ickly
brought his gun into firing position.

Barrent flung himself to the ground and pressed the trigger of his
unfamiliar weapon. He felt it vibrate in his hand, and saw the Hadji's
head and shoulders turn black and begin to crumble. Before he could take
aim at the other men, Barrent's gun was wrenched violently from his
hand. The Hadji's dying shot had creased the end of the muzzle.

Desperately Barrent dived for the gun, knowing he could never reach it
in time. His skin pricked in expectation of the killing shot. He rolled
to his gun, still miraculously alive, and took aim at the nearest
Hadji.

Just in time, he checked himself from firing. The Hadjis had holstered
their weapons. One of them was saying, "Poor old Draken. He simply could
not learn to take quick aim."

"Lack of practice," the other man said. "Draken never spent much time on
the firing range."

"Well, if you ask me, it's a very good object lesson. One mustn't get
out of practice."

"And," the other man said, "one mustn't underestimate even a peon." He
looked at Barrent. "Nice shooting, fellow."

"Yes, very nice indeed," the other man said. "It's difficult to fire a
handgun accurately while in motion."

Barrent got to his feet shakily, still holding the girl's weapon,
prepared to fire at the first suspicious movement from the Hadjis. But
they weren't moving suspiciously. They seemed to regard the entire
incident as closed.

"What happens now?" Barrent asked.

"Nothing," one of the Hadjis said. "On Landing Day, one kill is all that
any man or hunting party is allowed. After that, you're out of the
hunt."

"It's really a very unimportant holiday," the other man said. "Not like
the Games or the Lottery."

"All that remains for you to do," the first man said, "is to go to the
Registration Office and collect your inheritance."

"My _what_?"

"Your inheritance," the Hadji said patiently. "You're entitled to the
entire estate of your victim. In Draken's case, I'm sorry to say, it
doesn't amount to very much."

"He never was a good businessman," the other said sadly. "Still, it'll
give you a little something to start life with. And since you've made an
authorized kill--even though a highly unusual one--you move upward in
status. You become a Free Citizen."

People had come back into the streets, and shopkeepers were unlocking
their steel shutters. A truck marked BODY DISPOSAL UNIT 5 drove up, and
four uniformed men took away Draken's body.