ng to happen, it will happen tonight."

I debated speaking to him about Cuinn's signals. No, I had my own
business waiting for me in Shainsa. Why mix myself up in some other,
private intrigue?

He said, "I'm putting you and Cuinn on watch again. The old men doze
off, and the young fellows get to daydreaming or fooling around. That's
all right most of the time, but I want someone who'll keep his eyes open
tonight. Did you ever know Cuinn before this?"

"Never set eyes on him."

"Funny, I had the notion--" He shrugged, turned away, then stopped.

"Don't think twice about rousing the camp if there's any disturbance.
Better a false alarm than an ambush that catches us all in our blankets.
If it came to a fight, we might be in a bad way. We all carry skeans,
but I don't think there's a shocker in the whole camp, let alone a gun.
You don't have one by any chance?"

After the men had turned in, Cuinn patrolling the camp, halted a minute
beside me and cocked his head toward the rustling forest.

"What's going on in there?"

"Who knows? Catmen on the prowl, probably, thinking the horses would
make a good meal, or maybe that we would."

"Think it will come to a fight?"

"I wouldn't know."

He surveyed me for a moment without speaking. "And if it did?"

"We'd fight." Then I sucked in my breath, for Cuinn had spoken Terran
Standard, and I, without thinking had answered in the same language. He
grinned, showing white teeth filed to a point.

"I thought so!"

I seized his shoulder and demanded roughly, "And what are you going to
do about it?"

"That depends on you," he answered, "and what you want in Shainsa. Tell
me the truth. What were you doing in the Terran Zone?" He gave me no
chance to answer. "You know who Kyral is, don't you?"

"A trader," I said, "who pays my wages and minds his own affairs." I
moved backward, hand on my skean, braced for a sudden rush. He made no
aggressive motion, however.

"Kyral told me you'd been asking questions about Rakhal Sensar," he
said. "Clever. Now I, for one, could have told you he'd never set eyes
on Rakhal. I--"

He broke off, hearing a noise in the forest, a long eerie howl. I
muttered, "If you've brought them down on us--"

He shook his head urgently. "I had to take that chance, to get word to
the others. It won't work. Where's the girl?"

I hardly heard him. I was hearing twigs snap, and silent sneaking feet.
I turned for a yell that would rouse the camp and Cuinn