Dancer of Gor

I had heard something of the Silver War when I was in Argentum. Sheila, the Tatrix, said to be as beautiful as she was proud and ruthless, had apparently escaped for a time but, later, had been caught in Ar, actually, and amusingly, and doubtless to her shame and humiliation, by a professional slave hunter. She had been put in a golden sack and taken back to Corcyrus to stand trial. Her final disposition was as follows: she became the property of the man who had taken her, the professional slave hunter.

"They broke from their confinements in the confusion, in the taking of the city?" said the leader.

" I do not think they were confined," said the small fellow.

"They were kept as pets?" said the leader, awed.

"No," said the small fellow.

"I did not understand," said the leader.

"I was encamped not far from Corcyrus," said the small fellow. "I had come there hoping to make cheap purchase of valuable loot, from the soldiers. These things came to my camp. They had smelled food, I think. I threw them my food, in terror. That was where I first met them. Before that I had not even known there were such things."

"They have been with you since?" asked the leader.

"Yes," said the small fellow.

"Look!" said one of the men, pointing to the beast.

At his exclamation the beast, curious, looked up at him.

He stepped back.

The paw of the beast was wrapped about the strings of one of the fallen men" s wallets. It then jerked it from the belt, breaking the thongs. Then, watching the men, it similarly relieved the second body of its wallet.

"You have trained it to steal," said the leader, startled, awed.

The beast then opened the wallets and poured the contents into its paw. There it moved the coins about, in the palm of one broad paw, by means of a digit on the other paw. It was dexterous, for so large a beast. Those were clearly sophisticated prehensile appendages.

I watched this with horror.

The beast then poured the coins back in one of the wallets, and threw it to the blanket, before the small fellow.

"They find me of value," said the small fellow. "As you can imagine it would be difficult for them to enter a town, go to the market and purchase goods." "I do not understand," said the leader, white-faced. "These things are animals, beasts!"

"Yes," said the small fellow.

"It is hard to believe that such things were pets in Corcyrus."

"They were not pets," said the small fellow.

"I do not understand," said the man.

"They were allies," said the small fellow.

"Who is captain here?" asked the leader, frightened.

At his point the beast rose from behind the bodies. It was some eight feet, or so, in height. It must have weighed eight or nine hundred pounds. Fangs protruded from the sides of its jaw. It had a double ring of teeth. Its mouth, jaws, now, were red with blood. It wiped them with the back of one of its long arms. It looked at the leader of the men. "I am captain," it said. "Spare us," begged the leader. "Take our coins! Leave us our lives!" He then removed his walled and tossed it, hastily, timidly, onto the blanket, beside the other wallet, that which contained the coins from the two fallen men. His remaining two men did so, as well.

"No, no," said the small fellow. "You do not understand. We mean you no harm. It was you who did not intend to deal fairly. We now have the meat which we needed, though I would surely have preferred another form of it. He took only what we all knew had been agreed upon. He was merely exacting his due. Similarly, we want only the five silver tarsks for each of these women."

"We do not want them," said the leader.

"Do not be silly," said the small fellow. He then, crouching, down by the blanket, took the leader" s wallet and removed several coins from it. He put these in small piles on the blanket. There were five such piles. Each contained five silver tarsks. He then handed the leader back the wallet. The other two men, too, retrieved their wallets. "The other money, of course, from those two fellows," said the small fellow, "is forfeit."

"Of course," said the leader.

I think they all wished to turn and run.

"Do not be afraid," said the small fellow. "He will not hurt you. He is friendly."