—And Devious the Line of Duty

conspicuously on top of ahill and calmly waited for ten assassins to slaughter him...._

  "It's peaceful and quiet here, isn't it?" Lyla said.

  He had been trying to watch four different directions at once and herealized that the constant swiveling of his neck was causing his stiffblouse collar to slowly cut his throat. And he saw that it was--for themoment, anyway--peaceful and quiet where they sat. The sun was warm andgolden before them, bright flowers sweetly scented the air, and giantrainbow moths were fluttering over them, their tiny voices like thepiping of a thousand fairy flutes.

  "I wish I had been born a country girl," Lyla said. "I'd like to have alife like this, and not--what mine will be."

  He asked the question to which he had to have the answer:

  "Once you were going to marry Val and live on Jardeen, weren't you?"

  "I ... so my foolishness is no longer a secret?"

  "Foolishness?" he asked.

  "We met two years ago when I was attending the Fine Arts university onJardeen. I was younger and a lot more naive then than I am now. Ithought we were desperately in love and would get married as soon as Ifinished school and would live happily ever after, and all that."

  "And it didn't turn out that way?"

  "I had to make that promise to Daddy and when I wrote to Val about it,he seemed to approve. He didn't suggest I renounce the proxy marriagewhen the time was up, or anything. He just wrote that I knew what Iwanted to do. He seemed relieved to be free to go ahead with hispolitical career."

  "I see," he said, and then, "you don't feel bad about it, do you, Lyla?"

  "Feel bad? I wouldn't marry Val Boran if he was the last man on Vesta!Even Lord Narf isn't as self-centered as _he_ is!"

  "You don't have to marry Narf either," he said. "You know that."

  She looked down at the ground and said in a dead voice, "I made apromise."

  "Rockford told me that your father never really knew Narf--that on thefew times they met, Narf put on the act of being a refined gentleman,very respectful toward the king's daughter."

  She did not answer and he said, "Is that the way it was?"

  "Yes. That's the way it was. But how could I tell Daddy, as he laydying?"

  "You couldn't, Lyla. But if your father could be here today and knowwhat you know about Narf, do you think he would want you to marry him?"

  "No ... I guess not. But Lord Narf loves me in his own way, I think--andthat's more than anyone else does."

  Then her tone changed and she said, "I'm so glad that you're here today,Dale--I'm glad that there is someone who cares at least a little aboutwhat happens to me."

  On her face was a poignant longing for someone to love and comfort her.It seemed to him, now beyond any doubt, that there could never beanything for him in his career but loneliness. How different the warmlove of Lyla would be from the cold austerity of the military and itsendless succession of weapons and killing--

  * * * * *

  He moved, to sit beside her and put his arm around her shoulders."Lyla," he said, "I want to tell you--"

  "_Dale...._" The word was a despairing sob as her composure broke andshe held tightly to him, crying, her voice coming muffled as she pressedher face against his chest. "Help me, Dale! How can I marry thatsadistic beast when it's someone else I can't live without--and hedoesn't even know I love him!"

  "But he does!" He hugged her closer, "He does know, and he loves youeven more than you love him."

  "Are you sure?" She raised a tear-stained face, hope like sunshinethrough clouds on it. "Are you really sure Val loves me, after all?"

  "_Val?_"

  The revelation was like the stunning concussion shock of a blaster beampassing two inches overhead. His vision blurred and there was a hideousroaring in his ears. She was still holding to him for comfort and itseemed to him that was wrong--he should be clinging to her forsupport....

  "_Dale_ ... what's the matter?"

  "But I thought--" He swallowed with difficulty. "I thought you meantthat I was the--"

  Something struck the top of his head; this time, for certain, theconcussion shock of a blaster beam passing close above it. There was avicious crack as the beam split the tree beyond, then a crash andexplosion of wood fragments as a second beam followed the first.

  He rolled from the log; taking Lyla with him. The arrow bushes shieldedthem briefly, long enough for them to reach the temporary safety of asmall swale.

  "Dale!" Her dark eyes were wide with puzzled surprise and one small footwas bare from the loss of a sandal. "Someone shot at us!"

  He thought, _So Narf got his pictures, after all_.

  "Rootenant!" Alonzo came running. "They are _that_ way--awr spread outto be sure to kirr you."

  Alonzo motioned with his nose, a movement that seemed to cover all thehigh ground beyond them. At least, the enemy was not between them andcamp. Not yet.

  A distant shout came, an order from Narf to his men:

  "_All of you--down that ridge! Get between Hunter and camp!_"

  "_It's him!_" Her fingers gripped his arm. "He wants them to kill you!"

  They had fired from a distance too great for his own blaster. He couldnot defy them from where he now stood.

  "I'll have to try to get within range of them," he said. "I'll goback--"

  "_No!_" Her grip on his arm tightened. "Don't leave me, Dale--don't lethim find me here."

  He looked down the length of the swale. At its lower end the ghost treeforest began, dense and concealing--but all down the length of the swalethe snarevines lay in thick, viciously barbed entanglements, overlying abed of sharp rocks and boulders. She could never get to the safety ofthe ghost trees in time.

  Narf had his pictures, now. What would he do to her in the insanity ofhis hatred and triumph when he reached her?

  "All right, Lyla," he said. "I'll see that you get to the trees--"

  * * * * * * * * *

  There was a crashing of explosions and debris leaped skyward behind themand along both sides of the swale. The firing continued, scattered butvery effectively consistent, and he said as he drew his blaster, "Iguess they don't want us to go away."

  He set the regulator of the blaster at lowest intensity so that the beamwould not clip dangerous flying fragments from the boulders. The green,tough vines disintegrated reluctantly while the precious minutes spedby; while the unhindered assassins would be hurrying to the point wherethe entire swale would be visible to them and under their fire.

  Alonzo was following along near the top of the swale's side, ignoringthe danger as he watched the progress of the enemy and reported it toHunter: "Now they are halfway, Rootenant, hurrying faster--"

  They reached the lower end of the swale. The last of the vinesdisintegrated and the ghost tree forest lay before them.

  He touched her cheek in farewell. "Get on to camp, as fast as you canrun."

  The firing abruptly ceased as he spoke. There was an ominous silence.Alonzo came running, his tone almost a yelp in its urgency:

  "They are awrmost where they can see us! We got to get her out of here,Rootenant--awrfur quick!"

  * * * * *

  "_Lyla!_"

  It was the voice of Val, sharp with concern for her. He came running outof the ghost trees, all his cold impassiveness gone. "Are you hurt,Honey--are you hurt?"

  "_You came for me!_" She whispered the words, her face radiant. Then sheran to meet him, her arms outstretched, crying, "_Val ... oh, Val...._"

  Their arms went around each other.

  Then the woods erupted as ten blasters laid down a barrage to block anyescape to camp.

  "I'll try to give you a chance to get through," Hunter said quickly."Be ready for it when it comes."

  He ran toward the firing line, taking advantage of the concealmentafforded by the first fringe of ghost trees. They should be almostwithin range of his own weapon, now--

  Again, the
firing abruptly ceased, as though by some signal. There camethe furious raving of Narf:

  "_It's that Boran she wants! Kill him, too!_"

  Sonig cursed with bitter rage. "_Jardeen is lost to Verdam if anywitness escapes--and we'll all hang, besides._"

  There was a second of silence, and then Narf's command:

  "_Kill the woman, too!_"

  There was a roar like thunder as the firing began. The ground trembledand debris filled the air with flying fragments. Hunter, still runningtoward the enemy under cover of the trees, saw Val trying to get Lyla tosafety and