The Yokel, strumming quietly on a lute-shaped instrument to pass away the watch, sang softly,

"There is a young Cowboy
He rides on the range
His horse, Barbry Ellen, is his only companion
He's leading old Dan and he's up in a canyon
Waiting for summer, Laredo to change..."

He leaped to his feet as the annunciator in the corner of the room by the wide desk clacked into life. He grabbed a pad of quarto sheets from the desktop, straining to hear the faint words from the distant agent known as Cornucopia. Scribbling hastily, he jotted down the message. He turned toward the door and dashed out into the night, the wind from the river delta blowing softly among the vellum piles on the ancient desk, as the door to the Lomaxion Centre swung closed behind him