hed six, Ekbar dismissed the others and bade them
follow him.

Half an hour after leaving the main body darkness came down upon the
seven Ammadian warriors, blacking out their immediate surroundings.
Unconsciously they moved closer together and their voices stilled. The
jungle was unfamiliar territory to most of them and a place where death
might lay behind each bush along the way.

Presently they detected a wavering glow filtering through the trees
ahead, and Ekbar warned them in a low voice to proceed with added
caution. A little later he motioned them to a halt and went on ahead,
his body crouched, his spear and knife ready for action.

He reappeared almost immediately. "They have made a dry camp in a small
clearing just around a bend of the trail," he whispered. "Follow me and
let not so much as a blade of grass bend under your feet!"

Like disembodied wraiths the seven members of Vokal's palace guard crept
among the towering trees to one side of the trail. With slow stealth
they worked their way forward until they lay, side by side among the
thick undergrowth at the clearing's edge. Trained ears would have marked
their passage long before they reached that position, but the ears of
the five sentries on duty were no keener than those of the average
Ammadian.

Most of the camp lay sleeping behind barricades of burning branches,
their huddled shapes beneath sleeping furs visible by light of
flickering flames. The sentries were pacing to and fro, stopping
occasionally to pass a remark or two among themselves. The only sounds
came from the crackling wood of the fires and, very distant, the hunting
squall of a leopard.

Ekbar's eyes, a bit keener than those of his companions, noticed
something. "Look!" he whispered. "Several in a row of sleepers nearest
us have bandages on their heads. Yes, and one of the sentries is
carrying his arm in a sling. They've come through a fight of some kind
recently."

Otar, who had been peering intently at the five sentries, voiced a
muffled explanation.

"Your scouts were wrong, Ekbar!" he said, his voice rising to its normal
volume. "These men are----"

A savage hand about his neck choked off his words. "Quiet, you fool!"
whispered Ekbar, his fingers tightening their hold.

One of the watch had lifted his head and was staring intently in their
direction. After a long moment he shrugged slightly and busied himself
with adding branches to the fire. Only then did Ekbar release h