And it was clever. It had seen Tyl clearlyand smelled him. Only its pressing hunger had dulled its alertness prior to theencounter. It had recognized the singlesticks as weapons and had avoided them.Still, blows had landed, and they had hurt. The creature thought about it,taming the problem over in its mind as it angled toward the badlands. Thenmenfolk were getting more difficult about their crops. Now they lay in wait,ambushed, attacked, pursued. This last had been quite effective; if the hungerwere not so strong, the area would be best avoided entirely. As it was, betterprotection would have to be devised.

      It entered the badlands where no man couldfollow and slowed to catch its breath. It picked up a branch, curling stubbymottled digits around it tightly. The forelimb was angular, the claws wide andflat-less effective as a weapon than as supplementary protection for the tipsof the calloused fingers. It wrestled the stick around, finding comfortablepurchase, imitating the stance of the man in the cornfield. It banged the woodagainst a tree, liking the feel of the impact: It banged harder, and the dry,rotted branch - shattered, releasing a stunned grub. The creature quicklypounced on this, squashing it dead and licking the squirting juices with gusto,forgetting the useless stick. But it had learned something.

      Next time it foraged, it would take alonga stick.

      CHAPTER TWO

      The Master of Empire pondered the messagefrom Tyl of Two Weapons. Tyl had not written the note himself, of course, forhe like most of the nomadic leaders was illiterate. But his smart wife Tyla,like many of the empire women, had taken up the art with enthusiasm, and wasnow a fair hand at the written language.