"The dark guest may not be Zarendargar," said Samos. "The resemblance may beonly a coincidence."

"We do not find that a likely possibility," said Kog. "The distances and thetimes, and the dating of this skin, the details of the representation, all thesethings, suggest that it is Zarendargar. Similarly fellows of our species, ortheir descendants, lapsed into barbarism, seldom roam the Barrens. There is toolittle cover and the heat in the summer is too severe."

"The story on the hide takes place in the winter," said Samos.

"That is true," said Kog, "but game, in the Barrens, is scarce in the winter.

Too, the land is too open, and tracks are difficult to conceal. Our peopleprefer wintering in forested or mountainous areas."

"They will normally seek out such areas," I said.

"Yes," said Kog.

"It is your assumption, then," I said, "that Zarendargar is in hiding."

"Yes," said Kog, "in the unlikely and dangerous terrain of the Barrens."

"He knows that he will be sought?" I asked.

"Yes," said Kog. "He knows that he has failed."

I recalled the destruction of the vast supply complex in the Gorean arctic.

"I met Zarendargar," I said. "It does not seem to me likely that he would behiding."

"How then would you explain his presence in the Barrens?" inquired Kog.

"I cannot," I said.

"We have searched for him for two years," said Kog. "This hide is our firstclue."

"How did you come by this hide?" I asked.

"It was received in trade," said Kog. "It came, eventually, to the attention ofone of our agents. Thence it was transported to the steel worlds."

"It does not seem the sort of thing with which the artist would willingly part,"

I said.

"Quite possibly not," said Kog.

I shuddered. The artist, doubtless, had been slain, his body left stripped andmutilated in the customary manner of the red savages. The object, then, throughtrade channels, would have come, I supposed, to one of the high cities, perhapsThentis, the nearest of the large cities to the Barrens.

"We seek Zarendargar," said Kog. "We are his appointed executioners."

Yet there was something puzzling to me in these matters. I could not fullyunderstand what it was. For one thing, I doubted that Zarendargar was in hiding.

Yet, otherwise, I could not explain his presence in the Barrens. Too, I was notfully confident that the artist was dead. He impressed me as a competent andresourceful warrior. The skin, on the other hand, had apparently been traded. Iwas troubled by these things. I did not understand them.

"His crime was failure?" I asked.

"It is not tolerated on the steel worlds," said Kog, "not in one who is abovethe rings."

"Doubtless he received a fair trial," I said.

"Judgment was pronounced in accord with the statutes of the steel worlds," saidKog, "by the high council, composed of seventy-two members elected from amongthe representatives of the thousand cliffs."

"The same council was both judge and jury?" I asked.

"Yes," said Kog, "as is the case in many of your own cities."

"Zarendargar was not present at this trial," I said.

"If the presence of the criminal were required," said Kog, "it would make itimpossible, in many cases, to pass judgment."

"That is true," I said.

"A limitation on judicial proceedings of such a sort would be intolerable," saidKog.

"I see," I said.

"Was evidence submitted in support of Zarendargar?" I asked.

"In a case of this sort, evidence against the court is inadmissible," said Kog.

"I see," I said. "Who, then," I asked, "spoke on behalf of Zarendargar?"

"It is wrong to speak on behalf of a criminal, ' said Kog.

"I understand," I said.

"Due process of law, as you may see," said Kog, "was strictly observed."

"Thank you," I said, "my mind is now satisfactorily relieved on the matter."

Kog's lips drew back over his fangs.

"Even so," I asked, "was the vote unanimous?"

"Unanimity constitutes an impediment to the pursuit of expeditious and efficientjustice," said Kog.

"Was the vote unanimous?" I asked.

"No," said Kog.

"Was the vote close?" I asked.

"Why do you ask?" asked Kog.

"I am curious," I said.

"Yes," said Kog, "interestingly, it was."

"Thank you," I said. I knew there were factions among these creatures. I hadlearned this, clearly, in the Tahari. Too, I suspected some of the council, evenif they were not of the party of Zarendargar, would have recognized his value tothe steel worlds. He was doubtless one of the finest of their generals.

"There is no division here," I said, "between the political and the judicial."

"All law exists to serve the interests of the dominant powers," said Kog. "Ourinstitutions secure this arrangement, facilitate it and, not unimportantly,acknowledge it. Our institutions are, thus, less dishonest and hypocritical thanthose of groups which pretend to deny the fundamental nature of social order.

Law which is not a weapon and a wall is madness."

"How do we know that you are truly appointed to fulfill the edict of thecouncil?" I asked.

"Do you doubt the word of one who is of the Peoples?" asked Kog.

"Not really," I said. "I was just curious about your credentials."

"You could not read them if we displayed them," said Kog.

"That is true," I said. I was truly amazed at the patience, which the creaturesexhibited. I knew they were short-tempered, even with their own kind. Yet Samosand I had not been attacked. They must need something desperately.

"I swear to you on the rings of Sardak," said Kog, putting his paw on the tworings of reddish alloy on the left wrist Of Sardak.

"That is good enough for me," I said, magnanimously. I had not the least idea,of course, of the significance of this gesture on the part of Kog, but Igathered, under the circumstances, that its import must be rather weighty.

Sardak was, I was sure, Kog's Blood, or leader. If Kog swore falsely I gatheredthat it would then be up to Sardak to kill him. Sardak, however, did not move.

"You are doubtless who you say you are," I admitted.

"Even if we were not," said Kog, "we could still do business."

"Business?" I asked.

"Surely," said Kog. "We are met here in the interest of our mutual profit."

"I do not understand," I said.

"Zarendargar is a dangerous enemy to human beings," said Kog.

"He is a proven foe of Priest-Kings. He is your enemy. How fortunate, then, thatwe may conjoin our efforts in this matter. What a rare, welcome and felicitouscoincidence do we here encounter. It is in your interest to have Zarendargarkilled, and it is our business to kill him. Let us, thus, pool our forces inthis common enterprise."

"Why do you wish our help in this matter?" I asked.

"Zarendargar is in the Barrens," said Kog. "This is a large and perilouscountry. It teems with red savages. To enter such a country and find him itseems to us useful to enlist the help of human beings, creatures of a sort whichthe red savages will understand to be of their own kind, creatures with whomthey might be expected, for a price, to be cooperative. They are superbtrackers, you must understand, and may find the search stimulating. Too, theymay wish to rid their country of something as dangerous as Zarendargar."

"They would hunt him down like an animal, and slay him?" I asked.

"Presumably," said Kog. "And, humans, you see, would be useful in dealing withthem."

"I see," I said.

"What is your answer?" said Kog.

"No," I said.

"Is that your final decision?" asked Kog.

"Yes," I said.

Kog and Sardak suddenly howled. The table between us flung upwards. Samos and I,buffeted, stumbled back. The dark lantern, scattering flaming oil, struck a wallto the side of the room. "Beware, Samos!" I cried. I stood ready with the swordin the guard position. Kog hesitated, tearing at the boards with his clawedfeet.