job," the commander said. "Try to pick some of the
most intelligent looking ones for questioning--I can't believe these
cattle sent that message and they're going to tell us who did. And pick
some young, strong ones for the medical staff to examine--ones that
won't curl up and die after the first few cuts of the knife."

"We'll chain these three first," Narth said. He lifted his hand in an
imperious gesture to Humbolt and the other two and ordered in accented
Terran: "Come here!"

No one moved and he said again, sharply, _"Come here!"_

Again no one moved and the minor officer beside Narth said, "Apparently
they can't even understand Terran now."

"Then we'll give them some action they can understand," Narth snapped,
his face flushing with irritation. "We'll drag them out by their heels!"

The Gerns advanced purposefully, three of them holstering their blasters
to make their chains ready. When they had passed under the canopy and
could not be seen from the ship Humbolt spoke:

"All right, Jimmy."

The Gerns froze in midstride, suspicion flashing across their faces.

"Look up on the roof," he said in Gern.

They looked, and the suspicion became gaping dismay.

"You can be our prisoners or you can be corpses," he said. "We don't
care which."

The urgent hiss of Narth's command broke their indecision:

_"Kill them!"_

Six of them tried to obey, bringing up their blasters in movements that
seemed curiously heavy and slow, as though the gravity of Ragnarok had
turned their arms to wood. Three of them almost lifted their blasters
high enough to fire at the steps in front of them before arrows went
through their throats. The other three did not get that far.

Narth and the remaining six went rigidly motionless and he said to them:

"Drop your blasters--quick!"

Their blasters thumped to the ground and Jimmy Stevens and his bowmen
slid off the roof. Within a minute the Gerns were bound with their own
chains, but for the officer, and the blasters were in the hands of the
Ragnarok men.

Jimmy looked down the row of Gerns and shook his head. "So these are
Gerns?" he said. "It was like trapping a band of woods goats."

"Young ones," Schroeder amended. "And almost as dangerous."

Narth's face flushed at the words and his eyes went to the ship. The
sight of it seemed to restore his courage and his lips drew back in a
snarl.

"You fools--you stupid, megalomaniac dung-heaps--do you think you can
kill Gerns and