o one is sent out without
every ounce of preparation he can take. But we can't set up luck in
advance, and Hardy was unlucky. That's that. We got him back, and that
was lucky for him. He'd be the first to tell you so." He stretched. "I'm
for a game--Ashe? Hodaki?"

"Always so energetic," murmured Ashe, but he nodded as did the small
Oriental.

Feng smiled at Ross. "Always these three try to beat each other, and so
far all the contests are draws. But we hope ... yes, we have hopes...."

So Ross had no chance to speak to Kurt. Instead, he was drawn into the
knot of men who, having finished their meal, entered a small arena with
a half circle of spectator seats at one side and a space for contestants
at the other. What followed absorbed Ross as completely as the earlier
scene of the wolf killing. This too was a fight, but not a physical
struggle. All three contenders were not only unlike in body, but as Ross
speedily came to understand, they were also unlike in their mental
approach to any problem.

They seated themselves crosslegged at the three points of a triangle.
Then Ashe looked from the tall blond to the small Oriental. "Territory?"
he asked crisply.

"Inland plains!" That came almost in chorus, and each man, looking at
his opponent, began to laugh.

Ashe himself chuckled. "Trying to be smart tonight, boys?" he inquired.
"All right, plains it is."

He brought his hand down on the floor before him, and to Ross's
astonishment the area around the players darkened and the floor became a
stretch of miniature countryside. Grassy plains rippled under the wind
of a fair day.

"Red!"

"Blue!"

"Yellow!"

The choices came quickly from the dusk masking the players. And upon
those orders points of the designated color came into being as small
lights.

"Red--caravan!" Ross recognized Jansen's boom.

"Blue--raiders!" Hodaki's choice was only an instant behind.

"Yellow--unknown factor."

Ross was sure that sigh came from Jansen. "Is the unknown factor a
natural phenomenon?"

"No--tribe on the march."

"Ah!" Hodaki was considering that. Ross could picture his shrug.

The game began. Ross had heard of chess, of war games played with
miniature armies or ships, of games on paper which demand from the
players a quick wit and a trained memory. This game, however, was all
those combined, and more. As his imagination came to life the moving
points of light were transformed into the raiders, the merchants'
carav