Panel 1
A neighborhood relay printer spits out copies of the same alarming notice while a water queue begins to fray.
Caption: The warning reached every relay before anyone reached the well.
Printed notice: SOUTH WELL POISONED.
Panel 2
An anonymous relay repairer holds up the unknotted sheet. A worried neighbor gestures at the crowd.
Repairer: Who saw it?
Neighbor: Everybody heard it.
Panel 3
A foot messenger arrives, winded, with a handwritten strip tied to a short cord bearing three visibly different knots.
Messenger: Three hands. One tank.
Repairer: Cloudy. Not poisoned. Boil two minutes.
Panel 4
At dusk, the verified strip hangs beside the public kettle. The false printouts feed its little fire. A handle-out cup hangs nearby.
Caption: The lie crossed twelve relays before lunch.
Caption: The truth arrived on foot—and stayed.