Knife drew back two paces, breathing heavily, holding the ax.
“I do not want to fight you,” said Spear.
“I am first,” said Knife.
“No,” said Spear. Then he turned away. He dropped the ax to one side and crouched again beside the meat. He gripped the flint knife to again begin the cutting. His head was down.
Brenda screamed.
Again the ax fell, without warning. Spear looked up only in time to move his head to one side. The blow of the stone tore downward at the side of his head, stopped in the shoulder; Brenda saw, sickeningly, in that instant, skin sheared to the bone at the side of Spear’s head, bone at the side of his jaw; then there was only blood at the side of his face, and his eyes, suddenly like those of the maddened cave bear, burned and prodded, and be cried out, leaping across the meat and seized Knife, throwing him a dozen feet away against the stone, wrenching away the ax; four times he struck the dazed, reeling Knife, twice in the back, once on the left arm, once on the leg, until Knife screamed and tore at the dirt, unable to run or lift himself. The men sat impassive, watching. William and Gunther stood to one side. The women, crouching, some standing, alert, frightened, too, watched.
Spear stood over the fallen Knife. His eyes were red with the madness of beasts. He was covered with his own blood, and the ax he lifted was stained with both that of himself and Knife. The handle of the ax was as thick as a girl’s ankle; its head was as large as the doubled fists of a large man; it was fastened to the haft by strips of rawhide more than an inch in width; the ax was more than a yard in length; it was a hunting and killing ax; not a simple tool.
Knife looked up. His left arm and leg were broken. He tried to shield himself with his right arm.
“Kill him,” said Short Leg.
But then Spear lowered his ax, and dropped it to one side. “I am first,” he said to Knife.
“Yes,” said Knife. “You are first.”
“I do not want to fight you,” said Spear. He went then to the meat and, with his own blood running down his shoulder and arm, cut the meat, throwing the first pieces to the children. There was no word in the language of the men for a man’s son, though there was a word for the child of a woman. If there had been such a word, Spear would have said to Knife, “You are my son.”
Spear was still cutting meat when Brenda saw Gunther lift his rifle and point it at him.
“Do not shoot,” cried Brenda.
Spear looked up, his face bloody and terrible. He regarded the weapon with equanimity. But he knew its power. Gunther had seen to that. It had been Gunther who had, yesterday, felled a deer on which the Men had made feast, a clean shot, dropping the animal to its knees and side, from more than three hundred yards.
“Tell him,” said Gunther, “that I am now, leader here.”
Brenda turned white. “No,” she said. Then she translated his words into the language of the Men.
The Men did not seem surprised.
“Tell them there is no meat for them,” said Spear.
Brenda translated.
Annoyance crossed Gunther’s features. “He does not understand,” said he to Hamilton. “Make it clear to him that I, and William, are now leaders here.” His gun was leveled at Spear.
“He has much power,” said Brenda to Spear. “We know his bow is very powerful. He claims leadership. If you resist, he may kill.” Then she said to Gunther. “You are a fool. These men could kill you. You need them. You cannot watch all the time. Do not repay their hospitality with treachery. You cannot be successful.”
“This is obviously the time for us to assume leadership,” said Gunther. “I gather a struggle for dominance has just occurred. This savage at the meat is clearly leader. It now remains only to depose him. I have no wish to kill him. He might. be useful. Tell him that if he cooperates no one will come to harm.” Gunther smiled. “It is all very simple.”
“Beware, Spear,” said Brenda. “His weapon is powerful. He does not wish to kill, only to rule. He is dangerous. He says that if we do as he says, no one will come to harm.”
“I cut meat first,” said Spear.
“He says it is he who is leader here,” said Brenda.
“I am leader,” said Gunther.
“He says,” said Hamilton, “it is he who cuts meat first.”
“Go,” said Spear to William and Gunther. Hamilton translated.
Gunther, furious, stood up, the rifle leveled at Spear. He moved the hammer back.
“Yield to him!” cried out Hamilton to Spear. She looked from face to face. The Men did not seem perturbed. “Do you not understand?” asked Hamilton. “He can kill. His bow can kill! Yield, or he will kill you!”
“Tell them to leave our camp,” said Spear.
Hamilton, in tears, translated. “I gather,” said Gunther, “it will be necessary to kill one man. It is unfortunate, but these are harsh times. I had thought his intelligence greater than it apparently is. He saw the gun kill yesterday. Surely he understands it can kill today as well. He is either stupid, or deficient in his fondness for life.”
Suddenly Hamilton was startled. Suddenly she understood. It had been Gunther’s mistake to show the Men the power of his weapon. The men were not fools. Slowly she said, “Gunther, this man who cuts meat first is neither stupid nor is he deficient in his fondness for life.”
“Go,” said Spear to Gunther and William.
Gunther looked puzzled. Then his face turned white. Swiftly he jerked the weapon open. “Wilhelm!” he said.
William examined his weapon.
“Go,” said Spear, in the language of the Men. “There is no meat for you.”
Hamilton translated. Then she added, “Take your lives and go!,.
Gunther examined the Luger swiftly. Angrily he thrust it back in his holster. He looked at William. William dropped his own pistol back in its holster. He shook his head. He seemed numb. Gunther’s eyes were terrible upon Hamilton.
“I know nothing!” wept Hamilton. “I know nothing!”
“Traitress!” cried Gunther.
“We will die without ammunition,” said William, numbly.
“I know nothing of it!” wept Hamilton.
The Men rose to their feet. Gunther and William backed away. “We will die without ammunition,” said William.
“Go back to your own time!” said Hamilton. “Go back!”
William looked at her. “We can’t,” he said. “It is not an experiment! Retrieval is impossible! Herjellsen forced us into the chamber, at gunpoint! It was a misunderstanding! He overheard Gunther speaking to me of political and military applications of the translation device: It was only speculative, theoretical. We had no intention of exploiting the device! Herjellsen didn’t understand. He has exiled us, Brenda, as much as you! He transmitted our gear and weapons after us! We are prisoners here as much as you, marooned, banished, as you are!”
Hamilton was stunned.
“Herjellsen is insane!” moaned William.
“There are clear political and military applications of the technique,” said Gunther. “Herjellsen is not insane. He is only a fool. With the device he could command the world.”
Cloud brought forth the gear of William and Gunther, and threw it to their feet. They looked down at it.
“You must go,” said Brenda.
They did not omit to notice that it was a female who had brought their things, and threw them to their feet.
“Tell him,” said Gunther, nodding at Spear, “that we will take two females with us.” He gestured at Flower and herself.
“He says,” said Hamilton to Spear, “that he will take Flower and Turtle with him when he goes.”
Spear responded. Hamilton, shoulders back, faced Gunther. Her head was high. “Flower and I,” she said, “belong to the Men. We are theirs, not yours.”
“Give us our bullets,” said Gunther. “We will go.”