Free Savages of Gor by John Norman

be intolerable," said Kog.
    "I see," I said.
    "Was evidence submitted in support of Zarendargar?" I asked.
    "In a case of this sort, evidence against the court is inadmissible," said Kog.
    "I see," I said. "Who, then," I asked, "spoke on behalf of Zarendargar?"
    "It is wrong to speak on behalf of a criminal,'' said Kog.
    "I understand," I said.
    "Due process of law, as you may see," said Kog, "was strictly observed."
    "Thank you," I said, "my mind is now satisfactorily relieved on the matter."
    Kog's lips drew back over his fangs.
    "Even so," I asked, "was the vote unanimous?"
    "Unanimity constitutes an impediment to the pursuit of expeditious and efficient justice," said Kog.
    "Was the vote unanimous?" I asked.
    "No," said Kog.
    "Was the vote close?" I asked.
    "Why do you ask?" asked Kog.
    "I am curious," I said.
    "Yes," said Kog, "interestingly, it was."
    "Thank you," I said. I knew there were factions among these creatures. I had learned this, clearly, in the Tahari. Too, I suspected some of the council, even if they were not of the party of Zarendargar, would have recognized his value to the steel worlds. He was doubtless one of the finest of their generals.
    "There is no division here," I said, "between the political and the judicial."
    "All law exists to serve the interests of the dominant powers," said Kog. "Our institutions secure this arrangement, facilitate it and, not unimportantly, acknowledge it. Our institutions are, thus, less dishonest and hypocritical than those of groups which pretend to deny the fundamental nature of social order. Law which is not a weapon and a wall is madness."
    "How do we know that you are truly appointed to fulfill the edict of the council?" I asked.
    "Do you doubt the word of one who is of the Peoples?" asked Kog.
    "Not really," I said. "I was just curious about your credentials."
    "You could not read them if we displayed them," said Kog.
    "That is true," I said. I was truly amazed at the patience, which the creatures exhibited. I knew they were short-tempered, even with their own kind. Yet Samos and I had not been attacked. They must need something desperately.
    "I swear to you on the rings of Sardak," said Kog, putting his paw on the two rings of reddish alloy on the left wrist Of Sardak.
    "That is good enough for me," I said, magnanimously. I had not the least idea, of course, of the significance of this gesture on the part of Kog, but I gathered, under the circumstances, that its import must be rather weighty. Sardak was, I was sure, Kog's Blood, or leader. If Kog swore falsely I gathered that it would then be up to Sardak to kill him. Sardak, however, did not move.
    "You are doubtless who you say you are," I admitted.
    "Even if we were not," said Kog, "we could still do business."
    "Business?" I asked.
    "Surely," said Kog. "We are met here in the interest of our mutual profit."
    "I do not understand," I said.
    "Zarendargar is a dangerous enemy to human beings," said Kog.
    "He is a proven foe of Priest-Kings. He is your enemy. How fortunate, then, that we may conjoin our efforts in this matter. What a rare, welcome and felicitous coincidence do we here encounter. It is in your interest to have Zarendargar killed, and it is our business to kill him. Let us, thus, pool our forces in this common enterprise."
    "Why do you wish our help in this matter?" I asked.
    "Zarendargar is in the Barrens," said Kog. "This is a large and perilous country. It teems with red savages. To enter such a country and find him it seems to us useful to enlist the help of human beings, creatures of a sort which the red savages will understand to be of their own kind, creatures with whom they might be expected, for a price, to be cooperative. They are superb trackers, you must understand, and may find the search stimulating. Too, they may wish to rid their country of something as dangerous as Zarendargar."
    "They would hunt him down like an animal, and slay him?" I asked.
    "Presumably," said Kog. "And, humans,