20. To Kooaad

I watched Nurn as he crossed the deck and ascended the companionway leading to the captain's quarters. If the captain could be persuaded to trust me, here was such an opportunity to enter Kooaad as might never come to me again. I knew from the course that the Nojo Ganja was holding that she was paralleling the coast of Vepaja, but too far off shore for the land to be visible. At least I was confident that such was true. I really could not know it, as one could know nothing for certain about his position on one of these Amtorian seas unless he were in sight of land.

As I stood by the rail waiting for Nurn to return, I saw Folar come on deck. His expression was black as a thunder cloud. He came directly toward me. A man near me said, "Look out, fellow! He's going to kill you." Then I saw that Folar carried one hand behind him and that his pistol holster was empty. I didn't wait then to see what he was going to do or when he was going to do it. I knew. I whipped out my own gun just as he raised his. We fired simultaneously. I could feel the r-rays pinging past my ear; then I saw Folar slump to the deck. Instantly a crowd surrounded me.

"You'll go overboard for this," said a man.

"It won't be as easy as that," said another, "but in the end you'll go overboard."

An officer who had witnessed the affair came running down from the upper deck house. He pushed his way through the crowd of sailors to me.

"So you're trying to live up to your name, are you, fellow?" he demanded.

"Folar was trying to kill him," spoke a sailor.

"And after he'd spared Folar's life," said another.

"Folar had a right to kill any member of the crew he wanted to kill," snapped the officer. "You mistals know that as well as I do. Take this fellow up to the captain and throw Folar overboard.

So I was taken up to the captain's quarters. He was still talking with Nurn as I entered. "Here he is now," said Nurn.

"Come in," said the captain, rather decently; "I want to talk with you."

The officer who had accompanied me looked rather surprised at the captain's seemingly friendly manner. "This man has just killed Folar," he blurted.

Nurn and the captain looked at me in astonishment "What difference does it make?" I asked. "He wasn't any good to you, anyway, and he was just about to kill the only man who can pilot you to Vepaja and get into the city of Kooaad for you. You ought to thank me for killing him."

The captain looked up at the officer. "Why did he kill him?" he asked.

The officer told the story quite fairly, I thought; and the captain listened without comment until he had concluded; then he shrugged.

"Folar," he said, "was a mistal. Someone should have