n a peaceful mission, but they don't
know that yet. The thing to remember is that they do not wish to kill,
only to wound and rob. If we show fight--" she displayed a short ugly
knife, which she tucked matter-of-factly into her shirt-front, "they
will run away again."

Lerrys loosened a narrow dagger which until this moment I had thought
purely ornamental. He said, "Mind if I say something more, Jason? I
remember from the 'Narr campaign--the trailmen fight at close quarters,
and by human standards they fight dirty." He looked around fiercely, his
unshaven face glinting as he grinned. "One more thing. I like elbow
room. Do we have to stay roped together when we start out again?"

I thought it over. His enthusiasm for a fight made me feel both annoyed
and curiously delighted. "I won't make anyone stay roped who thinks he'd
be safer without it," I said, "we'll decide that when the time comes,
anyway. But personally--the trailmen are used to running along narrow
ledges, and we're not. Their first tactic would probably be to push us
off, one by one. If we're roped, we can fend them off better." I
dismissed the subject, adding, "Just now, the important thing is to dry
out."

Kendricks remained at my side after the others had gathered around the
fire, looking into the thick forest which sloped up to our campsite. He
said, "This place looks as if it had been used for a camp before. Aren't
we just as vulnerable to attack here as we would be anywhere else?"

He had hit on the one thing I hadn't wanted to talk about. This clearing
was altogether too convenient. I only said, "At least there aren't so
many ledges to push us off."

Kendricks muttered, "You've got the only blaster!"

"I left it at Carthon," I said truthfully. Then I laid down the law:

"Listen, Buck. If we kill a single trailman, except in hand-to-hand
fight in self-defense, we might as well pack up and go home. We're on a
peaceful mission, and we're begging a favor. Even if we're attacked--we
kill only as a last resort, and in hand-to-hand combat!"

"Damned primitive frontier planet--"

"Would you rather die of the trailmen's disease?"

He said savagely, "We're apt to catch it anyway--here. You're immune,
you don't care, you're safe! The rest of us are on a suicide
mission--and damn it, when I die I want to take a few of those monkeys
with me!"

* * * * *

I bent my head, bit my lip and said nothing. Buck couldn't be blame