e effects of
the drug. I knew that I had to get out of that cabin. Somehow I dragged
myself out of the bunk and got a porthole open. I crawled through it and
dropped to the floor of the barn.

There were some loose boards and I pried them further apart and crawled
out into the open. I no longer knew what I was doing; I no longer
remembered Beth. I only knew that I had to run and keep on running.

* * * * *

My broken rib was stabbing into me like a knife. Across my chest the
limb of the tree was a dead weight that crushed me. But now I knew who I
was and what I was doing.

Despite the agony I managed to get my hands under the limb. I pushed up
and felt it move. The pressure on my chest was gone. Inch by inch I slid
out from beneath the huge branch. I staggered to my feet.

How much time had elapsed I didn't know. I was running again, but now I
was running toward the dark barn. It wouldn't have taken Ristal long to
get started. Maybe by now Beth was.... I shut the thought from my mind.

I was a few hundred yards away when the first scream came. Through the
wind and the pelting rain it came, and it chilled me more than they had
done.

My chest was aflame with every panting breath I took. But I ran as I had
never run before. I had to get there before she screamed again. I had to
stop them from doing this to her.

The barn door was locked. I got my fingers under the edge and ripped the
wood away from the lock and went on through and into the ship.

None of them saw me coming. Copperd was tied in a chair, his face
contorted and tears streaming down his face. Three of the men held Beth
while Ristal and Kresh worked over her. The rest were watching.

They hadn't taken my _del_ gun from me. But I couldn't use it for fear
of hitting Beth. I had it out of my pocket and in my hand as I charged
across the room.

* * * * *

My rush brought me into point-blank range on a line parallel with Beth's
prostrate figure. At the same time her torturers wheeled about to face
me, trapped for an instant in the paralysis of complete surprise. Ristal
was the first to recover.

"Drop the gun, Marko," he said.

In my weakened condition, habit governed my reflexes. I almost obeyed
the order. Then Ristal took a single step forward and I swung the muzzle
of the gun upward again.

"You almost had me," I said. "But you are no longer in command. You and
Kresh will return as