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With Nymani's wiry strength on the other end, Dane worked free and sat, white-faced and shivering, on a mat of brush, while the Khatkan hunter turned his attention to the safety of Tau, the next arrival. More fortunate, or more skillful than Dane, the medic made the hop from the last tuft without mishap. But he was blowing heavily as he collapsed beside the other spaceman.
Nymani's thoughts must have been moving along the same path. Dane could hear movements in the dark beside him. "There's a long-distance com unit in that third hut," Tau observed. "So I see," Jellico snapped. "Could you reach your men over the mountain with that, sir?" "I do not know. But if Lumbrilo is not here, how can he make his image walk the night?" the Chief Ranger demanded impatiently.
There was a rustling, faint but distinguishable. Then Dane caught Nymani's whisper. "The one left to watch the inland trail does so no longer. We need not fear an alarm from him. Also, here is another blaster for our use." Away from the open by the swamp, the gloom was deeper. Dane was guided only by the noises of the less-experienced Jellico and Tau made in their progress.
Nymani's operations with burning splinters had been hard to take, but he had endured them without disgracing himself before the Khatkans, who appeared to regard such a mishap as just another travel incident.
The second bull yelped with an almost canine complaint as Jellico's blaster caught it head-on. Blinded, the beast blundered ahead, climbing the mountain side. The third met a ray from Nymani's needler. But the Chief Ranger leaped from behind his sheltering rock to the one where the captain had taken refuge and pulled him into the open. "They must not corner us here!" Jellico agreed to that.
At the up-swing of his body to the right, he let go and plunged out, landing half across one of the reed islets. The Khatkan clawed his way to his knees, gained his feet, and leaped for the next bit of solid ground. "You, Thorson!" Jellico jerked his head at Dane and the younger spaceman holstered his fire ray, slipped gingerly over the drop and prepared to repeat Nymani's feat as best he could.
He tried to rub away some of the dried clay coating his chin. "But do poachers use drums?" The Chief Ranger scowled. "That is what Nymani has gone to find out." Darkness closed in while they waited for Nymani's return. There had been no further attack from the blaster wielder; perhaps he was only trying to pin them down where they were.
"Which testifies to a trail out of here, fairly well-traveled, and some kind of a usable landing space not too far away," Asaki replied. "And that could very well serve us." "But they know we are here," Tau pointed out. It was Nymani's turn to laugh.
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