In the morning they ate again. It had beena long time since the boy had two such easy meals in succession. It was acondition he could learn to like.

      The man then conveyed him to a stream andwashed them both. He applied ointments from his pack to the assorted bruisesand scratches on the boy's body, and replaced the uncured animal skins with anoversize shirt and pantaloons. After this disgusting process they resumed thejourney toward the mancamp.

      The boy shrugged and chafed under theawful clothing. He thought once more of bolting for freedom, before beingtaken, entirely out of his home territory, but a grunted warning changed hismind. And the fact was that the man, apart from his peculiarities of dress andurination, was not a harsh captor. He did not punish without provocation, andeven showed gruff kindness.

      About the middle of the day the man's paceslowed. He seemed weary or sleepy, despite his enormous muscles and stamina. Hebegan to stagger. He stopped and disgorged his breakfast, and the boy wonderedwhether this was another civilized ritual. Then he sat down on the ground andlooked unhappy.

      The boy watched for a time, When the mandid not rise, the boy began to walk away. Unchallenged, he ran swiftly back theway they had come. He was free!

      About a mile away be stopped and threw offthe fettering man clothing. Then be paused. He knew what was wrong with thegiant. The man was not immune to the hot places; he simply hadn't been aware ofthem, so had exposed himself recklessly. Now he was coming down with the sickness.

      The boy had learned about this, too, thehard way. He had been burned, and had become weak, and vomited, and felt likedying. But he had survived, and after that his skin had been sensitized, andwhenever he approached a hot area he felt the burn immediately. His brothers,lacking the skin patches that set him apart, had had no such ability, and diedgruesomely. He had also discovered certain leaves that cooled his skinsomewhat, and the juices of certain fringe-plant stems eased his stomach of suchsickness. But he never ventured voluntarily into the hot sections. His skinalways warned him off in time, and he took the other medicines purely asprecautionary procedure.