undertook the journey reassured
him. Or the presence of the "dog" that he felt rather than saw. The trip
was a long one, but not too uncomfortable.

The regular motion of the animal and his fatigue overcame Jason and he
dozed into a fitful sleep, waking with a start each time he slumped
forward. In the end he slept sitting up in the saddle. Hours passed this
way, until he opened his eyes and saw a square of light before them. The
trip was over.

His legs were stiff and galled with saddle sores. After his feet were
untied getting down was an effort, and he almost fell. A door opened
and Jason went in. It took his eyes some moments to get used to the
light, until he could make out the form of a man on the bed before him.

[Illustration]

"Come over here and sit down." The voice was full and strong, accustomed
to command. The body was that of an invalid. A blanket covered him to
the waist, above that the flesh was sickly white, spotted with red
nodules, and hung loosely over the bones. There seemed to be nothing
left of the man except skin and skeleton.

"Not very nice," the man on the bed said, "but I've grown used to it."
His tone changed abruptly. "Naxa said you were from off-world. Is that
true?"

Jason nodded yes, and his answer stirred the living skeleton to life.
The head lifted from the pillow and the red-rimmed eyes sought his with
a desperate intensity.

"My name is Rhes and I'm a ... grubber. Will you help me?"

Jason wondered at the intensity of Rhes' question, all out of proportion
to the simple content of its meaning. Yet he could see no reason to give
anything other than the first and obvious answer that sprang to his
lips.

"Of course I'll help you, in whatever way I can. As long as it involves
no injury to anyone else. What do you want?"

The sick man's head had fallen back limply, exhausted, as Jason talked.
But the fire still burned in the eyes.

"Feel assured ... I want to injure no others," Rhes said. "Quite the
opposite. As you see I am suffering from a disease that our remedies
will not stop. Within a few more days I will be dead. Now I have
seen ... the city people ... using a device, they press it over a
wound or an animal bite. Do you have one of these machines?"

"That sounds like a description of the medikit." Jason touched the
button at his waist that dropped the medikit into his hand. "I have mine
here. It analyzes and treats most ..."

"Would you use it on me?" Rhes broke in