hunger had so far failed to weaken him, and he was covering the ground at two hundred miles an hour before the little vehicle had picked up a tenth of that speed.
At the last moment, it seemed to be aware of him. There was a wash of mental shock and confusion. Then his snout hit the car in a sideswipe that tossed it fifty feet to land on its back. He lumbered forward to squash it, then hesitated. An opening had appeared and two of the tiny humans were staggering out. One was supporting the other. At sight of him, both stopped in shock. For a second, they stood rooted to the ground. Then the larger one began a clumsy effort at running, half carrying the other. Blood left a trail behind them.
Arnek could have squashed them with a single thrust of his leg. But he stood irresolutely, observing the garments and headgear they wore, remembering his youth and a gulla draped with a ribbon and bells. They were heading for the rocks nearest them, a long way from where the first two had found refuge. For a second, he felt impelled to turn them and drive them toward the others.
Then a wave of amusement from Ptarra checked him. "They'd never reach that far," she called. "They can't survive the crash of their vehicle. Let them go."This time Ptarra showed no amusement. Her great head shook in puzzlement. "About one time in ten thousand a crazy male hunch comes true," she muttered. "Intuition! It's against all logic. But there are only manual controls here. Where _are_ those silly creatures?"

The two that had arrived last were pitifully exposed, just within an opening in the rocks. It was a shallow space, hopeless to defend. The smaller one lay supine, but the larger human faced the two silths, holding his pitiful weapon, and waited grimly until they were almost within reach. This time the explosive pellets were aimed for their eyes.

Ptarra dropped her eyelids, swearing as the missiles stung. She reached in with a short foreleg. There was a single shrill cry and the sound of the weapon striking against a rock; the low band was suddenly quiet. Arnek heard a soft gulp. When he looked, the larger human was gone.

A sudden shock ran through Ptarra's thoughts. Her great eyes blinked and a huge tongue ran over her lips. "Nerve fiber!" Her shout covered the entire spectrum. "Arnek, there are pounds of nerve fiber in the creature! High grade--better than that in these silth forms. As good as that in any silth. Here, give me the other."

She didn't wait for Arnek's help, however. She dragged the corpse out and began working as delicately as the silth body would permit. Her mental signals 

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