do--and we've got to do it quick!"

His eyes swept the room, looking among the sparse furnishings for
something they might be able to use as a weapon. He saw nothing, but
the sight of the lump on the neck of a nearby slave gave him an idea.

"I wonder if these slaves would fight for us if we removed the lumps
from their necks," he said musingly, his eyes narrow. "I wish there
were some way to talk to them...."

* * * * *

He looked from one to another of the animal-men making a circle about
them, wondering what to do; then quickly he made his decision. "Jim,
I'm going to try. It'll have to be done by signs; I've got to make
them understand, and get their permission."

At once he raised his hand to get the slaves' attention; then, raising
both fists high in the air, he shook them violently, at the same time
gritting his teeth, working his face, and growling in animal anger at
something overhead. He was trying to show the slaves his anger at
Xantra, above.

The slaves fell away from him in surprise and alarm, not understanding
what he was trying to put across. He continued his demonstration,
hopping about furiously, but still without result. Then Jim cried out:

"Touch the place on your neck!"

Clee did so, and the result was startling. Quickly there ran around
the circle throaty growls of anger, and every slave raised a hand to
the lump on its neck. Evidently they had all felt the awful
punishment-pain of their master.

Heartened by this, Clee extended his pantomime. Stopping his
demonstration of anger, he put one finger on the wound on his neck and
fell to the floor, writhing in simulated pain. As he lay there
groaning, the easily aroused animal-men moaned with him in sympathy.
Then Jim, inspired, stepped into the act. Taking out his nailfile, he
bent over the prostrate Clee and pretended to cut into his neck,
making a great show of removing something and throwing it away; and as
he did so Clee jumped to his feet and grinned and hopped about the
room in a wildly exaggerated affectation of joy and relief. Then he
stopped his acting and carefully showed the slaves the wounds in his
and Jim's necks, by finger movements doing his best to make it clear
that they had removed something from there.

And then, taking no chances, he repeated the whole pantomime, Jim, at
the proper place, acting his part as before.

* * * * *

When at last he stopped and