then, as quickly as he had come, wolf was gone. he slipped back through the crowd, into the door of the tailor shop. seconds later, joseph carroll was there, one side of his gray farmer's tunic turning brown-black from the blood that soaked it.
"come on!" carroll snapped, running for the back.
"what about the others?"
"gone," said the old man shortly. "all of them." he dashed out the door of the tailor shop into the back and wolf followed him.
"daimya!" wolf shouted.
"she's waiting for us in the foothills."
the sound of the crowd and the blasting of hand guns was loud behind them as they began their dash across the checkered fields. for a few moments, nothing followed. then wolf heard a faint shout behind them, and a huge gout of dirt erupted from the field beside him, almost knocking him down.
he regained his balance and started to run low, crouched and zig-zagging while the tiny explosive pellets pocked the field around him. it seemed an eternity before they had crossed the field, but he knew it was not more than a couple of minutes.
joseph carroll was ahead of him, already beginning to tear through the scrub growth of the foothills, making his way up. just as he entered the undergrowth, wolf saw the old man joined by a smaller, slighter figure.
there was a roar in his ears, and he fell, a searing pain across his back. numbly, he realized he'd been hit, but somehow it didn't seem important. he picked himself up and followed carroll into the scrub. soon he was out of sight of their pursuers, though the explosions of their weapons still followed them with uncanny accuracy.
he caught up with the old man and his daughter in a small clearing. carroll lay with his head cradled in daimya's lap, gasping for breath.
"we've got to go on," wolf said. "come on, i'll help."
"you're hurt!" the girl said.
"not badly. come on, we've got to get your father out of here!"
the old man put his arms around the shoulders of the other two, and they struggled up the hill, breaking their way through the brush, slipping, sometimes falling. behind them, there was still the occasional sound of the explosive pellets, and infrequently, one came very near.
"close," muttered wolf as an explosion showered them with dirt. "they're on the path now."
they went a few steps farther, and joseph slumped between them.
"dad!" called daimya. "please! please try to go on!"
wolfs hand slid down the old man's back, came away warm and wet.
he was silent for a moment, then gently lowered the suddenly limp body to the ground.
"come on," he said to daimya. the girl was standing over the inert form of her father, not understanding what had happened, words of encouragement still on her lips.
"dad?" she said, bewildered.
wolf took her arm. "daimya, he's gone. come on."
"no—dad—" she knelt beside him on the ground.
"sorry, daimya," wolf said under his breath. he swung, hitting her cleanly behind the head. the girl collapsed soundlessly, and he slung her over his shoulder and started on up the hill.
finally, he cleared the crest. just beyond it, lying in a tiny meadow lay the black, unmarked shuttle ship. as he came in view, the port opened and a man ran toward him. wolf stumbled, caught his balance, went on.
"here," said the crewman, "let me take her."
silently, out of fatigue, wolf relinquished his load and stumbled toward the port. it slid shut behind them, just in time to keep them from being covered with dirt blown from a hole that suddenly appeared a yard behind. wolf caught a glimpse of men appearing at the crest.
inside the ship, he could hear the thud and clang of the explosive cartridges detonating uselessly against the permalloy hull. then the drives roared their song of power, and the shuttle lifted clear.
