The guisel recovered more quickly than I had anticipated. But I swungand lopped off half its head, which seemed to divide itself into tissue-thinimages which then flew away in every direction.

"Caloo! Callay!" I cried, swinging again and removing a long section oftissue from its right side, which repeated the phenomenon of the ghostingand the flight. It came on again and I cut again. Another chunk departedfrom its twisting body in the same fashion. Whenever its writhing took itnear a wall, I intervened with my body and sword, driving it back toward thecenter and hacking at or slicing it.

Again and again it came on or flipped toward the wall. Each time myresponse was similar. But it did not die. I fought it til but a tip of itswrithing tail moved before me.

"Kergma," I said then, "we've sent most of it down infinite lines. Now,can you revise the equation? Then I'll find sufficient mass with the spikardto allow you to create another guisel for me--one that will return to thesender of this one and regard that person as prey."

_"I think so,"_ Kergma said. _"I take it you left that final piece forthe new one to eat?"_

"Yes, that was my thinking."

And so it was done. When the walls came down, the new guisel--black,its stripes red and yellow--was rubbing against my ankles like a cat. Thesinging stopped.

"Go and seek the hidden one," I said, "and return the message."

It raced off, passing a curve and vanishing.

"What have you done?" Rhanda asked me. So I told her.

"The hidden one will now consider you the most dangerous of hisrivals," she said, "if he lives. Probably he will increase his effortsagainst you, in subtlety as well as violence."

"Good," I said. "That is my hope. I'd like to force a confrontation. Hewill probably not feel safe in your world now either, never knowing when a