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respect for a man’s property, and I swear to God I’ll blow them to pieces if they come back.”
    The second Hinchai’s voice boomed in the night. “Come on, Ed, losing one chicken ain’t worth havin’ a heart attack over, and besides, the kid’s probably out there in the woods now pickin’ buckshot out of his ass. If it happens again, we’ll get some folks together for a search party, and then we’ll have some real fun!”
    The two Hinchai went back inside again, and slammed the door. Ham flopped on his back, breathing deep. Dorald slowed down as he reached the top of the hill, head down because he could not endure Maki’s withering glare of anger and disgust. Dorald’s side was on fire, and blood oozed between his thick fingers, yet he knew he was not seriously injured. He walked past Maki and sat down next to Han, who examined his wound and said, “Many small punctures in the skin, but not deep. It should be washed, and salved.”
    Maki stood over them, hands on hips. “All for a bird,” he said disdainfully. “You could have gotten us all killed over a bird.”
    “I’m sorry, Maki,” said Dorald mournfully. His eyes were pleading. Don’t throw me away like all the others have. I have no place else to go. The giant child began to cry.
    Maki smiled. A true leader is understanding, and merciful. “So you perceive your error. It was a stupid mistake, but one I hope you will learn from. You see how we must stay together in everything we do, and if you can learn this I promise the day will come soon when we drive out the Hinchai, and I will bring you back here with your club to crush the skull of the one who hurt you tonight.”
    Both Han and Dorald were grinning, now. Maki slapped their shoulders affectionately, and walked away as both of them scrambled to their feet to follow him.
    The night was half over when they reached the caverns, picking their way along the narrow ledge in total darkness, and squeezing into the entrance to find welcome torchlight. Maki stored his pointing weapon and Dorald’s axe by his sleeping place near the entrance, and the three of them disappeared down a tunnel to find water and salve for Dorald’s wound.
    For a moment it was quiet in the vestibule they claimed as their own, and then a tiny face appeared in the flickering torchlight. Baela. The caverns had been humid that night, so she had slept in a fumarole near the entrance, awakening when Maki’s little band moved near her in the tunnel. She peered down the tunnel, head cocked to hear the slightest sound, eyes flashing mischievously in yellow light. She crept over to Maki’s sleeping place, and pulled aside the fur covering the axe and pointing weapon.
    She touched each one, running her slender fingers over them, wondering at the smooth, cold and unfamiliar feel of metal, and then her eyes were attracted to the shiny metal projectiles strapped to the butt of the weapon.
    Baela hesitated a moment, hand poised, then smiled to herself and removed one of the projectiles from a leather loop. Holding it tightly in her hand, she covered Maki’s possessions with the fur again, and hurried quickly away to her hiding place.

CHAPTER FOUR
    PETER PELEGEROPOULIS
    The Athens Bar was jammed with miners from out of town, and it was getting loud. Sid Henderson, a tall, skinny man with the face of a predatory bird was working frantically to keep up with the thirsty men and their few women, but he was running out of glasses again. Sid hated weekends: Jake was getting drunk and belligerent at the end of the bar, and any second some hard-rocker was going to put his body through a wall, and then Sally came out of the kitchen, crying, and covered with soot. There had been another grease fire, and she had used the sand, so now five orders were burned beyond recognition, and another four were covered with grit. Nine hungry miners was a bad situation, which Sid temporarily saved by pouring nine drinks courtesy of The Management, who was