go. It kept him captive in the
narrow angle of the cliff until the Hunters came.

They brought Barrent back to Tetrahyde, where a wildly applauding crowd
gave him a hero's welcome. After a two-hour procession, Barrent and four
other survivors were taken to the office of the Awards Committee. The
Chairman made a short and moving speech about the skill and courage each
had shown in surviving the Hunt. He gave each of them the rank of Hadji,
and presented them with the tiny golden earrings which showed their
status.

At the end of the ceremony, the Chairman wished each of the new Hadjis
an easy death in the Games.

Chapter Eighteen

Guards led Barrent from the office of the Awards Committee. He was
brought past a row of dungeons under the Arena, and locked into a cell.
The guards told him to be patient; the Games had already begun, and his
turn would come soon.

There were nine men crammed into a cell which had been built to hold
three. Most of them sat or sprawled in complete and silent apathy,
already resigned to their deaths. But one of them was definitely not
resigned. He pushed his way to the front of the cell as Barrent entered.

"Joe!"

The little credit thief grinned at him. "A sad place to meet, Will."

"What happened to you?"

"Politics," Joe said. "It's a dangerous business on Omega, especially
during the time of the Games. I thought I was safe. But ..." He shrugged
his shoulders. "I was selected for the Games this morning."

"Is there any chance of getting out of it?"

"There's a chance," Joe said. "I told your girl about you, so perhaps
her friends can do something. As for me, I'm expecting a reprieve."

"Is that possible?" Barrent asked.

"Anything is possible. It's better not to hope for it, though."

"What are the Games like?" Barrent asked.

"They're the sort of thing you'd expect," Joe said. "Man-to-man combats,
battles against various types of Omegan flora and fauna, needlebeam and
heatgun duels. It's all copied from an old Earth festival, I'm told."

"And if anyone survives," Barrent said, "they're beyond the law."

"That's right."

"But what does it mean to be beyond the law?"

"I don't know," Joe said. "Nobody seems to know much about that. All I
could find out is, survivors of the Games are taken by The Black One.
It's not supposed to be pleasant."

"I can understand that. Very little on Omega _is_ pleasant."

"It isn't a bad place," Joe said. "You just haven't the p