tely.

"And what are you going to do now?"

"I imagine," said Hoddan, "that we'll go down into the courtyard where
our horses are. I gave my men half an hour to loot in. During that half
hour I shall sit down on something which will, I hope, remain perfectly
still. And I may," he added morbidly, "eat an apple. I've had nothing to
eat since I landed on Darth. People don't want to commit themselves to
not cutting my throat. But after half an hour we'll leave."

The Lady Fani looked sympathetic.

"But the castle's surrendered to you," she protested. "You hold it!
Aren't you going to try to keep it?"

"There are a good many unpleasant characters out yonder," said Hoddan,
waving his hand at the great outdoors, "who've reason to dislike me very
much. They'll be anxious to express their emotions, when they feel up to
it. I want to dodge them. And presently the people in this castle will
realize that even stun-pistols can't keep on shooting indefinitely here.
I don't want to be around when it occurs to them."

* * * * *

He offered his arm with a reasonably grand air and went limping with her
down to the courtyard just inside the gate. Two of Don Loris' retainers
staggered into view as they arrived, piling up plunder which ranged from
a quarter keg of wine to a mass of frothy stuff which must be female
garments. They went away and other men arrived loaded down with their
own accumulations of loot. Some of the local inhabitants looked on with
uneasy indignation.

Hoddan found a bench and sat down. He conspicuously displayed one of the
weapons which had captured the castle. Ghek's defeated retainers looked
at him darkly.

"Bring me something to eat," commanded Hoddan. "Then if you bring fresh
horses for my men, and one extra for each to carry his plunder on, I'll
take them away. I'll even throw in the Lord Ghek, who is now unharmed
but with his life in the balance. Otherwise--"

He moved the pistol suggestively. The normal inhabitants of Ghek's
castle moved away, discussing the situation in subdued voices.

The Lady Fani sat down proudly on the bench beside him.

"You are wonderful!" she said with conviction.

"I used to cherish that illusion myself," said Hoddan.

"But nobody before in all Darthian history has ever fought twenty men,
and then thirty men, and destroyed an ambush, and captured a castle, all
in one day!"

"And without a meal," said Hoddan darkly, "and with a lot of b