ask he had set himself.

From this, he came to consider that small dark kernel of doubt. It was
of course dreadful to find that his people were so wholly corrupt, but
that at least was understandable. What he did not understand was the
reason they could be so easily weaned from their wickedness. It left him
feeling a little off-balance, like a man who has hurled himself at his
enemy and found him suddenly not there. This reminded him of ju-jitsu,
and this in turn of the ancient Japanese--to whom, indeed, his
Terranovans seemed to have many resemblances. Weaver's uneasiness
increased. Savage peoples were notoriously devious--they smiled and then
thrust knives between your ribs.

He felt a sudden prickling coldness at the thought. It was improbable,
it was fantastic that they would go to such lengths to gratify his
every wish if they meant to kill him, he told himself; and then he
remembered the Dionysian rites, and a host of other, too-similar
parallels. The king for a day or a year, who ruled as an absolute
monarch, and then was sacrificed--

And, Weaver remembered with a stab of panic, usually eaten.

He had been on Terranova for a little over a month by the local
calendar. What was his term of office to be--two months? Six? A year,
ten years?

* * * * *

He slept little that night, woke late in the morning with dry, irritated
eyes and a furred mouth, and spent a silent day, inspecting each new
batch of natives without comment, and shivering inwardly at each motion
of the clawed arms of Mark, Luke or John. Toward evening he came out of
his funk at last, when it occurred to him to ask about weapons.

He put the query slyly, wording it as if it were a matter of general
interest only, and of no great importance. Were they familiar with
machines that killed, and if so, what varieties did they have?

At first Mark did not understand the question. He replied that their
machines did not kill, that very long ago they had done so but that the
machines were much better now, very safe and not harmful to anyone.
"Then," wrote Weaver carefully, "you have no machines which are made for
the purpose of killing?"

Mark, Luke and John discussed this with every evidence of excitement. At
last Mark wrote, "This very new idea to us."

"But do you have in this world no large, dangerous animals which must be
killed? How do you kill those things which you eat?"

"No dangerous animals. We kill food t