Hornswoggling In The Twilight Of Empire

"Hunters of the Sky Cave," XIII.

Despite their recognition of each other as colleagues, Falkayn easily outmanoeuvres Svantozik because he has a lot more experience:

"'Svantozik isn't stupid at all, but he's dealing with an alien race, us, whose psychology he knows mainly from sketchy secondhand accounts. I've an advantage: the Ardazhiro are new to me, but I've spent a lifetime dealing with all shapes and sizes of other species. Already I see what the Ardazhiro have in common with several peoples whom I hornswoggled in the past.'" (p. 250)

Like the Schotanians?

Thus, when Flandry pretends to be dejected at being caught so easily, then acts upset at a particular line of questioning, he delivers a performance worthy of Nicholas van Rijn, who described his protege, David Falkayn, as:

"'...the Master merchant, trained in culture comparisons and swogglehorning.'"

-Poul Anderson, "The Trouble Twisters" IN Anderson, David Falkayn: Star Trader (Riverdale, NY, March 2010), pp. 77-208 AT II, p. 99.

Flandry:

"...would much rather have lived in the high and spacious days of the trader princes, when no distance and no deed looked too vast for man, than in this twilight of empire."

-Poul Anderson, A Circus Of Hells IN Anderson, Young Flandry (Riverdale, NY, January 2010), pp. 193-365 AT CHAPTER TWO, p. 209.