uncontrollably. He wanted
to act--had to act now--but his fear made him nauseated and weak. For a
moment, his head seemed to expand and to lighten as he realized the
enormity of his intent. This was one of the great nobles of the land,
not some mere animal.

The heavily lidded eyes beneath him fluttered, started to open.

With a sob of effort, Flor dashed his club downward, as though striking
a _husa_. The Earl shivered convulsively, choked raspingly, and was
suddenly limp and still. The labored breathing stopped and his eyes
opened reluctantly, to fix Flor with a blank stare.

The serf leaped back, then hovered over the body, club poised to strike
again. But the old man was really dead. Flor shook his head. Men, he
thought in sudden contempt, died easily. It was not so with the _husa_,
or the _khada_, who struggled madly for life, often attacking their
killer and wounding him during their last efforts.

Flor consigned this bit of philosophy to his memory for future use and
set to work removing the heavy belt worn by the Earl. This, he knew, was
another potent talisman, which could guard its wearer from physical harm
when its bosses were pushed.

The murderer smiled sardonically. It was well for him that the old
nobleman had failed to press those bosses, otherwise this opportunity
probably would never have been presented. He stood up, holding the belt
in his hand. Such a thing as this, he told himself, could make him a
great man.

He examined the belt, noting the long metal case, with its engraving and
its bosses. At last, he grunted and fastened it about his own waist. He
pressed the bosses, then threw himself against a tree.

Something slowed his fall, and he seemed to be falling on a soft mat. He
caught his balance and rested against the tree, nodding in satisfaction.
Later, he could experiment further, but now he had other things to do.

He examined the coronet again, remembering that there was something
about its bosses, too. He looked closely at them, then pressed. One boss
slid a little under his finger and he felt a faint, unfamiliar sense of
awareness.

He put the coronet on his head and shuddered a little as the awareness
increased to an almost painful intensity. The forest was somehow more
clear to him than it had ever been. He seemed to understand many things
which he had heard or experienced, but which had been vague before. And
memory crowded upon him. He stood still, looking around.

At the e