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was something that I would never have
done even if I had kept him as a slave, but, of course, he couldn’t have known that. I hadn’t given him much of a chance, had I? And I certainly hadn’t factored the length of time it might take to convert him into the equation when I’d considered buying a slave for this purpose. I’d been on this planet too damned long, I decided, and I needed to get the heck out of Dodge. I was desperate to the point of actually considering just blundering onto Statzeel alone and taking my chances—which wouldn’t have done at all. I mean it really would’ve sucked to have come so far and taken so long, only to end up screwing the pooch at the last minute.
    I finished my stew and sat there for perhaps fifteen minutes before getting to my feet, deciding that I would go back and look for the stupid sonofabitch and try to give him all the help I could. Of course, with a pissed-off Cylopean around, I’d probably end up getting myself killed in the process, but I felt that at least I had to give it a try. I had a fairly good chance of locating my little slave, since he was fairly conspicuous. He shouldn’t be too hard to find….
    Unfortunately, neither was I. The Cylopean was waiting outside the hatch when I opened it, and while he still looked rather pissed, I suppose it might have been the pulse pistol he was pointing at me that gave me my first clue.
    “You have something of mine,” he snarled. “I want him back, or I want the full fifty credits he is worth.”
    I was armed, of course—I never went anywhere without Tex, my trusty pulse pistol!—but at the time, my weapon was holstered and I knew I’d probably have to talk my way out of this one.
“Listen, you little shit!” I snarled back at him. “That slave was worthless! He was wild and uncontrollable and I couldn’t trust him, so I gave him forty credits and the remote and left him in the street! Go find him yourself if you’re so damn worried about him.” When in doubt, tell the truth.
    “That’s a lie!” the Cylopean hissed. “He’s here on your ship! He was seen in this area.”
    I sighed and shook my head. “Why is it that no one ever listens to me? I’m an honest person and I tell the truth on a fairly regular basis, so I shouldn’t seem all that untrustworthy! It’s a curse, I tell you! A curse!” I sighed again. “Look, if he was seen in this area, then he must have come here on his own. I left him not thirty meters from the plaza. You can search my ship if you like. He’s not here.”
    “Why would you give him money when you wouldn’t even pay me what he was worth?” he demanded.
    Again, when in doubt, tell the truth. “Because I felt sorry for him and I didn’t feel the least bit sorry for you—asshole! Besides, he had a nice cock.” Oops, I think I might have let the cat out of the bag with that one .
    “I would have paid you more before the auction began,”
    I went on, “but, no! You wouldn’t listen to me, would you? Just had to be greedy, didn’t you?” You know, it’s really difficult to face someone down and sneer at them when you’re wearing a mask that covers most of your face. I found it to be a decided disadvantage. “Are you really wanting to get him back or are you just here to kill me or rob me because I pissed you off by being right about how the auction would go?”
I hoped I wasn’t giving him any ideas, but,
    somehow, I doubted it. He’d had enough time to come up with plenty on his own, and considering what he’d done to his slave, I knew he’d have no qualms about doing some pretty nasty things to me. You know, I just hate people like that! I’ve never understood why some people are so damned mean! I suppose it might have been their upbringing, but some people are so awful that they had to have been born that way. I think Cylopeans were, because I’d never yet met one that was very friendly. Their reflexes aren’t very good, either, because we both saw the