hal said with surprising humility:

"If we force our horses too much, they'll be exhausted before we can
catch up."

"Figure it out," snapped Hoddan. "We have to catch up!"

He settled down to more of the acute discomfort that riding was to him.
He did not think again of the ambush. It had happened, and it had
failed. Four-fifths of the raiding party that had fought its way into
Don Loris' stronghold and out again, had been waiting for pursuers atop
a certain bit of rising ground. They'd known their pursuers must come
this way. There were certain passes through the low but rugged hills.
One went this way or that, but no other. Their blood already warmed by
past fighting, when Hoddan and his dozen seemed to ride right into
destruction, they flung themselves into a charge.

But Hoddan had a stun-pistol set for continuous fire. He used it like a
hose or a machine gun, painstakingly sweeping it across the night before
him, neither too fast nor too slowly. It affected the rushing followers
of Lord Ghek exactly as if it had been an oversized meat-chopper. They
went down. Only three men remained in their saddles--they'd probably
been sheltered by the bodies of men ahead. Hoddan attended to those
three with individual, personalized stun-pistol bolts--and immediately
had trouble with his men, who wanted to dismount and plunder their
fallen enemies.

He wouldn't even let them collect the horses of the men now out of
action. It would cost time, and Ghek wouldn't be losing any that he
could help. With a raging, trembling girl as prisoner, most men would
want to get her behind battlements as soon as possible. But Hoddan knew
that his party was slowed down by him. Presently he began to feel
bitterly sure that Ghek would reach his castle before he was overtaken.

"This place he's heading for," he said discouragedly to Thal. "Any
chance of our rushing it?"

"Oh, no!" said Thal dolefully. "Ten men could hold it against a
thousand!"

"Then can't we make better time?"

Thal said resignedly:

"Ghek probably had fresh horses waiting, so he could keep on at top
speed in his flight. I doubt we will catch him, now."

"The Lady Fani," said Hoddan bitterly, "has put me in a fix so if I
don't fight him I'm ruined!"

"Disgraced," corrected Thal. He said mournfully, "It's the same thing."

* * * * *

Gloom descended on the whole party as it filled their leaders.
Insensibly, the pace of the horses sla