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Kickaha was missing. So, it would have been he that had fallen over into the stream. It also
would have been he who'd dropped the Horn into it. She guessed that he must have threatened to throw
it in if the others didn't allow her to get out of the channel again.
Then they'd rushed him, and he'd released it and gone into the stream after it. Either on his own
volition, which didn't seem likely, or he had been pushed into it.
She could see no sign of him.
He was under the surface somewhere, either drowned or fighting.
She found it difficult to believe that he was dead. He'd come through so much, fought so hard,
been so wily. He was of the stuff of survival.
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Still, all men and women must die sometime.
No, she wouldn't allow herself to give up hope for him. But even if he were still struggling, he
would by now have been swept out of sight.
The only thing to do was to follow the channel to its end and hope that she'd run across him
somewhere along it.
Red Ore was by now running away. He was going at full speed in the opposite direction. McKay
had run after him but had stopped. Evidently, he either couldn't catch him or Urthona had called him
back. Whatever had happened, the two were now trotting toward her. She had the Horn, and they
wanted it.
She started trotting, too. After a while she was panting, but she kept on and her second wind
came. If she stayed by the channel, she couldn't lose them. They'd keep going, though they had no
chance with her headstart of catching her. Not until utter fatigue forced her to sleep. If they somehow
could keep on going, they'd find her.
She believed that she had as much endurance as they. They'd have to lie down and rest, too,
perhaps before she did. But if they pushed themselves, rose earlier from sleep, then they might come
across her while she slept.
As long as she followed the channel, she couldn't lose them, ever. But across the plains, in the
mountains, she might. Then she could cut back to the channel.
There was a chance, also, that she could get lost, especially when the landmarks kept changing.
She'd have to risk that.
She turned and started across the plain. Now they would angle across, reducing the lead she
had. Too bad. Though she felt the urge to break into a run, she resisted it. As long as she could keep
ahead, out of range of the beamer, she'd be all right.
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It was difficult to estimate distances in this air, which was so clear because of the almost-total
lack of dust and of this light. She thought the nearest of the mountains was about five miles away. Even
with the speed with which landscape changed around here, it would still be a respectably sized mountain
by the time she got there.
Between her and her goal were groves of the ambulatory trees. None were so large that she
couldn't go around them. There were also herds of grazing antelopes and gazelles. A herd of elephants
was about a half a mile away, trotting toward the nearest grove. To her right, in the other direction, some
of the giant moosoids were nearing another group of plants. She caught a glimpse of two lions a quarter
of a mile away. They were using a grove as cover while sneaking up on some antelopes.
Far in the distance was the tiny figure of a moa. It didn't seem to be chasing anything, but her line
of flight would lead her near to it. She changed it, heading for the other end of the base of the mountain.
She looked to her left. The two men were running now. Evidently they hoped to put on a burst of
speed and make her run until she dropped.
She stepped up her pace but she did not sprint. She could maintain this pace for quite a while.
Seldom in her many thousands of years of life had she gotten out of shape. She had developed a wind
and an endurance that would have surprised an Olympic marathoner. Whatever her physical potential
was, she had realized it to the full. Now she'd find out what its limits were.
One mile. Two miles. She was sweating, but while she wasn't exactly breathing easy, she knew
she had a lot of reserve wind. Her legs weren't leaden yet. She felt that she could reach the mountain and
still have plenty of strength left. Her uncle was a strong man, but he was heavier, and he'd probably
indulged himself on Earth. Any fat he'd had had been melted by their ordeal here, where food hadn't been
plentiful. But she doubted that he'd kept himself in tiptop condition on Earth.
The black man was powerfully built, but he wasn't the long-distance runner type. In fact, sparing
a look back, she could see that he'd dropped behind Urthona. Not that her uncle had gained any on her.
The case and its contents, however, did weigh about four pounds. Needing every advantage she
could get, she decided to get rid of some of it. She slowed down while she undid the clasps, removed the
Horn, and dropped the case. Now, carrying the instrument in one hand, she increased her speed. In ten
minutes, Urthona had lost fifty yards. McKay was even further behind his boss now.
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Another mile. Now she was wishing she could abandon the throwing axe and the knife. But that
was out. She'd need both weapons when it came to a showdown. Not to mention that even if she got
away from them, she had to consider the predators. A knife and an axe weren't much against a lion, but
they could wound, perhaps discourage it.
Another half a mile. She looked back. Urthona was half a mile away. McKay was behind
Urthona by a quarter of a mile. Both had slowed considerably. They were trotting steadily, but they didn't
have a chance of catching her. However, as long as they kept her in sight, they wouldn't stop.
The lions had disappeared around the other side of the trees. These were moving slowly along,
headed for the channel. The wind was blowing toward them, carrying molecules of water to their sensors.
When they got to the channel they would draw up along it in a row and extend their tentacles into the
water to suck it up.
The antelopes and gazelles stopped eating as she approached, watched her for a moment, their
heads up, black eyes bright, then bounded away as one. But they only moved to what they considered a
safe distance and resumed grazing.
Anana was in the center of antelopes, with tall straight horns which abruptly curved at the tips,
when they stampeded. She stopped and then crouched as big black-and-brown-checkered bodies
leaped over her or thundered by. She was sure that she hadn't caused the panic. The antelopes had
regarded her as not dangerous but something it was better not to let get too close.
Then she heard a roar, and she saw a flash of brownish-yellow after a half-grown antelope.
One lion had shot out of the trees after the young beast. The other was racing along parallel with
its mate. It was somewhat smaller and faster. As the male cut off to one side, the female bent its path
slightly inward. The prey had turned to its left to get away from the big male, then saw the other cat
angling toward it. It turned away from the new peril and so lost some ground.
The male roared and frightened the antelope into changing its direction of flight again. The female [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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