called, finishing the one he held.

"Coming up, Earthman."

The beer arrived and he took a sip. Training? The hell with it, he thought happily. He was going to get himself completely stewed tonight. Live high, die young, and have a good-looking corpse.

Or maybe it would be better simply to get aboard a spaceship and try to get away. Maybe the Interstellar Police would never find him.

He shook his head dismally. That wouldn't work, either. Nothing would work.

If only he'd had some practice fighting a Dornellian!

He reached out for his beer, not noticing that someone had taken the vacant seat next to him. His elbow collided with a glass. The glass tipped, pouring a green, bubbling liquor all over the Dornellian sitting next to him.

"Stupid Earthman!" snapped the Dornellian contemptuously. "A clumsy beast like you shouldn't be allowed to enter a public place!"

With one hairy paw, the Dornellian shoved against Larry's shoulder, intending to push him off the bar stool.

Larry moved back, more in astonishment than anything else. He hadn't known that Dornellians had any particular prejudice against Earthmen, but there was unmistakable racial hatred in the alien's voice. He put out his hand to the bar and stopped himself from falling off the stool.

"What's the idea of that?" Larry growled. "That was an accident, and—"

"Are you trying to argue with me? Here is the rest of the drink!" The Dornellian laughed and heaved the remaining contents of the glass in Larry's face.

A blinding tide of red fury washed over Larry. Without thinking, reacting purely by instinct, he lashed out at the Dornellian.

His fist didn't contact; it was blocked by the heavy forearm of his opponent. A hand raked out at Larry, a hand with six fingers, each of which was tipped with long, cutting talons. Larry moved his head aside barely in time. The talons raked across his cheek, drawing blood. If he hadn't ducked, the cut would have ripped his throat open.

The Dornellian's other hand slashed out. Larry blocked it with his own arm and sent a hard left to the midsection of the eight-foot monster.

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