over
your land. And perhaps you could favor me by selling some long-necks to
fill my train again. The brutes I've got left are a little overloaded."

Barra considered. It was not an unusual request, of course. Certain
caravans habitually came through, to do business with the Estates.
Others were often detoured by the northern null and forced to come
through Kira Barra.

Of course, the masters of the caravans were lacklanders, but they had
given little trouble in the past. And this one seemed to be a little
above the average if anything. In his own way, he was a man of
substance, for an owner master was quite different from someone who
merely guided another's train for hire.

The northern null was a menace, Barra thought, but it did have this one
advantage. The regular caravans, of course, passed with the courtesy of
the Estates, doing business on their way. But these others paid and
their pasturage and passage fees added to the income of the Estates.

In this case, the sale of a few draft saurians could be quite
profitable. He shifted the view crystals to allow two-way vision.

"To be sure." He waved a hand. "Direct your train due west to the second
river. Cross that, then follow it southward. I will meet you at the
first village you come to and we can kennel your slaves there and put
your beasts to pasture under my herdsmen. From there, it is a short
distance to the Residence."

"Thank you." Dar Makun nodded again, then turned and waved an arm.
Faintly, Barra caught the command to proceed.

He watched for a few minutes and examined the long train as it moved
over the rolling land and lumbered into a forest. Then he shifted his
scan to continue his inspection of the rest of the lands. It would be
several hours before that caravan could reach Tibara and he could scan
back and note its progress as he wished.

He relaxed in his chair, watching the panorama as the Estates unrolled
before him. Now and then, he halted the steady motion of the scanner, to
examine village or herd closely. Then he nodded in satisfaction and
continued his inspection.

The Estates, he decided, were in overall good condition. Of course,
there were a few corrections he would have to have made in the days to
come, but these could be taken care of after the departure of the
caravan.

There was that grain field over in the Zadabar section, for example.
That headman would have to be straightened out. He smiled grimly. Maybe
it would be wel