d taken were against intelligent,
thinking beings, not against animals more likely to track by scent than
by sight.

And if the stranger expected an attack from above, then Travis and Tsoay
must be alert. Travis analyzed each feature of the hillside, setting in
his mind a picture of every inch of ground they must cross. Just as he
had wanted daylight as an ally before, so now was he willing to wait for
the shadows of twilight.

He closed his eyes in a final check, able to recall the details of the
hiding place, knowing that he could reach it when the conditions
favored, without mistake. Then he edged back from his vantage point, and
raising his fingers to his lips, made a small angry chittering, three
times repeated. One of the species inhabiting these heights, as they had
noted earlier, was a creature about as big as the palm of a man's hand,
resembling nothing so much as a round ball of ruffled feathers, though
its covering might actually have been a silky, fluffy fur. Its short
legs could cover ground at an amazing speed, and it had the bold
impudence of a creature with few natural enemies. This was its usual
cry.

Tsoay's hand waved Travis on to where the younger man had taken position
behind the bleached trunk of a fallen tree.

"He hides," Tsoay whispered.

"Against trouble from above." Travis added his own observation.

"But not us, I think."

So Tsoay had come to that conclusion too? Travis tried to gauge the
nearness of twilight. There was a period after the passing of Topaz' sun
when the dusky light played odd tricks with shadows. That would be the
first time for their move. He said as much, and Tsoay nodded eagerly.
They sat with their backs to a boulder, the tree trunk serving as a
screen, and chewed methodically on ration tablets. There was energy and
sustenance in the tasteless squares which would support men, even though
their stomachs continued to demand the satisfaction of fresh meat.

Taking turns, they dozed a little. But the last banners of Topaz' sun
were still in the sky when Travis judged the shadows cover enough. He
had no way of knowing how the stranger was armed. Though he used a horse
for transportation, he might well carry a rifle and the most modern
Terran sidearms.

The Apaches' bows were little use for infighting, but they had their
knives. However, Travis wanted to take the fugitive unharmed if he
could. There was information he must have. So he did not even draw his
knife as