Free Savages of Gor by John Norman Page B

gray light of the morning. The huge shield and spear we had discarded in the marshes. The less evidence of such things about the better, we speculated, for men.
    "Do you think you should have gone with them?" asked Samos.
    "No," I said.
    "It could, of course," said Samos, "have been a portion of their plan that if Zarendargar had been successfully destroyed, they might then turn on you."
    "Yes," I said, "or I on them."
    "That possibility would not be unlikely to occur to such creatures," said Samos.
    "No," I said.
    "You do not feel you should have gone with them," said Samos.
    "No," I said.
    "What do you think they will do now?" asked Samos.
    "They will go to the Barrens," I said.
    "They will hunt Zarendargar," said Samos.
    "Of course," I said.
    "Do you think they will attempt to enlist the aid of men?" asked Samos.
    "Doubtless," I said.
    "It is easy for me to understand why they came first to us," said Samos.
    "Of course," I said. "Our aid might prove invaluable. Too, they would expect us to be as eager, as zealous, as they, to bring about the destruction of Zarendargar. The venture, presumably, would be one which would be in our common interest, one in which we could find a mutual profit."
    "It would also be easier for them, to approach us than many men," said Samos, "for, from our wars, such as they, and their nature and intelligence, are not unknown to us."
    "That is true," I said.
    "They will have difficulty recruiting efficient aid," said Samos, "for few white men are allowed to tread the Barrens, and those who are permitted to, encroach upon their fringes are normally permitted to do so only for purposes of trade."
    "I think it is fair to assume," I said, "that they do not have an agent in the Barrens. If they had had such an agent then it is unlikely they would have approached us in the first place. Similarly the Barrens would seem to be an unlikely, desolate and profitless place in which to have placed an agent."
    "They must obtain new recruits," said Samos.
    "That seems likely," I said.
    "We have their translator," said Samos.
    "That is unimportant," I said. "Doubtless they have another among their stores."
    "What of the red savages themselves?" asked Samos.
    "Few red savages live outside of the Barrens," I said, "and those who do would presumably be as unfamiliar with them as would be anyone else in their circumstances."
    "What of the red savages of the Barrens?" asked Samos.
    "Such would have to be approached at their own risk," I said. "From the hide we saw that the mounted hunters were apparently preparing to charge Zarendargar when they were interrupted by the man's attack."
    "But the translator," said Samos.
    "A bewildering complexity of tribal languages is spoken in the Barrens," I said," most of them unintelligible to native speakers of the others. I find it hard to believe that their translators would be prepared to deal with any one of those languages, let along several of them."
    "Zarendargar is then perhaps safe," said Samos.
    "Not at all," I said. "Kurii are tenacious. With or without human aid we may be sure that they will not rest until they have found their quarry."
    "Zarendargar, then, is doomed," said Samos.
    "Perhaps," I said.
    I glanced again outside the barge, through the now-opened slats of the small window.
    On a gently inclined slope of cement leading down to the canal, the water lapping at her knees, there knelt a slave girl doing laundry. She wore her steel collar. Her tunic came high on her thighs. It is thought desirable for a female slave to work long hours at menial tasks. I smiled to myself. It is pleasant to own a woman, absolutely, in the Gorean fashion.
    "It is your belief, then," said Samos, "that the skin is genuine."
    "Yes," I said, "and from what I know of the red savages, I would conjecture that this skin is from the very beast whose image is portrayed upon it."
    "Ai," said Samos. "Perhaps!"
    "I think it is more than likely," I said.
    "I pity Zarendargar," said Samos.
    "He would