any pace he set.
Finally Charlie saw the second Indian band ahead of them. Slinging the
Mannlicher Elephant Gun, he began to run.

"Tashtu!" he called. "Tashtu!"

The Indian sprinted to him. "Lord," he said breathlessly, "one sky
critter, him die. Turn out man."

"What are you talking about?" Charlie asked.

Tashtu led him to the group of braves which still clustered about Ensign
Chandler's body. "Why?" Charlie demanded, horror-struck. "Why?"

Tashtu told him all that had happened. How the braves had mistaken the
spacesuited man for a monster. How arrows had been fired before they had
learned otherwise. How Robin had come, and gone off with the spaceman.

"To their spaceship?" Charlie asked.

"Yes, Lord. That is what they spoke of." Tashtu pointed to the top of
the rampart of rock. "From there, Lord, you can see it."

Charlie scrambled up the rock. From his giddy perch on top he could see
the tiny silver gleam of the spaceship--and a band of men, led by a man
on horseback, approaching them. Charlie hurried down the rock, half
climbing, half sliding. "They are coming," he said. "Maybe Robin's with
them." He remembered what had happened last time and said: "The rest of
you return to your homes. Tashtu and I will go on ahead."

"But Lord--" Tashtu began.

"Well?"

"I did not like the man. I did not trust him."

"Then why did you let Robin go?"

"Let her, Lord? But surely Robin, the Lady Robin, does not obey a
mere--"

"All right, all right," Charlie said. "But all the more reason for the
rest of the braves to return to their homes. We can handle this, Tashtu,
you and I. I don't want any more killing."

"Yes, Lord," said Tashtu.

The Indians formed a marching column and moved off. Charlie told Tashtu
what he had seen from the top of the rampart. Then he added: "Let's go
and meet them."

And Charlie and Tashtu set out across the tortuous Wild Country.

* * * * *

"Two men coming!" Chandler cried, reining up the roan stallion.

Captain Purcell signaled his twenty-five men to halt, and their orderly
double file came up short behind him. Pretty soon the two figures could
be seen by all, advancing toward them across the rocks. When they were
close enough, Captain Purcell hailed: "We come in peace!"

"And in peace we come!" Charlie called. A moment later he was shaking
hands gravely with Captain Purcell.

"Tell the captain about--about my corpse," Chandler told Tashtu.