of this mess." He watched the gathering natives
through hard, slitted eyes.

The invading Earthmen were in a village at the southern end of the
eight-mile-long island, waiting inside the mud-brick huts while the
natives who had surrounded the village worked themselves into a frenzy
for an attack. The commander knew there was no sense in charging into
them at that point: they would simply scatter and reassemble. The only
thing to do was wait until they attacked--and then smash the attack.

"Hernan," he said, his eyes still watching the outside, "you and the
others get out there with the carriers after the first volley. Cut them
down. They're twenty-to-one against us, so make every blow count. Move."

Hernan nodded wordlessly and slipped away.

The natives were building up their courage with some sort of war dance,
whooping and screaming and making threatening gestures toward the
embattled invaders. Then the pattern of the dance changed; the islanders
whirled to face the mud-brick buildings which housed the invading
Earthmen. Suddenly, the dance broke, and the warriors ran in a
screaming charge, straight for the trapped soldiers.

The commander waited. His own shot would be the signal, and he didn't
want the men to fire too quickly. If the islanders were hit too soon,
they might fall back into the woods and set up a siege, which the little
company couldn't stand. Better to mop up the natives now, if possible.

Closer. Closer--

_Now!_

The commander's first shot picked off one of the leaders in the front
ranks of the native warriors, and was followed by a raking volley from
the other power weapons, firing from the windows of the mud-brick
buildings. The warriors in the front rank dropped, and those in the
second rank had to move adroitly to keep from stumbling over the bodies
of their fallen fellows. The firing from the huts became ragged, but its
raking effect was still deadly. A cloud of heavy, stinking smoke rolled
across the clearing between the edge of the jungle and the village, as
the bright, hard lances of heat leaped from the muzzles of the power
weapons toward the bodies of the charging warriors.

The charge was gone from the commander's weapon, and he didn't bother to
replace it. As Hernan and his men charged into the melee with their
carriers, the commander went with them.

At the same time, the armored infantrymen came pouring out of the
mud-brick houses, swinging their swords, straight into the m