I say 'Go,' you boys set to it. Anything goes and dead
man loses. If you don't fight, we kill you both."

For the first time since their capture, Geoffrey looked squarely into
Dugald's slit eyes. "I'm sorry we have to do this to each other in this
way, Dugald," he said.

"Go!" the tribesman shouted, and jumped back.

Dugald spat at Geoffrey's face. Geoffrey twitched his head
involuntarily, realized what he'd done, and threw himself off his feet,
pulling Dugald with him and just escaping the downward arc of Dugald's
plunging knife. The momentum of Dugald's swing, combined with Geoffrey's
weight, pulled him completely over Geoffrey's shoulder. The two of them
jerked abruptly flat on the ground, their shoulders wrenched, sprawled
out facing each other and tied together like two cats on a string.

The crowd shouted.

Geoffrey had landed full on his ribs, and for a moment he saw nothing
but a red mist. Then his eyes cleared and he was staring into Dugald's
face. Dugald snarled at him, and pawed out with his knife, at the
advantage now because he could stab downward. Geoffrey rolled, and
Dugald perforce rolled with him. The stab missed again, and Geoffrey, on
his back, jabbed blindly over his head and reached nothing. Then they
were on their stomachs again.

Dugald was panting, his face running wet. The long black hair was full
of dust, and his face was smeared. If ever Geoffrey had seen a man in an
animal state, that was what Dugald resembled. Geoffrey thought wildly;
Is this what a _noble_ is?

"I'll kill you!" Dugald bayed at him, and Geoffrey's hackles rose. This
is not a man, he thought. This is nothing that deserves to live.

Dugald's arm snapped back, knife poised, and drove downward again.
Geoffrey suddenly coiled his back muscles and heaved on his left arm,
yanking himself up against Dugald's chest. He snapped his hips sideward,
and Dugald's knife missed him completely for the third and fatal time.
The Barbarian's knife slipped upward into Dugald's rib cage, and
suddenly Geoffrey was drenched with blood. Dugald's teeth bit into his
neck, but the other man's jaws were already slackening. Geoffrey let
himself slump, and hoped they would cut this carrion away from him as
soon as possible. He heard the crowd yelping, and felt The Barbarian
plucking the knife out of his hand. His arm was freed, and he rolled
away.

"By God, I _knew_ you had the stuff," The Barbarian was booming. "I knew
they had to start breed