he had
given to men bigger than he, and he had finally killed a man with his
fists.

Chief Samas had given him Special Punishment for that, and a final
warning that the next fight would be punished by death.

Anketam didn't know whether it was that threat, or the emotional
reaction Jacovik had suffered from killing a man, or simply that he had
had some sense beaten into his head, but from that moment on Jacovik was
a different man. He had changed from a thug into a determined, ambitious
man. In twenty-two years, he had not used his fists except to discipline
one of his crew, and that had only happened four times that Anketam knew
of. Jacovik had shown that he had ability as well as strength, that he
could control men by words as well as by force, and The Chief had made
him a supervisor. He had proved himself worthy of the job; next to
Anketam, he was the best supervisor in the barony.

Anketam had a great deal of respect for the little, wide-shouldered,
barrel-chested man who stood there looking at the scars on the backs of
his hands.

Jacovik turned his hands over and looked at the calloused palms. "How do
we know? Maybe the Council of Chiefs has given up. Maybe they've
authorized the President to surrender. After all, we're not fighters;
we're farmers. The invaders outnumber us. They've got us cut off by a
blockade, to keep us from sending out the harvest. They've got machines
and weapons." He looked up suddenly, his bright blue eyes looking
straight into Anketam's. "How do we know?"

Anketam's grin was hard. "Look, Jac; the invaders have said that they
intend to smash our whole society, haven't they? Haven't they?"

Jacovik nodded.

"And they want to break up the baronies--take everything away from the
Chiefs--force us farmers to give up the security we've worked all our
lives for. That's what they've said, isn't it?"

Jacovik nodded again.

"Well, then," Anketam continued remorselessly, "do you think the Chiefs
would give up easily? Are they going to simply smile and shake hands
with the invaders and say: 'Go ahead, take all our property, reduce us
to poverty, smash the whole civilization we've built up, destroy the
security and peace of mind of millions of human beings, and then send
your troops in to rule us by martial law.' Are they going to do that?
Are they?"

Jacovik spread his big, hard hands. "I don't know. I'm not a Chief. I
don't know how their minds work. Do you? Maybe they'll think surrender