I didn't
believe I'd given myself away as an Earthman. The bully was using the
time-dishonored tactic of stirring up a riot in a hurry, but just the
same I looked quickly round, hunting a path of escape.
"Put your skean in his guts, Spilkar! Grab him!"
"Hai-ai! Earthman! _Hai-ai!_"
It was the last cry that made me panic. Through the sultry glare at the
end of the street, I could see the plumed, taloned figures of the
Ya-men, gliding through the banners of smoke. The crowd melted open.
I didn't stop to reflect on the fact--suddenly very obvious--that Rakhal
couldn't have been at the fires at all, and that my informant had led me
into an open trap, a nest of Ya-men already inside Charin. The crowd
edged back and muttered, and suddenly I made my choice. I whirled,
snatched up the girl in my arms and ran straight toward the advancing
figures of the Ya-men.
Nobody followed me. I even heard a choked shout that sounded like a
warning. I heard the yelping shrieks of the Ya-men grow to a wild howl,
and at the last minute, when their stiff rustling plumes loomed only a
few yards away, I dived sidewise into an alley, stumbled on some rubbish
and spilled the girl down.
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