and give them a good hunt.
On the crest they untied him, and he stood naked in a ring of the horsed
gentry, rubbing his wrists and glaring at them. Beside him were Jerran
and the mutilated Dawvys, who both wore their customary shirts and
trousers.

Running his eyes over the squirachy, Revel saw with a strange thrill of
horror the Lady Nirea, on a deep-chested roan stallion, as cool and
distant as the moon ... and as beautiful, he thought bitterly. Well, but
hadn't he had her? He, a rucker born had loved this woman of the gentry!
Let her watch him die--small compensation that would be!

He bowed to her. "May you be in at the death," he said clearly, and had
the satisfaction of seeing her face go white.

"Give the Mink his fangs," said Ewyo. The burly squire was all in
scarlet silk and purple velvet, with white calfskin boots on his thick
legs. At his command, Rosk threw the tall rebel a belt with two
holsters, in which were thrust two short iron daggers. "By rights you
should go without, Mink," said Ewyo, "but it's more sport to chivvy a
fox with a bite in him. Now, you have till the count of three hundred."

"Five hundred is customary," interrupted Nirea.

"Three is plenty for the savior of the ruck. Hold your tongue, Lady." He
leaned over his steed's head. "Three hundred, Mink, and then we come
after you. Your course is down this hill and straight away toward the
sea. Don't try to escape the straight, either, because the hills are
rimmed with guards who'll blow your guts out if you cross the line; and
some thousands of your slimy kin are clustered on those hills to watch
their hero die." He nodded to the woman beside him, a blonde wench with
vicious amber eyes. "Begin the count, Jann."

The blonde said loudly, "One, two, three--" and at the third word Revel
was off, running like a slim brown stag down the slope of the hill.
Behind him came Dawvys and Jerran. The little man cried, "Don't wait,
Revel lad. Save yourself if you can. Remember you're the Mink!"

"I wish to Orbs I wasn't," he growled, and hit the bottom, skimmed over
a patch of raw rocks and struck the green beyond. As he ran he buckled
the belt around his waist, with a knife hanging on each hip. He had not
expected these, and though Ewyo thought he'd lose only a hound or two,
Revel intended to take at least a pair of squires with him into the
unknown....

He was a fine runner. By the time Lady Jann had counted two hundred and
fifty, he was half a mi