sphere. He would admit Jonner to equality in those supplies—not full equality, for he could provision himself now more fully than Jonner had been provisioned two Ceres days earlier. He still might pin Jonner down as Jonner tried to get to the sphere for more supplies.

Then Kraag's remaining advantage lay in the guns. They should be enough. If he could get close enough to use a heat-gun, he could blast Jonner. Jonner's own projectile weapon would keep Jonner out of rock-throwing range, and sooner or later he would hit Jonner with it. He couldn't keep on missing; the law of average would give him a hit sooner or later. And all he needed was just one....

Kraag provisioned his spacesuit and hung all three of the heat-guns at his belt. In one of the capacious outside pockets he put two spare flashlights and half a dozen of the extra fuel packets—What was it Jonner had called them? Magazines, that was it—for Jonner's projectile pistol. He took that pistol in his right hand and sallied forth to do battle.

Jonner was nowhere in sight. Kraag shut the outer lock to make it appear he might be still in the sphere if Jonner happened not to spot him. He went over to Stein's new grave.

Jonner had written on the stone: REST IN PEACE. R. STEIN MURDERED BY A. KRAAG. DEC. 12, 2057.

Angrily, Kraag burned the lettering off in a 30-second blast with his heat-gun that left the face of Stein's gravestone cherry red.

He turned to survey the terrain, and saw Jonner. The captain was crouched half a mile away, apparently writing more on a flat rock or on the ground itself.

Jonner was facing him, but his head was down and he hadn't seen Kraag. If Kraag fired the projectile pistol, he probably would miss and might warn Jonner with the shot. He was sure of his accuracy with a heat-gun. Kraag took a heat-gun in his left hand and ran toward Jonner.

Possibly the vibration of the ground warned Jonner. He looked up, jumped to his feet and fled. As soon as he could stop and get his feet planted firmly on the ground, Kraag fired the projectile pistol after him. He was still shooting low and to one side.

Kraag picked himself up from the ground, where the backlash of the weapon had knocked him, and went up to the spot where Jonner had been writing. A mathematical problem had been scratched on the surface with a sharp rock. Kraag had interrupted Jonner in the 

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