing, that, was't not, Janni, my pearl?" "Dr'Igor looked questioning at the two women. 213 |
