the outside of the screen. Then she screamed. I thought she had just
discovered the massed natives, but she kept on screaming until I went to
her and looked out.

In the late afternoon sun, fuzzy little brown animals were waddling out
of the forest, closing in on the 900 or more natives lying senseless in
the clearing. _Koodi!_ Dozens of them.

I forgot my screaming wife, my crying infant, the drunken wife-stealer
slumped on the floor. I forgot the torture of my own stings. All I
remember is snatching my pistol from its holster that hung by the door
and plunging out and pulling the trigger until fire ceased to come out
of it. Then I was kicking and smashing with a tree limb, and every blow
smashed one of the vile little ghouls into the grass. I thought I saw
Benson firing and kicking, but I blacked out before I could be sure.

I regained consciousness with the flies still keening in my ears. Sue
was calling my name and slapping me sharply in the face. Joe was trying
to pull me to my feet, but the last thing I remember is the both of us
collapsing to the ground.

* * * * *

I awoke days later with a burning fever and gloriously drunken sensation
of floating. Joe brought a fruit to me when he saw I was stirring. I
drank the thin, tangy juice in one breath and sank back into a deep
sleep again.

My next drink came from the long, slender fingers of a pretty little
female native. This time it was water, and I stayed awake. Joe came in,
saw I was awake and came back in a few minutes with Benson and Dr.
Bailey.

They both looked terrible, Benson especially. Bailey said, "Take it
easy. Sue's at the clinic. She and the baby are all right, but you
damned near didn't make it."

Benson said, "Can you talk?"

I cleared my throat and decided I could. He waved Joe and the female
out. Then he and Bailey sat down beside me. I asked, "Any casualties?"

"Two of our babies and thirty-six native babies. Some of the _koodi_
came in after dark."

It sounded strange, Benson's listing native casualties with our own.

The memory of the _koodi_ attack brought a wave of nausea over me. I
said, "Benson, I'm sorry, but I'm all done trying to murder Joe's race.
I want no further part of it."

Benson's face was thin and drawn, and he stared at the floor. "If we
haven't murdered it already," he said, "there will be no more attempts
while I am in charge." He covered his face with his hands. "Bailey. Tell