et you. Kill you at once, of course, but
that's not important. But you have equipment that we can't allow into
their hands. You want to see a grubber with a gun?"

While the Pyrran talked, Jason's thoughts had rushed ahead. He hoped
that Krannon was as thick of head as he was fast of reflex.

Jason looked at the trees, let his gaze move up through the thick
branches. Though Krannon was still talking, he was automatically aware
of Jason's attention. When Jason's eyes widened and his gun jumped into
his hand, Krannon's own gun appeared and he turned in the same
direction.

"There--in the top!" Jason shouted, and fired into the tangle of
branches. Krannon fired, too. As soon as he did, Jason hurled himself
backwards, curled into a ball, rolling down the inclined rock. The shots
had covered the sounds of his movements, and before Krannon could turn
back the gravity had dragged him down the rock into the thick foliage.
Crashing branches slapped at him, but slowed his fall. When he stopped
moving he was lost in the tangle. Krannon's shots came too late to hit
him.

Lying there, tired and bruised, Jason heard the Pyrran cursing him out.
He stamped around on the rock, fired a few shots, but knew better than
to enter the trees. Finally he gave up and went back to the truck. The
motor gunned into life and the treads clanked and scraped down the rock
and back into the jungle. There were muted rumblings and crashes that
slowly died away.

Then Jason was alone.

* * * * *

Up until that instant he hadn't realized quite how alone he would be.
Surrounded by nothing but death, the truck already vanished from sight.
He had to force down an overwhelming desire to run after it. What was
done was done.

This was a long chance to take, but it was the only way to contact the
grubbers. They were savages, but still they had come from human stock.
And they hadn't sunk so low as to stop the barter with the civilized
Pyrrans. He had to contact them, befriend them. Find out how they had
managed to live safely on this madhouse world.

If there had been another way to lick the problem, he would have taken
it; he didn't relish the role of martyred hero. But Kerk and his
deadline had forced his hand. The contact had to be made fast and this
was the only way.

There was no telling where the savages were, or how soon they would
arrive. If the woods weren't too lethal he could hide there, pick his
time to appr