pulling Baj, who sat in one Radio Flyer wagon, and Sej, who sat in the other. Both had the huge heads and tiny, wise eyes of hydrocephalic savants, but Sej was equipped with waving stubs of arms while Baj had none. Both were now foaming at the mouth and making hoarse gagging sounds.
"Help me!" Dani managed, coughing harder than ever.
"Help me, someone, before they choke!"
Dinky saw her and started in that direction. Trampas restrained him, although it was clear his heart wasn't in it. "No,
Dink," he said. His tone was apologetic but firm. "Let someone else do it. Boss wants to talk to-"
Then Brautigan was there again, face pale, mouth a single stitched line in his lower face. "Let him go, Trampas. I like you, dog, but you don't want to get in our business today."
"Ted? What-"
Dink started toward Dani again. Trampas pulled him back again. Beyond them, Baj fainted and tumbled headfirst from his wagon. Although he landed on the soft grass, his head made a dreadful rotten splitting sound, and Dani Rostov shrieked.
Dinky lunged for her. Trampas yanked him back once more, and hard. At the same time he pulled the.38 Colt Woodsman he was wearing in his own docker's clutch.
There was no more time to reason with him. Ted Brautigan hadn't thrown the mind-spear since using it against the walletthief in Akron, back in 1935; hadn't even used it when the low men took him prisoner again in the Bridgeport, Connecticut, of 1960, although he'd been sorely tempted. He had promised himself he'd never use it again, and he certainly didn't want to throw it at
(smile when you say that)
Trampas, who had always treated him decently. But he had to get to the south end of the compound before order was restored, and he meant to have Dinky with him when he arrived.
Also, he was furious. Poor little Baj, who always had a smile for anyone and everyone!
He concentrated and felt a sick pain rip through his head.
The mind-spear flew. Trampas let go of Dinky and gave Ted a look of unbelieving reproach that Ted would remember to the end of his life. Then Trampas grabbed the sides of his head like a man with the worst Excedrin Headache in the universe, and fell dead on the grass with his throat swollen and his tongue sticking out of his mouth.
"Come on!" Ted cried, and grabbed Dinky's arm. Prentiss was looking away for the time being, thank God, distracted by another explosion.
"ButDani...andSej!"
"She can get Sej!" Sending the rest of it mentally:
(now that she doesn't have to pull Baj too)
Ted and Dinky fled while behind them Pimli Prentiss turned, looked unbelievingly at Trampas, and bawled for them to stop-to stop in the name of the Crimson King.
Finli O'Tego unlimbered his own gun, but before he could fire, Daneeka Rostov was on him, biting and scratching. She weighed almost nothing, but for a moment he was so surprised to be attacked from this unexpected quarter that she almost bowled him over. He curled a strong, furry arm around her neck and threw her aside, but by then Ted and Dinky were almost out of range, cutting to the left side of Warden's House and disappearing into the smoke.
Finli steadied his pistol in both hands, took in a breath, held it, and squeezed off a single shot. Blood flew from the old man's arm; Finli heard him cry out and saw him swerve. Then the young pup grabbed the old cur and they cut around the corner of the house.
"I'm coming for you!" Finli bellowed after them. "Yar I am, and when I catch you, I'll make you wish you were never born!"
But the threat felt horribly empty, somehow.
Now the entire population of Algul Siento-Breakers, taheen, hurae guards, can-toi with bloody red spots glaring on their foreheads like third eyes-was in tidal motion, flowing south. And Finli saw something he really did not like at all: the Breakers and only the Breakers were moving that way with their arms raised. If there were more harriers down there, they'd have no trouble at all telling which ones to shoot, would they?
And-
In his room on the third floor of Corbett Hall, still on his knees at the foot of his glass-covered bed, coughing on the smoke rfiat was drifting in through his broken window, Sheemie Ruiz had his revelation... or was spoken to by his imagination, take your pick. In either case, he leaped to his feet. His eyes, normally friendly but always