“The First Law will not allow me to wait,” said Ishihara, over his shoulder.

“Well…” Wayne plunged after him, crashing through the underbrush. “Then wait for me.”

“Please hurry,” said Ishihara. “The only transmission now is background static and the sound of humans breathing and walking. However, this tells me that they are coming down the road toward us from the inn.”

Wayne pushed his way through tree branches after Ishihara, panicked by the danger of losing his only ally. Certainly, Ishihara could rescue Jane, and Wayne did not object to that. However, as a roboticist, she might very well argue First Law interpretations with Ishihara that would convince him to stop cooperating with Wayne…

Behind him, he could hear the sound of Xiao Li following, bringing the horse and the donkey.

“Shut off your hearing,” said Wayne urgently to Ishihara, as he finally managed to come up next to him on the road.

“I dare not. My First Law imperative to rescue Jane requires all my efforts.” Ishihara strode quickly up the road in the moonlight.

“I don’t want Jane to trick you. She may argue that you should help Hunter instead of me.”

“If her arguments are valid, I will respond. If they are not, of course I will not be influenced.”

“Well…all right. But remember, Jane’s arguments about cooperating with me do not involve Jane’s personal welfare in this particular situation.”

“I accept your instruction.”

Wayne said nothing else as he hurried up the slope. He knew that while every robot had to obey the First Law, each one had some leeway to make independent interpretations. All Wayne could do now was try to influence him.

Since Jane’s captors did not speak as they carried her through the cold night air, she did not learn anything about what they had in mind. They were still taking her in the same direction Hunter had gone, so she was not really too scared. Before they had gone very far, however, the men carrying her suddenly stopped. Jane heard the voices of Hunter and Steve coming over her lapel pin, muffled slightly under a fold in her rumpled robe. Suddenly very frightened, she forced herself to cough and clear her throat, in the hope of covering the sound.

“What’s that?” One of the men asked fearfully.

“What’s what?” Another asked.

“Voices.”

“I hear them, too,” said a man near Jane’s left shoulder. “Voices from the air. No-from her!” He released his grip suddenly and she began to fall.

“Let her down! Let her down!”

Jane felt herself lowered; at least they had the decency to set her on her feet. When she found her footing, she looked up and saw all the men slowly backing away from her in the moonlight. Then another pointed past her, down the road.

“Look! Someone’s coming! Who are they?” He spoke in a hushed, worried voice.

“Maybe it’s the big spirit,” yelled a third, “coming back for her!”

With a roar of frightened shouts, every man who had carried Jane to this spot suddenly turned and ran back up the road. Puzzled, she glanced down the road to see if Hunter had somehow gotten free. Instead, two other figures were running up the slope toward her.

At first she had no idea who they were. Then, even in the moonlight and shadows, she recognized Wayne and Ishihara. Xiao Li, mounted on his donkey and holding the reins of a horse, waited without moving behind them.

She had to choose between dealing with them, following the others back up the slope, or running into the forest. She did not really want to face Wayne and Ishihara without Hunter. However, she knew that their company would certainly be safer than that of her recent captors.

After all, no matter what argument Wayne had used to bring Ishihara under his control, the First Law would still require the robot to protect her from actual harm. If she could convince Ishihara to drop Wayne, then she would have accomplished something important, too. So she waited for them to come running up to her, checking to make sure that her lapel pin was still on.

She did not want to speak directly to Hunter now, while Ishihara could hear her. If Hunter could hear them through the lapel pin, he might find a way to help. In that case, he would want the element of surprise.

“ Nowshut off your hearing,” Wayne ordered Ishihara, as they drew near. “And don’t read her lips, either.”

“I already told you I cannot do that,” said Ishihara. He stopped in front of Jane.

“That was when she was a captive,” said Wayne. “Now she’s okay.”

“Jane, are you harmed?” Ishihara asked.

“No,” Jane said sternly. “I’m not. But I don’t owe any thanks to you for that.”

“I had nothing to do with your being kidnapped,” said Ishihara, his voice conveying just a hint of urgency. “Neither did Dr. Nystrom. I have not violated the First Law.”

“No?” Jane put her hands on her hips, assuming the tone of schoolteacher challenging a naughty child. “What are you doing cooperating with him at all? Hunter told you that his missions are driven by a First Law imperative.”

“Don’t listen to her,” Wayne insisted. “I told you that Hunter’s argument is full of holes.”

“Ishihara, take custody of Wayne on behalf of Hunter’s First Law duties,” said Jane. ‘ Then, still hoping that Hunter was listening, she tried to help give their location. “Since we’re only a short distance down the slope from the inn, the rest of my team is not far.”

“I cannot. The imperatives under the First Law are not clear to me on either side. I wish to convince you, however, that your kidnapping was never part of our plan. The guests at the inn acted on their own.”

“Well, I sort of guessed that,” said Jane. “But you must have told them something that set it up.”

“That is true,” said Ishihara. “I am relieved that you are well.”

Xiao Li, who was still leading a horse, joined them on his donkey, but did not speak…

“Look,” said Wayne. “We have to talk, but not here. Ishihara, take her lapel pin and shut it off.”

“No!” Jane ordered, stepping back. “Stop. This will harm me.”

“I will not allow harm to come to you,” said Ishihara. He reached out and took her lapel pin.

Jane did not bother trying to wrestle with the robot. “What do you want with me, Wayne?”

“Ishihara, we have to get away from here before her team comes after her. Bring her.”

“Hey! You can’t do that.” Jane backpedaled again, but she knew she could not outrun Ishihara any more than she could wrestle with him. Her only chance was to argue. “Ishihara, this constitutes harm. I need sleep and I need to rejoin my team. You must see that.”

“I cannot harm you.” Ishihara gently took hold of her arm. “Further talk in private will not harm you.”

“Say,” said Wayne suddenly, “Steve is marching around here somewhere looking for Hunter. He probably has their historian with him. Can you grab them, too?”

“No,” said Ishihara. “I could not keep control of three humans without risking harm to them.”

“Well, all right, then,” said Wayne, glancing up and down the road anxiously. “Let’s get off the road and into the brush. Fast.”