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A tremendously bright, pencil-thin line of flame shot outward, striking some objects nearby. There was a flash. Suddenly it seemed as if the very atmosphere were on fire, burning white-hot, burning and illuminating the Pugeesh, great huge spindly creatures standing on ten incredibly thin legs, with monstrous claws front and rear and large eyestalks that shone like rubies in the center of their round tiny bodies.

The napalm was effective. It struck the leading trio of attackers and clung like glue. There was no sound, but the two forward legs melted like molten plastic and the claws deformed. They retreated hastily, dripping fire.

"To your left!" Joshi shouted. "Something like a cannon!"

Yulin saw it by the flickering light and adjusted a dial on the rifle. The Torshind meanwhile had assembled a second weapon from the pack and shot a random half-moon of burning gelatin behind them, lighting up the surroundings.

Yulin fired again, this time in broad intermittent bursts, at a huge device that did indeed look like a cannon. When it went up, the whole area seemed to be melting.

"My God! They're all over the place!" Yulin screamed. "Get me a new cylinder!"

There was a report of some kind from the right, and a large stone landed near them with a crash and rolled, almost getting the Torshind on the bounce.

Wooley seemed to snap out of whatever trance she was in and grabbed a napalm cylinder, tossing it to Yulin.

Mavra looked around at the eerie scene, trying to see what she could with her poor vision. Napalm at least was the right weapon here; it seemed to set fire to anything it touched. Whenever it landed the stuff melted, burned, and bubbled—and it spread.

The Torshind covered the rear while Yulin zeroed in on a large and complex cannon device that shot huge rocks. He was good with the rifle; the third blob struck, disabling the machine before the Pugeesh manning it could fire again.

And suddenly they were gone. Moving so fast the eye had trouble following, they just faded back into the brush, leaving only the burning remains of eight of their number and the bubbling wreckage of two cannons.

The minotaur was furious and turned on Wooley. "Some guard! They damn near had us!" he snarled.

The Yaxa was slightly bewildered. "I—I don't know what happened," she stammered, the cool self-confident tone of the Yaxa breaking for the first time. "I just seemed to sink into dreaming without even realizing it. I just don't understand it—I never dream, normally."

"Me, too," Mavra put in, furious not only at her own lapse but also because in a battle such as this she had been totally helpless. "It just sank on me like a heavy, irresistible weight."

The Torshind considered this. "I think perhaps there is no blame here. It is entirely possible that the Pugeesh caused those effects to take us off guard. I have heard of such things being done elsewhere."

"Oh, damn!" Mavra swore. "Not another magic hex!"

"Call it what you will," the Torshind replied, "I think we'd better be doubly on guard from now on. How many more cylinders do we have of this stuff? I don't think anything but chemical fire is going to stop them. They appear to be silicon-based."

Yulin, scared and still grumbling, looked into the ammo pouch. "Nine. That's not so good. I don't think we can fight more than two more battles like this."

The Yugash silently agreed. "Let's try diplomacy, then. What have we to lose? Reach over and switch my radio to external amplification, will you?"

Yulin was still too upset, and it was Wooley who made the adjustment.

The Torshind walked to the side of the camp. "Pugeesh!" it called, its voice booming now out into the night. "Pugeesh! We should talk! We are weary travelers, nothing more. We do not threaten you or what is yours. We need only to cross your land to reach the other side! No one else need die, on either side! We ask your permission to continue!"

They waited. There was no reply, but there were no further attacks, either. They settled back for an uneasy