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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..e6d6c6a --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #65730 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/65730) diff --git a/old/65730-0.txt b/old/65730-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 151a506..0000000 --- a/old/65730-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,998 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of World of the Hunter, by C. H. Thames - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: World of the Hunter - -Author: C. H. Thames - -Release Date: June 29, 2021 [eBook #65730] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -Produced by: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WORLD OF THE HUNTER *** - - - - - World Of The Hunter - - By C. H. Thames - - Mulveen had come to Earth for a big-game - thrill; it was up to Gilbert to provide it for - him--even if he had to let himself be stalked! - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy - October 1956 - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - -"Gun, boy!" Mulveen cried. - -The big saurian--a thirty-tonner, at least--came splashing and -bellowing out of the swamp. Gilbert quickly brought up the archaic -Earth rifle, ramming a shell into the breech with the bolt-action -loader. With almost the same motion he thrust the big, capable weapon -into Mulveen's waiting hands and the hunter brought it to his shoulder -without a moment to spare. - -Actually, it was an adapted old big-game rifle: the shells it fired -were atomic. Standing his ground weaponless, Gilbert saw Mulveen's -finger whiten on the trigger, saw the scale-hided saurian grow -immensely before them, heard its surprisingly high piping challenge, -then saw and heard in one quick flash of suspended time the roar and -smoke of the big rifle and the sudden life-ending, sleek-scaled, -column-legged death-rearing of the big saurian as it came upright, the -piping a high death scream now, the small forelimbs tearing at air, the -head with the very tiny hole between the eyes swaying as if drunk from -side to side, the long, muscular, five-ton tail still thrashing in the -swamp waters. - -Then the saurian came down, crashing through the brakes. There was only -a trickle of blood, but the bullet, like a Dum-Dum of three hundred -years before, had exploded inside the monster's head, the minute atomic -charge destroying everything within the thick bone walls of the skull -but leaving skull and metal-tough skin intact. - -Time flowed again. Mulveen returned the rifle to Gilbert and waded -forward through the brackish water, his hipboots glistening. - -"Beauty, isn't it?" Gilbert said with feigned professional enthusiasm -Mulveen needed the enthusiasm: the big humanoid from the Sirian system -had been a grumpy, fussy, dissatisfied hunter throughout the safari. - -"Don't try and dun me for a tip," Mulveen snapped. "You get paid -whatever the Earth company pays you." He was a big, bald man with a -florid face, an amazing girth of shoulders, a barrel chest and almost -pipe-stem legs which seemed barely able to support his weight. - -He reached the saurian's five-foot-long head and walked around it, -muttering to himself. It was a prize specimen: a faudi reptile from -Epsilon Aurigae III, bred here on Earth in the huge, planet-wide -game-farm. It was the sort of specimen a big-game hunter would give his -proverbial eyeteeth to own, but Mulveen did not look happy. He merely -said: - -"So this is a faudi." - -"Want me to prepare the skull, sir?" Gilbert asked. Gilbert was -eighteen, one of the youngest guides in the game area known as -Lewsanna. His father had been a guide for the hunters from the -outworlds, and his father's father. His father had died tracking: it -was a good, clean death and Gilbert's father had never known poverty. -That was the most an Earthman could expect, Gilbert thought without -bitterness. For civilization had left Earth behind. Earth was in the -backwaters of galactic trade. Earth was a game-preserve, with the -great beasts of five dozen worlds brought to it and bred here for the -hunters. It figured, naturally: you couldn't deny it. The outworlds -were new; they were built as twenty-fourth century worlds should be -built. Earth had been a world of ancient cities and meaningless ancient -traditions. Earth was the logical place for the game-farm. Earth, once -the parent of all the galactic planets, reduced to a vacation spot for -the very rich and the foolhardy.... - -"No," Mulveen said shortly. "Don't prepare the skull. I don't want the -skull." - -"But--" - -"Forget it, kid! I've hunted everywhere, wherever there's hunting -left on the outworlds. When I grew jaded, they said come to Earth. -Earth will be different, a hunter's paradise. You know what? It isn't -different. It's the same." - -"If you--" - -"You wouldn't understand kid. Well, let's go back to camp." - -"The trophy--" Gilbert began. - -"Forget about the trophy, damnit!" - -Gilbert followed Mulveen in silence to camp. The beaters and camp-boys -had the evening meal prepared. The sun went down over the swamplands. -Gilbert ate alone. He was a cut above the beaters and camp-boys, who -had willingly surrendered their civilized birthright, but he was -several cuts above the hunter from the Sirian System. - - * * * * * - -Mulveen drank heavily after dinner. Gilbert watched, not caring. -Of course, that might make it dangerous when they hunted tomorrow: -Mulveen's reflexes might be slower. Well, it had happened before. - -"Boy!" Mulveen shouted, his voice thick with alcohol. - -Gilbert trotted up obediently. "Sir?" - -Mulveen smiled at him. "How would you like to earn five thousand -credits?" - -The answer was obvious: Gilbert made fifty credits a safari and -sometimes went on as many as eight a year. Tips might bring the figure -to an even five hundred credits a year. The figure Mulveen had named -was ten year's work. - -"I'm listening," Gilbert said. - -Mulveen paced back and forth. Something had gotten to him. Hunters were -like that, Gilbert knew. They were capable of being possessed by an -idea--to the exclusion of all else. Gilbert had known hunters who, so -possessed, had crossed a dozen light years. - -"This planet," Mulveen said, "is real jerkwater, isn't it?" - -"If you mean what I think, yes." - -"What kind of law do you have?" - -"Only what we need. It doesn't apply to extra-terrestrials." - -"I thought so. Then an extra-terrestrial can commit any crime, any -crime at all?" - -Gilbert smiled grimly. "The Earth government--such as it is--considers -extra-terrestrials too civilized to commit crimes. Also, -extra-terrestrial hunters are responsible for most of Earth's income. -This is a poor planet, Mr. Mulveen: civilization and then the attempt -to keep up with civilization, has drained it." - -"You know a lot for a kid." - -"But that isn't what I'm getting five thousand credits for." - -"Here," Mulveen said. He gave Gilbert one of the rifles, which had been -cleaned during supper by the boys. He gave Gilbert a cartridge belt. -"Here." - -"I don't get it," Gilbert said. - -"If no game on Earth holds a thrill for me, no game anywhere in the -galaxy will. The five thousand is yours if you do." - -Mulveen took another drink, poured again, drank again, poured.... - -"If I do what?" - -"Get out of camp," Mulveen said. "I'll come for you in the morning." - -"Come for me...?" - -"Come hunting, Gilbert. I've never hunted a human being before. On -Earth I think I can get away with it. Well, can't I?" - -Gilbert felt his pulses hammering. It was a drunken impulse, but -Mulveen would go through with it. Gilbert was, despite his age, an -expert guide. Mulveen was a crack hunter. Five thousand credits.... - -"To the death?" Gilbert asked. - -"I wouldn't be playing games. Hell, yes." - -"What if I get killed?" - -"I'll put it in writing. The credits go to whatever person you name, in -the event of your death." - -Gilbert thought, _if I'm dead I won't need the credits, but if I live, -if I win, those credits can buy me a new way of life...._ - -Five thousand credits.... - -"Can I fight back?" Gilbert heard himself asking. - -"Does an animal? Of course you can. I'll also put in writing that -you're not responsible in the event of my death. What do you say, boy? -What do you say?" - -The swamp smell was thick on the still, heavy air of night. Insects -buzzed and sawed off in the darkness. Mulveen was breathing heavily, -impatiently, consumed by the fires of his idea. "Well?" - -Gilbert broke the silence by holding the rifle up to the firelight and -bolting open the chamber. A fresh clip of ammo was in place. - -"Didn't trust me?" Mulveen asked. - -"Should I have?" - -"Up to this minute, sure. But if your answer is yes, stop trusting me -about anything. Because then you're on your own." - -"For how long?" Gilbert asked. "A day?" - -"Day, hell. Till I get you--or you get me." - -"And you'll have the beaters, the boys?" - -"I paid for them, didn't I?" - -Gilbert nodded. The night beckoned. He took his rifle and left camp. -Mulveen wrote the agreement. - - * * * * * - -He had not gone very far until he realized he was being followed. -Already? he thought. He slipped silently off the trail and waited in -the hot, sweat-producing darkness. Footsteps came along the trail. -Gilbert saw a shadowy figure. Too small for Mulveen. - -Gilbert waited until the figure was abreast of him, then leaped. - -They went down together in the mud. Gilbert's strong young muscles soon -bested his opponent. He sat astride the unseen enemy's middle, his -fists raised. "Surrender," he said. - -"I surrender." Gilbert recognized Wenzi's voice. Wenzi was one of the -beaters, an aloofly quiet boy who had kept to himself all during the -safari, and who, Gilbert remembered, wore far too much clothing for the -warm, sticky weather. - -Gilbert got up, holding Wenzi's elbow. Wenzi said, "I heard what the -master and you said. I came." - -"But why?" Gilbert demanded. "Don't tell me you think I'll beat -Mulveen?" - -"No," said Wenzi glumly. "Mulveen will win. But I was afraid." - -"Of what?" - -"Before the hunt this morning," Wenzi said, "I went down to the stream -to wash. I went alone." - -"You always go alone," Gilbert said. "Sweating in your trousers and -shirt no matter how hot it is." - -"I have to," said Wenzi. - -"Have to?" - -"Mulveen must have been suspicious. He followed me this morning. He -saw. Tonight, he said. Tonight, Wenzi. I had to come after you, -Gilbert." - -"Tonight? Tonight what?" - -"Mulveen saw me at the stream. This is a good way to make a living, -Gilbert. Better than the other ways which are open to me. It is clean. -It is decent, if degrading. I am a girl, Gilbert." - -The news stunned him. A girl on safari--it was unthinkable. A girl, -here.... - -"But don't you have a family? A father or brother to provide for you?" - -"No one. And I'm seventeen." - -Seventeen. Wenzi, by modern Earth standards gone primitive, was a woman. - -Suddenly Gilbert tensed. He had heard something, a slight stirring in -the dark swamp. Had Wenzi been followed? Had this whole thing been -elaborately planned by Mulveen, planned already in the morning, giving -Wenzi a reason to flee so that Wenzi would flee to Gilbert at night and -Gilbert would be caught and killed, legitimate quarry now, even before -morning came? - -Gilbert touched Wenzi's lips with his fingers, hoping she would -understand. He took her arm and led her silently from the swamp-trail. - -They waited in among the wet creepers and tree-roots. Gilbert could -feel Wenzi's frightened breathing as she leaned close to him. Whatever -was pursuing them came on through the swamp. Once it floundered off the -trail in darkness, splashing. It came on again. It paused, making a -sniffing sound. An animal? A swamp-hog, perhaps? It sounded about the -right size and bulk--but so would a man.... - -Gilbert brought the rifle up. A dark shadow stirred. "Stop!" Gilbert -commanded. "You're in my sights. I can kill you." - -"Gil!" a voice implored. - -Gilbert dropped the rifle and let it swing on the shoulder thong. - -"Arnaud," he said. "I could have shot you." Arnaud was the safari's -chief beater and second in command to Gilbert. - -"Mulveen told me what he was doing," Arnaud said. "I slipped out of -camp." - -"Why? You think Mulveen's going to lose?" - -"With a dozen boys? No, I couldn't help him hunt you and kill you, -that's all." - -Arnaud touched his hand. They shook hands solemnly. It was an old -gesture which Earthmen had never lost. Gilbert told Arnaud Wenzi was -there, told Arnaud Wenzi was a girl. - -"So there are three of us now," Arnaud said. - -Gilbert nodded, then realized the gesture was lost in darkness. He -said, aloud, "We'd better put some distance between us and the camp." - -They returned to the trail, plodded through the hot darkness. They -walked for three hours and reached high ground as Gilbert had expected. -"We can sleep here," he said. "But we'll have to be up before the sun. -And we'll have to hunt for our food, too. Mulveen has provisions." - -"Do you hate Mulveen?" Wenzi asked. - -"For his proposition? No, why should I?" - -"For his arrogance--" - -"He is an outworlder," Arnaud said. - -"For what he wanted of you," Gilbert told Wenzi, "yes. But only for -that." - -"Do you have any plans?" Arnaud asked as they settled on the hillock. - -Gilbert thought about it. They would need a plan, all right. It was -what the animals of Earth lacked. The ability to plan, to rationally -pursue their survival. And so the animals of Earth never had a chance. - -"Mulveen will probably stalk us in the morning," Gilbert said. "We'll -have to move fast. We'll be able to move faster than Mulveen because -he'll be tracking us. We can circle around behind him--while he still -believes himself behind us." - -"It might work," Wenzi said, but not too optimistically. - -"I don't see how it can miss!" Arnaud declared jubilantly. "Now let's -get some sleep." - -Gilbert was tired all at once. He felt the fatigue crawl through his -muscles, dull his senses. He'd been on the go all day, and walking half -the night. He drifted quickly into sleep and dreamed of a faudi reptile -with the face of the hunter Mulveen, chasing them with tail-supported -forty yard leaps.... - - * * * * * - -He awoke in dim light. Like any experienced hunter, he awoke knowing -exactly where he was and what was happening. The first thing he did was -reach for his rifle. He had placed it at his side. - -It was gone. - -"Wenzi?" he called. No answer. - -"Arnaud?" Silence. - -"Wenzi! Arnaud!" he shouted. He stood up quickly. He had the hillock of -high, dry ground all to himself. - -Distantly, he heard a scream. Wenzi's voice? he thought it was. - -"Wenzi!" he shouted again, at the top of his voice. - -The scream was faint. She might have been calling his name. It might -have been pure terror. - -Arnaud, he thought. Arnaud has taken Wenzi. But why? Why? He was only a -tracker, a beater. He couldn't provide for her. He wouldn't dare ravish -her, for while there was no penalty for an outworlder, the penalty for -an Earthman was severe. - -Mulveen, he thought. - -Mulveen's idea. Arnaud had never left Mulveen. Arnaud had come -following Gilbert--as Mulveen's man. Mulveen knew Wenzi was gone. -Mulveen reasoned she had gone to Gilbert, further reasoned that Gilbert -would protect her. Mulveen had sent Arnaud for her. And for Gilbert's -rifle. - -Gilbert was weaponless. - -Five thousand credits, he thought. And my life. - -Wenzi--in Mulveen's possession. Or, in his possession when the traitor -Arnaud brought her back to camp. - -I can forget about her. I don't know her. Until last night I thought -she was a boy, he told himself. I can flee and find a weapon somewhere. - -Even while he told himself this, he was walking back along the trail. -Wenzi had trusted him. Wenzi had fled to him at once. She had faith -in him. A blind, almost childish faith, even if she hadn't put it in -words. She had come, and that was enough. - -For the first time in his life, Gilbert felt anger. And a burning, -consuming hate. - -He loped with ground-consuming strides along the trail. - - * * * * * - -An hour later, he heard the beaters. They were coming. They were coming -for him. - -They could have waited. But Mulveen was trying everything. Throw the -works if you could, that's what the guides always said. Mulveen had -Wenzi. It was a kind of bait and Gilbert might or might not rise to it. -So the beaters were coming through the swamp. - -Beaters. Yesterday, his men. Now, he was their quarry. - -He crouched. In a moment he became part of the jungle, a shadow barely -seen in the dim swamp, insubstantial, soundless. The beaters came on. -If he were hunting a man-sized and weaponless animal, Gilbert thought, -he would send the beaters through with staves and machetes.... - -He watched them come. He could name them, they came so close. They -beat the undergrowth and the hanging creepers, vines and lianas with -their clubs. Here and there he caught the gleam of a machete blade. -If they spotted him they would make a rush, cutting off his retreat, -surrounding him on three sides and forcing him back along the trail -toward where Mulveen was waiting, probably in a comfortable blind, with -an atomic rifle. - -Unless, right now, Mulveen was too busy with Wenzi.... - -No, he told himself. It wouldn't be that way. Mulveen would want his -triumph first. Wenzi would wait, a prisoner, for nightfall. But could -he be sure? - -The beaters went by, advancing through the swamp. One came so close, -Gilbert could have reached out and touched him. - -Gilbert stood up, stretching his stiff muscles. He waited an agonizing -five more minutes, then set out along the trail. - -A laggard beater materialized abruptly in his path. The machete blurred -overhead, blade gleaming. The man's face showed recognition, but -neither pity nor regret. He wouldn't kill Gilbert, naturally. He wanted -Gilbert to run--back toward Mulveen. - -Gilbert ducked under the upswinging arm. He drove his shoulder into -the beater's midsection and felt the hard wall of muscle hold for a -split-second, then yield. The beater jackknifed over. Gilbert let -himself drop, grasped the beater's ankles and heaved. The beater -sailed, yelling, over his head. The beater landed face-first in the -swamp and Gilbert dove after him. He found the machete-haft, twisted. -The big-bladed weapon came free in his hand, but the beater lifted his -head from the mud and cried: - -"Mulveen! Mulveen, sir! Mulveen!" - -Gilbert struck with the side of the machete blade, using it as a club. -The beater subsided face-down in the mud. Gilbert looked down at him, -then scowled and turned him face-up in the swamp so he wouldn't drown. - -Just then Mulveen's rifle cracked. The swamp-water swallowed the flat -sound: there was no echo. - -Mulveen heard the cry--he was close. Perhaps close enough to see the -white sheen of frothing water where the beater had fallen.... - -Quickly Gilbert slipped with his machete among the mangrove roots. He -made his way through the thick tangle of gnarled roots and the slime of -the swamp back in the direction from which the beater had come. Behind -him he heard the clubs and machetes of the other beaters, returning now -toward the rifle fire. - -Up ahead somewhere unseen in the swamp Mulveen was waiting with his -atomic rifle. Behind Gilbert, the beaters were coming. - -Wenzi screamed, close by. With Mulveen? Gilbert crashed through the -mangroves in that direction. Mulveen would hear him--but wouldn't see -him. The mangroves were a thick tangle of twisted trunks and roots. -Mulveen would have no chance for a clear shot until almost the last -moment. - -Suddenly, Gilbert stopped dead in his tracks. Wenzi--was she part -of it? She could have fled to him, pretending. She could have been -in league with Arnaud and Mulveen. There was no reason to believe -otherwise. The trackers and beaters knew no loyalties. They were hardly -more than animals. But somehow, Wenzi seemed different. As Gilbert -thought himself different. - -The thoughts raced through his mind. There were the continents of -Earth, but the continents were game-reserves. The men were hardly more -than game themselves. But there were the offshore islands, which had -not been stocked with animals. It was rumored that another brand of men -lived there, men who had fled from the continents, men determined to -preserve their heritage and one day when they were strong enough return -with it to the mainlands.... - -With his five thousand credits, Gilbert could buy a boat, sail to the -islands.... - -Wenzi screamed again. - -Mulveen's rifle roared. He was closer now. Wood splintered from the -mangrove roots, peppering Gilbert. Heedless, he plunged on, impelled -by the shouts of the beaters behind him. Grimly he thought: I'm giving -Mulveen his money's worth. But that wasn't quite true. Mulveen would -not really get his money's worth until Gilbert was dead. - - * * * * * - -The rifle roared again and Gilbert thought he saw the muzzle-flash up -ahead in the dark swamp. He ran splashing through the water and felt -the spray as the rifle spoke once more. The minute atomic explosion -went off in the water not ten yards from Gilbert. The concussion -staggered him and he fell forward on his face, his head striking a -mangrove root jarringly. - -His senses swam. He heard a splashing, floundering sound. Mulveen. -Mulveen was coming for him. He ducked behind a mangrove, waiting. -Miraculously he still held the machete. He felt blood on his shoulder -and chest, realized that he had probably fallen sideways across the -blade. - -Wenzi and Mulveen came through the swamp. Wenzi was in front. They were -so close that Gilbert could see how the girl's hands were secured -behind her back, how Mulveen held a trailing rope, how the trailing -rope was wrapped around Mulveen's thick waist so he could drop it when -he had to and lift his rifle in both hands.... - -Gilbert came charging at them with his machete. With one swift stroke -he parted the rope and shouted: "Run, Wenzi! Run!" - -The rifle-muzzle came up. Gilbert dove face-down as the weapon roared. -He felt the fierce blast of it, then was clawing through the mud at -Mulveen's legs. Mulveen brought the rifle-butt crashing down. It jarred -against Gilbert's shoulder, pushing him down into the water. He felt -the machete drop from his fingers and from what seemed a long way off -he heard Wenzi's scream although he was aware that the girl had not -moved, was standing there awaiting the outcome. - -The rifle pointed down at him. He reached up, tugging at the muzzle, -pulling himself upright. Mulveen stumbled, cursing. Gilbert pulled the -rifle-barrel into the mud and Mulveen came down with it on top of him. -The beaters had reached them now, but the beaters were indifferent. -Mulveen was the hunter: Mulveen had given his orders. But Gilbert was -their chief guide and now it was a question of who was hunter and who -hunted. Their loyalty would belong to the victor.... - -Mulveen's great weight came down on top of him. Mulveen had discarded -the water-filled rifle. His hands closed on Gilbert's throat. His -weight held Gilbert pinned.... In seconds--certainly no more than -minutes--Gilbert would lose consciousness, the last air used up and -self-poisoned and burning in his lungs, Mulveen's triumphant shouts -ringing in his ears. - -But it wasn't merely for himself. - -And it wasn't merely for Wenzi. - -It was for Gilbert of Lewsanna--Earthman. And for a dream of the -islands, and of Earthmen claiming their heritage again, if not in -Gilbert's generation then in the one which followed.... - -He scooped a handful of mud and brought his hand, ooze and all, against -Mulveen's face. He found the eyes and clawed at them. He heard Mulveen -bellowing for the beaters. But the beaters were impartial. - -His thumbs were pressing on Mulveen's eyes now, but Mulveen's strong -fingers were still on his throat. He felt something give. Mulveen went -on bellowing, but also slowly choking the life out of him. - -He shifted his hands to Mulveen's mouth. He pulled at the lips. He -yanked with all his remaining strength and there was suddenly a pure -animal scream of pain and a quick flow of hot blood across his hand and -a release of the terrible pressure around his throat. - -He got up. Mulveen's face was torn. Mulveen lifted his hand weakly. -There was a knife in it. Gilbert slapped out at the hand and the knife -dropped. Gilbert caught it, held the point at Mulveen's throat. - -"I could kill you," Gilbert said. - -Mulveen whined: "Don't! Please, you've earned the money. The money is -yours!" - -He could kill Mulveen, yes--but would one of the Earthmen of the -islands, the real Earthmen, have done that? They would have been -content with victory--and with shaming the outworlder Mulveen in front -of the beaters and trackers. - -"Don't come back to Earth," Gilbert said. "Ever. We don't want you -here. Put that in writing too." - -"I will. I will, I swear!" Mulveen was cowering. - -Arnaud came to them, smiling. "Great work, Gil--" he began. Gilbert hit -him and the tracker went sprawling in the mud. He came up snarling but -looked at Gilbert and muttered a curse and did nothing. - -Later, a completely beaten Mulveen, his face swathed in bandages, -counted out the credits. "Make it ten thousand," Gilbert told him. -"Five thousand for Wenzi." - -Mulveen counted out ten thousand credits. "But you'll have to lead us -back to civilization," he said. - -Gilbert looked at Arnaud. "He will," Gilbert told Mulveen. "I'm not a -guide now. I'm a man. An Earthman." - -Mulveen looked at him. Mulveen did not smile. Something in Mulveen's -face, in his eyes, spoke clearly of the day when Earthmen would regain -their heritage. Mulveen was afraid. - -Gilbert took Wenzi's hand and walked off into the swamp. They would buy -a boat. And after that.... - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WORLD OF THE HUNTER *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following -the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use -of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for -copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very -easy. 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H. Thames</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: World of the Hunter</p> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: C. H. Thames</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: June 29, 2021 [eBook #65730]</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net</div> - -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WORLD OF THE HUNTER ***</div> - -<div class="titlepage"> - -<h1>World Of The Hunter</h1> - -<h2>By C. H. Thames</h2> - -<p>Mulveen had come to Earth for a big-game<br /> -thrill; it was up to Gilbert to provide it for<br /> -him—even if he had to let himself be stalked!</p> - -<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br /> -Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy<br /> -October 1956<br /> -Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that<br /> -the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus.jpg" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>"Gun, boy!" Mulveen cried.</p> - -<p>The big saurian—a thirty-tonner, at least—came splashing and -bellowing out of the swamp. Gilbert quickly brought up the archaic -Earth rifle, ramming a shell into the breech with the bolt-action -loader. With almost the same motion he thrust the big, capable weapon -into Mulveen's waiting hands and the hunter brought it to his shoulder -without a moment to spare.</p> - -<p>Actually, it was an adapted old big-game rifle: the shells it fired -were atomic. Standing his ground weaponless, Gilbert saw Mulveen's -finger whiten on the trigger, saw the scale-hided saurian grow -immensely before them, heard its surprisingly high piping challenge, -then saw and heard in one quick flash of suspended time the roar and -smoke of the big rifle and the sudden life-ending, sleek-scaled, -column-legged death-rearing of the big saurian as it came upright, the -piping a high death scream now, the small forelimbs tearing at air, the -head with the very tiny hole between the eyes swaying as if drunk from -side to side, the long, muscular, five-ton tail still thrashing in the -swamp waters.</p> - -<p>Then the saurian came down, crashing through the brakes. There was only -a trickle of blood, but the bullet, like a Dum-Dum of three hundred -years before, had exploded inside the monster's head, the minute atomic -charge destroying everything within the thick bone walls of the skull -but leaving skull and metal-tough skin intact.</p> - -<p>Time flowed again. Mulveen returned the rifle to Gilbert and waded -forward through the brackish water, his hipboots glistening.</p> - -<p>"Beauty, isn't it?" Gilbert said with feigned professional enthusiasm -Mulveen needed the enthusiasm: the big humanoid from the Sirian system -had been a grumpy, fussy, dissatisfied hunter throughout the safari.</p> - -<p>"Don't try and dun me for a tip," Mulveen snapped. "You get paid -whatever the Earth company pays you." He was a big, bald man with a -florid face, an amazing girth of shoulders, a barrel chest and almost -pipe-stem legs which seemed barely able to support his weight.</p> - -<p>He reached the saurian's five-foot-long head and walked around it, -muttering to himself. It was a prize specimen: a faudi reptile from -Epsilon Aurigae III, bred here on Earth in the huge, planet-wide -game-farm. It was the sort of specimen a big-game hunter would give his -proverbial eyeteeth to own, but Mulveen did not look happy. He merely -said:</p> - -<p>"So this is a faudi."</p> - -<p>"Want me to prepare the skull, sir?" Gilbert asked. Gilbert was -eighteen, one of the youngest guides in the game area known as -Lewsanna. His father had been a guide for the hunters from the -outworlds, and his father's father. His father had died tracking: it -was a good, clean death and Gilbert's father had never known poverty. -That was the most an Earthman could expect, Gilbert thought without -bitterness. For civilization had left Earth behind. Earth was in the -backwaters of galactic trade. Earth was a game-preserve, with the -great beasts of five dozen worlds brought to it and bred here for the -hunters. It figured, naturally: you couldn't deny it. The outworlds -were new; they were built as twenty-fourth century worlds should be -built. Earth had been a world of ancient cities and meaningless ancient -traditions. Earth was the logical place for the game-farm. Earth, once -the parent of all the galactic planets, reduced to a vacation spot for -the very rich and the foolhardy....</p> - -<p>"No," Mulveen said shortly. "Don't prepare the skull. I don't want the -skull."</p> - -<p>"But—"</p> - -<p>"Forget it, kid! I've hunted everywhere, wherever there's hunting -left on the outworlds. When I grew jaded, they said come to Earth. -Earth will be different, a hunter's paradise. You know what? It isn't -different. It's the same."</p> - -<p>"If you—"</p> - -<p>"You wouldn't understand kid. Well, let's go back to camp."</p> - -<p>"The trophy—" Gilbert began.</p> - -<p>"Forget about the trophy, damnit!"</p> - -<p>Gilbert followed Mulveen in silence to camp. The beaters and camp-boys -had the evening meal prepared. The sun went down over the swamplands. -Gilbert ate alone. He was a cut above the beaters and camp-boys, who -had willingly surrendered their civilized birthright, but he was -several cuts above the hunter from the Sirian System.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Mulveen drank heavily after dinner. Gilbert watched, not caring. -Of course, that might make it dangerous when they hunted tomorrow: -Mulveen's reflexes might be slower. Well, it had happened before.</p> - -<p>"Boy!" Mulveen shouted, his voice thick with alcohol.</p> - -<p>Gilbert trotted up obediently. "Sir?"</p> - -<p>Mulveen smiled at him. "How would you like to earn five thousand -credits?"</p> - -<p>The answer was obvious: Gilbert made fifty credits a safari and -sometimes went on as many as eight a year. Tips might bring the figure -to an even five hundred credits a year. The figure Mulveen had named -was ten year's work.</p> - -<p>"I'm listening," Gilbert said.</p> - -<p>Mulveen paced back and forth. Something had gotten to him. Hunters were -like that, Gilbert knew. They were capable of being possessed by an -idea—to the exclusion of all else. Gilbert had known hunters who, so -possessed, had crossed a dozen light years.</p> - -<p>"This planet," Mulveen said, "is real jerkwater, isn't it?"</p> - -<p>"If you mean what I think, yes."</p> - -<p>"What kind of law do you have?"</p> - -<p>"Only what we need. It doesn't apply to extra-terrestrials."</p> - -<p>"I thought so. Then an extra-terrestrial can commit any crime, any -crime at all?"</p> - -<p>Gilbert smiled grimly. "The Earth government—such as it is—considers -extra-terrestrials too civilized to commit crimes. Also, -extra-terrestrial hunters are responsible for most of Earth's income. -This is a poor planet, Mr. Mulveen: civilization and then the attempt -to keep up with civilization, has drained it."</p> - -<p>"You know a lot for a kid."</p> - -<p>"But that isn't what I'm getting five thousand credits for."</p> - -<p>"Here," Mulveen said. He gave Gilbert one of the rifles, which had been -cleaned during supper by the boys. He gave Gilbert a cartridge belt. -"Here."</p> - -<p>"I don't get it," Gilbert said.</p> - -<p>"If no game on Earth holds a thrill for me, no game anywhere in the -galaxy will. The five thousand is yours if you do."</p> - -<p>Mulveen took another drink, poured again, drank again, poured....</p> - -<p>"If I do what?"</p> - -<p>"Get out of camp," Mulveen said. "I'll come for you in the morning."</p> - -<p>"Come for me...?"</p> - -<p>"Come hunting, Gilbert. I've never hunted a human being before. On -Earth I think I can get away with it. Well, can't I?"</p> - -<p>Gilbert felt his pulses hammering. It was a drunken impulse, but -Mulveen would go through with it. Gilbert was, despite his age, an -expert guide. Mulveen was a crack hunter. Five thousand credits....</p> - -<p>"To the death?" Gilbert asked.</p> - -<p>"I wouldn't be playing games. Hell, yes."</p> - -<p>"What if I get killed?"</p> - -<p>"I'll put it in writing. The credits go to whatever person you name, in -the event of your death."</p> - -<p>Gilbert thought, <i>if I'm dead I won't need the credits, but if I live, -if I win, those credits can buy me a new way of life....</i></p> - -<p>Five thousand credits....</p> - -<p>"Can I fight back?" Gilbert heard himself asking.</p> - -<p>"Does an animal? Of course you can. I'll also put in writing that -you're not responsible in the event of my death. What do you say, boy? -What do you say?"</p> - -<p>The swamp smell was thick on the still, heavy air of night. Insects -buzzed and sawed off in the darkness. Mulveen was breathing heavily, -impatiently, consumed by the fires of his idea. "Well?"</p> - -<p>Gilbert broke the silence by holding the rifle up to the firelight and -bolting open the chamber. A fresh clip of ammo was in place.</p> - -<p>"Didn't trust me?" Mulveen asked.</p> - -<p>"Should I have?"</p> - -<p>"Up to this minute, sure. But if your answer is yes, stop trusting me -about anything. Because then you're on your own."</p> - -<p>"For how long?" Gilbert asked. "A day?"</p> - -<p>"Day, hell. Till I get you—or you get me."</p> - -<p>"And you'll have the beaters, the boys?"</p> - -<p>"I paid for them, didn't I?"</p> - -<p>Gilbert nodded. The night beckoned. He took his rifle and left camp. -Mulveen wrote the agreement.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>He had not gone very far until he realized he was being followed. -Already? he thought. He slipped silently off the trail and waited in -the hot, sweat-producing darkness. Footsteps came along the trail. -Gilbert saw a shadowy figure. Too small for Mulveen.</p> - -<p>Gilbert waited until the figure was abreast of him, then leaped.</p> - -<p>They went down together in the mud. Gilbert's strong young muscles soon -bested his opponent. He sat astride the unseen enemy's middle, his -fists raised. "Surrender," he said.</p> - -<p>"I surrender." Gilbert recognized Wenzi's voice. Wenzi was one of the -beaters, an aloofly quiet boy who had kept to himself all during the -safari, and who, Gilbert remembered, wore far too much clothing for the -warm, sticky weather.</p> - -<p>Gilbert got up, holding Wenzi's elbow. Wenzi said, "I heard what the -master and you said. I came."</p> - -<p>"But why?" Gilbert demanded. "Don't tell me you think I'll beat -Mulveen?"</p> - -<p>"No," said Wenzi glumly. "Mulveen will win. But I was afraid."</p> - -<p>"Of what?"</p> - -<p>"Before the hunt this morning," Wenzi said, "I went down to the stream -to wash. I went alone."</p> - -<p>"You always go alone," Gilbert said. "Sweating in your trousers and -shirt no matter how hot it is."</p> - -<p>"I have to," said Wenzi.</p> - -<p>"Have to?"</p> - -<p>"Mulveen must have been suspicious. He followed me this morning. He -saw. Tonight, he said. Tonight, Wenzi. I had to come after you, -Gilbert."</p> - -<p>"Tonight? Tonight what?"</p> - -<p>"Mulveen saw me at the stream. This is a good way to make a living, -Gilbert. Better than the other ways which are open to me. It is clean. -It is decent, if degrading. I am a girl, Gilbert."</p> - -<p>The news stunned him. A girl on safari—it was unthinkable. A girl, -here....</p> - -<p>"But don't you have a family? A father or brother to provide for you?"</p> - -<p>"No one. And I'm seventeen."</p> - -<p>Seventeen. Wenzi, by modern Earth standards gone primitive, was a woman.</p> - -<p>Suddenly Gilbert tensed. He had heard something, a slight stirring in -the dark swamp. Had Wenzi been followed? Had this whole thing been -elaborately planned by Mulveen, planned already in the morning, giving -Wenzi a reason to flee so that Wenzi would flee to Gilbert at night and -Gilbert would be caught and killed, legitimate quarry now, even before -morning came?</p> - -<p>Gilbert touched Wenzi's lips with his fingers, hoping she would -understand. He took her arm and led her silently from the swamp-trail.</p> - -<p>They waited in among the wet creepers and tree-roots. Gilbert could -feel Wenzi's frightened breathing as she leaned close to him. Whatever -was pursuing them came on through the swamp. Once it floundered off the -trail in darkness, splashing. It came on again. It paused, making a -sniffing sound. An animal? A swamp-hog, perhaps? It sounded about the -right size and bulk—but so would a man....</p> - -<p>Gilbert brought the rifle up. A dark shadow stirred. "Stop!" Gilbert -commanded. "You're in my sights. I can kill you."</p> - -<p>"Gil!" a voice implored.</p> - -<p>Gilbert dropped the rifle and let it swing on the shoulder thong.</p> - -<p>"Arnaud," he said. "I could have shot you." Arnaud was the safari's -chief beater and second in command to Gilbert.</p> - -<p>"Mulveen told me what he was doing," Arnaud said. "I slipped out of -camp."</p> - -<p>"Why? You think Mulveen's going to lose?"</p> - -<p>"With a dozen boys? No, I couldn't help him hunt you and kill you, -that's all."</p> - -<p>Arnaud touched his hand. They shook hands solemnly. It was an old -gesture which Earthmen had never lost. Gilbert told Arnaud Wenzi was -there, told Arnaud Wenzi was a girl.</p> - -<p>"So there are three of us now," Arnaud said.</p> - -<p>Gilbert nodded, then realized the gesture was lost in darkness. He -said, aloud, "We'd better put some distance between us and the camp."</p> - -<p>They returned to the trail, plodded through the hot darkness. They -walked for three hours and reached high ground as Gilbert had expected. -"We can sleep here," he said. "But we'll have to be up before the sun. -And we'll have to hunt for our food, too. Mulveen has provisions."</p> - -<p>"Do you hate Mulveen?" Wenzi asked.</p> - -<p>"For his proposition? No, why should I?"</p> - -<p>"For his arrogance—"</p> - -<p>"He is an outworlder," Arnaud said.</p> - -<p>"For what he wanted of you," Gilbert told Wenzi, "yes. But only for -that."</p> - -<p>"Do you have any plans?" Arnaud asked as they settled on the hillock.</p> - -<p>Gilbert thought about it. They would need a plan, all right. It was -what the animals of Earth lacked. The ability to plan, to rationally -pursue their survival. And so the animals of Earth never had a chance.</p> - -<p>"Mulveen will probably stalk us in the morning," Gilbert said. "We'll -have to move fast. We'll be able to move faster than Mulveen because -he'll be tracking us. We can circle around behind him—while he still -believes himself behind us."</p> - -<p>"It might work," Wenzi said, but not too optimistically.</p> - -<p>"I don't see how it can miss!" Arnaud declared jubilantly. "Now let's -get some sleep."</p> - -<p>Gilbert was tired all at once. He felt the fatigue crawl through his -muscles, dull his senses. He'd been on the go all day, and walking half -the night. He drifted quickly into sleep and dreamed of a faudi reptile -with the face of the hunter Mulveen, chasing them with tail-supported -forty yard leaps....</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>He awoke in dim light. Like any experienced hunter, he awoke knowing -exactly where he was and what was happening. The first thing he did was -reach for his rifle. He had placed it at his side.</p> - -<p>It was gone.</p> - -<p>"Wenzi?" he called. No answer.</p> - -<p>"Arnaud?" Silence.</p> - -<p>"Wenzi! Arnaud!" he shouted. He stood up quickly. He had the hillock of -high, dry ground all to himself.</p> - -<p>Distantly, he heard a scream. Wenzi's voice? he thought it was.</p> - -<p>"Wenzi!" he shouted again, at the top of his voice.</p> - -<p>The scream was faint. She might have been calling his name. It might -have been pure terror.</p> - -<p>Arnaud, he thought. Arnaud has taken Wenzi. But why? Why? He was only a -tracker, a beater. He couldn't provide for her. He wouldn't dare ravish -her, for while there was no penalty for an outworlder, the penalty for -an Earthman was severe.</p> - -<p>Mulveen, he thought.</p> - -<p>Mulveen's idea. Arnaud had never left Mulveen. Arnaud had come -following Gilbert—as Mulveen's man. Mulveen knew Wenzi was gone. -Mulveen reasoned she had gone to Gilbert, further reasoned that Gilbert -would protect her. Mulveen had sent Arnaud for her. And for Gilbert's -rifle.</p> - -<p>Gilbert was weaponless.</p> - -<p>Five thousand credits, he thought. And my life.</p> - -<p>Wenzi—in Mulveen's possession. Or, in his possession when the traitor -Arnaud brought her back to camp.</p> - -<p>I can forget about her. I don't know her. Until last night I thought -she was a boy, he told himself. I can flee and find a weapon somewhere.</p> - -<p>Even while he told himself this, he was walking back along the trail. -Wenzi had trusted him. Wenzi had fled to him at once. She had faith -in him. A blind, almost childish faith, even if she hadn't put it in -words. She had come, and that was enough.</p> - -<p>For the first time in his life, Gilbert felt anger. And a burning, -consuming hate.</p> - -<p>He loped with ground-consuming strides along the trail.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>An hour later, he heard the beaters. They were coming. They were coming -for him.</p> - -<p>They could have waited. But Mulveen was trying everything. Throw the -works if you could, that's what the guides always said. Mulveen had -Wenzi. It was a kind of bait and Gilbert might or might not rise to it. -So the beaters were coming through the swamp.</p> - -<p>Beaters. Yesterday, his men. Now, he was their quarry.</p> - -<p>He crouched. In a moment he became part of the jungle, a shadow barely -seen in the dim swamp, insubstantial, soundless. The beaters came on. -If he were hunting a man-sized and weaponless animal, Gilbert thought, -he would send the beaters through with staves and machetes....</p> - -<p>He watched them come. He could name them, they came so close. They -beat the undergrowth and the hanging creepers, vines and lianas with -their clubs. Here and there he caught the gleam of a machete blade. -If they spotted him they would make a rush, cutting off his retreat, -surrounding him on three sides and forcing him back along the trail -toward where Mulveen was waiting, probably in a comfortable blind, with -an atomic rifle.</p> - -<p>Unless, right now, Mulveen was too busy with Wenzi....</p> - -<p>No, he told himself. It wouldn't be that way. Mulveen would want his -triumph first. Wenzi would wait, a prisoner, for nightfall. But could -he be sure?</p> - -<p>The beaters went by, advancing through the swamp. One came so close, -Gilbert could have reached out and touched him.</p> - -<p>Gilbert stood up, stretching his stiff muscles. He waited an agonizing -five more minutes, then set out along the trail.</p> - -<p>A laggard beater materialized abruptly in his path. The machete blurred -overhead, blade gleaming. The man's face showed recognition, but -neither pity nor regret. He wouldn't kill Gilbert, naturally. He wanted -Gilbert to run—back toward Mulveen.</p> - -<p>Gilbert ducked under the upswinging arm. He drove his shoulder into -the beater's midsection and felt the hard wall of muscle hold for a -split-second, then yield. The beater jackknifed over. Gilbert let -himself drop, grasped the beater's ankles and heaved. The beater -sailed, yelling, over his head. The beater landed face-first in the -swamp and Gilbert dove after him. He found the machete-haft, twisted. -The big-bladed weapon came free in his hand, but the beater lifted his -head from the mud and cried:</p> - -<p>"Mulveen! Mulveen, sir! Mulveen!"</p> - -<p>Gilbert struck with the side of the machete blade, using it as a club. -The beater subsided face-down in the mud. Gilbert looked down at him, -then scowled and turned him face-up in the swamp so he wouldn't drown.</p> - -<p>Just then Mulveen's rifle cracked. The swamp-water swallowed the flat -sound: there was no echo.</p> - -<p>Mulveen heard the cry—he was close. Perhaps close enough to see the -white sheen of frothing water where the beater had fallen....</p> - -<p>Quickly Gilbert slipped with his machete among the mangrove roots. He -made his way through the thick tangle of gnarled roots and the slime of -the swamp back in the direction from which the beater had come. Behind -him he heard the clubs and machetes of the other beaters, returning now -toward the rifle fire.</p> - -<p>Up ahead somewhere unseen in the swamp Mulveen was waiting with his -atomic rifle. Behind Gilbert, the beaters were coming.</p> - -<p>Wenzi screamed, close by. With Mulveen? Gilbert crashed through the -mangroves in that direction. Mulveen would hear him—but wouldn't see -him. The mangroves were a thick tangle of twisted trunks and roots. -Mulveen would have no chance for a clear shot until almost the last -moment.</p> - -<p>Suddenly, Gilbert stopped dead in his tracks. Wenzi—was she part -of it? She could have fled to him, pretending. She could have been -in league with Arnaud and Mulveen. There was no reason to believe -otherwise. The trackers and beaters knew no loyalties. They were hardly -more than animals. But somehow, Wenzi seemed different. As Gilbert -thought himself different.</p> - -<p>The thoughts raced through his mind. There were the continents of -Earth, but the continents were game-reserves. The men were hardly more -than game themselves. But there were the offshore islands, which had -not been stocked with animals. It was rumored that another brand of men -lived there, men who had fled from the continents, men determined to -preserve their heritage and one day when they were strong enough return -with it to the mainlands....</p> - -<p>With his five thousand credits, Gilbert could buy a boat, sail to the -islands....</p> - -<p>Wenzi screamed again.</p> - -<p>Mulveen's rifle roared. He was closer now. Wood splintered from the -mangrove roots, peppering Gilbert. Heedless, he plunged on, impelled -by the shouts of the beaters behind him. Grimly he thought: I'm giving -Mulveen his money's worth. But that wasn't quite true. Mulveen would -not really get his money's worth until Gilbert was dead.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The rifle roared again and Gilbert thought he saw the muzzle-flash up -ahead in the dark swamp. He ran splashing through the water and felt -the spray as the rifle spoke once more. The minute atomic explosion -went off in the water not ten yards from Gilbert. The concussion -staggered him and he fell forward on his face, his head striking a -mangrove root jarringly.</p> - -<p>His senses swam. He heard a splashing, floundering sound. Mulveen. -Mulveen was coming for him. He ducked behind a mangrove, waiting. -Miraculously he still held the machete. He felt blood on his shoulder -and chest, realized that he had probably fallen sideways across the -blade.</p> - -<p>Wenzi and Mulveen came through the swamp. Wenzi was in front. They were -so close that Gilbert could see how the girl's hands were secured -behind her back, how Mulveen held a trailing rope, how the trailing -rope was wrapped around Mulveen's thick waist so he could drop it when -he had to and lift his rifle in both hands....</p> - -<p>Gilbert came charging at them with his machete. With one swift stroke -he parted the rope and shouted: "Run, Wenzi! Run!"</p> - -<p>The rifle-muzzle came up. Gilbert dove face-down as the weapon roared. -He felt the fierce blast of it, then was clawing through the mud at -Mulveen's legs. Mulveen brought the rifle-butt crashing down. It jarred -against Gilbert's shoulder, pushing him down into the water. He felt -the machete drop from his fingers and from what seemed a long way off -he heard Wenzi's scream although he was aware that the girl had not -moved, was standing there awaiting the outcome.</p> - -<p>The rifle pointed down at him. He reached up, tugging at the muzzle, -pulling himself upright. Mulveen stumbled, cursing. Gilbert pulled the -rifle-barrel into the mud and Mulveen came down with it on top of him. -The beaters had reached them now, but the beaters were indifferent. -Mulveen was the hunter: Mulveen had given his orders. But Gilbert was -their chief guide and now it was a question of who was hunter and who -hunted. Their loyalty would belong to the victor....</p> - -<p>Mulveen's great weight came down on top of him. Mulveen had discarded -the water-filled rifle. His hands closed on Gilbert's throat. His -weight held Gilbert pinned.... In seconds—certainly no more than -minutes—Gilbert would lose consciousness, the last air used up and -self-poisoned and burning in his lungs, Mulveen's triumphant shouts -ringing in his ears.</p> - -<p>But it wasn't merely for himself.</p> - -<p>And it wasn't merely for Wenzi.</p> - -<p>It was for Gilbert of Lewsanna—Earthman. And for a dream of the -islands, and of Earthmen claiming their heritage again, if not in -Gilbert's generation then in the one which followed....</p> - -<p>He scooped a handful of mud and brought his hand, ooze and all, against -Mulveen's face. He found the eyes and clawed at them. He heard Mulveen -bellowing for the beaters. But the beaters were impartial.</p> - -<p>His thumbs were pressing on Mulveen's eyes now, but Mulveen's strong -fingers were still on his throat. He felt something give. Mulveen went -on bellowing, but also slowly choking the life out of him.</p> - -<p>He shifted his hands to Mulveen's mouth. He pulled at the lips. He -yanked with all his remaining strength and there was suddenly a pure -animal scream of pain and a quick flow of hot blood across his hand and -a release of the terrible pressure around his throat.</p> - -<p>He got up. Mulveen's face was torn. Mulveen lifted his hand weakly. -There was a knife in it. Gilbert slapped out at the hand and the knife -dropped. Gilbert caught it, held the point at Mulveen's throat.</p> - -<p>"I could kill you," Gilbert said.</p> - -<p>Mulveen whined: "Don't! Please, you've earned the money. The money is -yours!"</p> - -<p>He could kill Mulveen, yes—but would one of the Earthmen of the -islands, the real Earthmen, have done that? They would have been -content with victory—and with shaming the outworlder Mulveen in front -of the beaters and trackers.</p> - -<p>"Don't come back to Earth," Gilbert said. "Ever. We don't want you -here. Put that in writing too."</p> - -<p>"I will. I will, I swear!" Mulveen was cowering.</p> - -<p>Arnaud came to them, smiling. "Great work, Gil—" he began. Gilbert hit -him and the tracker went sprawling in the mud. He came up snarling but -looked at Gilbert and muttered a curse and did nothing.</p> - -<p>Later, a completely beaten Mulveen, his face swathed in bandages, -counted out the credits. "Make it ten thousand," Gilbert told him. -"Five thousand for Wenzi."</p> - -<p>Mulveen counted out ten thousand credits. "But you'll have to lead us -back to civilization," he said.</p> - -<p>Gilbert looked at Arnaud. "He will," Gilbert told Mulveen. "I'm not a -guide now. I'm a man. An Earthman."</p> - -<p>Mulveen looked at him. Mulveen did not smile. Something in Mulveen's -face, in his eyes, spoke clearly of the day when Earthmen would regain -their heritage. Mulveen was afraid.</p> - -<p>Gilbert took Wenzi's hand and walked off into the swamp. They would buy -a boat. 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