"Not so," said Rhialto. "The point is yours after all the tasks have been accomplished."

Osherl gave a sour grunt. "I suspected something of the sort."

"Nevertheless, you have made a good start," said Ildefonse. "Do you see how nicely things go when one is amiable?"

"They only go nicely when you are generous with your points," said Osherl. "What now?"

"Now you will go to each magician in turn," said Rhialto. "With great care remove the dust, chaff and small bits of detritus from the boots of each person present including Ildefonse and myself. Place the yield from each pair of boots in a separate bottle, identified properly with the name of the magician."

"I know none of your names," grumbled Osherl. "You all look alike to me."

"Place the yield in a series of labeled bottles. I will name off the names. First is Herark the Harbinger . . . Ao of the Opals . . . Perdustin .. . Dulce-Lolo . . . Shrue ..." Rhialto named off each of the magicians, and instantly a glass bottle containing dust and trash in greater or lesser quantity appeared on the table.

"Again, no great matter," said Osherl. "What now?"

"The next task may or may not take you afield," said Rhialto. "In any case, do not dally nor loiter along the way, as important consequences rest upon our findings."

"To a dung-beetle, a pile of brontotaubus droppings is a matter of prime significance," said Osherl.

Rhialto knit his brows. "Ildefonse and I are both perplexed by the allusion. Do you care to explain?"

"The concept is abstract," said Osherl. "What is the task?"

"The Adjudicator at Fader's Waft, whom we know as Sarsem, is absent from his post. Bring him here for consultation."

"For a single point? The balance becomes uneven."

"How so? I ask you to locate only one sandestin."

"The process is tedious. I must go first to La, there pull on what might be called the tails of ten thousand sandestins, then listen for the characteristic exclamations of Sarsem."

"No matter," said Ildefonse. "An entire point is an item to be cherished; you will have earned it well and honestly."

Rhialto added: "I will say this: if our business goes well, you will not have cause to complain. Mind, I promise nothing!"

"Very well. But you must dissolve the Stasis; I ride the flux of time as a sailor sails on the wind."

"A final word! Time is of the essence! For you, a second differs little from a century; we are more sensitive in this regard. Be quick!"

Rhialto cried: "Wait! We must hide the bottles of dust. Hurtiancz has the eyes of a hawk, and he might wonder to find a bottle of dust labeled with his name. Under the shelf with the lot! . . . Good. Ildefonse, remember! We must terminate this colloquy with dispatch!"

"Just so! Are you ready?"

"Not quite! There is one last bit of business!" Rhialto repossessed the glossolary which Vermoulian had obtained at Falu; then Rhialto and Ildefonse, working together and chuckling like schoolboys, fashioned a simulation of the glossolary, changing the vocabulary so that it yielded not clear and precise language but absurdities, insults and sheer nonsense. This new and faulty glossolary was then restored into Vermoulian's keeping. "Now I am ready!" said Rhialto.