Astounding British Edition, Vol. 6, No. 8 — page 62: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

| oe ee - ee “ie we ae x uo his bow from the sharp thorns. He was almost decided to leave it there—here, with the trees close together and but a narrow passage through the bushes left by the wounded stag, it was a serious encum- brance. But he did not want to lose it. There were things in the woods—some said it was the wild dogs, but why should they do anything so pointless?—that carried off oF ges own purposes any man-fashioned stick. So he pushed on, hampered by the long bow, alert for the frequent bright splashes on leaf and mossy ground. The trail was growing old. Already great fat-bodied flies were feasting on the spilled blood, rising with resentful buzz at his approach, fall- ing back again to their meal after his pass- ing. But he dare not hurry. Even should he keep his rebellious mind from straying from the business on hand, he dare not hurry. A ‘broken leg, a seriously twisted ankle, could well mean his death. By day there were the packs of dogs—although they, as a rule, preferred more open country. And both by day and night there were the tree cats. If he failed to return from this expedition, then Pardi, surely, would attribute his disappearance to the. wrath of ARP. Come orf it! he*thought in the vernacu- lar of his people. Even if the warden is sweet on young Lisa there ain’t no need ter think abaht it orl the time, ter let it put yer orf yer stroke..The main thing ts ter get that ruddy stag afore them ruddy cats gets ’im first! Doggedly, he pushed on. The trail be- came fresher again. There were gouts 0 blood that had not been found by the carrion flies. There were bruised and broken stems with the sap still oozing from the fractured ends. And there was, faint but growing louder, the sound of a heavy body forcing its way through the forest. And this sound suddenly ceased. Enery drew his knife. He pushed on boldly, perhaps a little carelessly. He no- ticed that the undergrowth was thinning, that the trees were now sparsely spaced and somehow sickly, But he failed to draw the obvious conclusion. The dwelling of the Ancients that had once stood there had long vanished. Per- haps the failure of ARP’s protection had let it be swept away like a dead leaf before a gale. Perhaps the infinitely slow, infinitely ruthless strength of growing things had leveled its walls over the course of cen- turies. But although the building itself was gone, the artificial caverns beneath it re- mained. And into these, following his quarry, fell the hunter. It was dark when he recovered con- sciousness. ASTOUNDING SCIENCE FICTION —“> — 7! o>. weet ee PS Mer Se, — < In his nostrils was the scent of death, of once hot blood gone cold and stale. Be- neath him was something soft yet firm, the carcase of the stag. His exploratory hand touched the antlered head. He was briefly thankful that he had not fallen on to those branching, dangerous weapons. _ Right above him was a patch of pale light. Silhouetted against it were the leafy branches of trees, among which glimmered a few dim stars. And there was something scrambling in the aperture, something that uttered a low mewling sound. The hunter fumbled in his pouch. He pulled out his flint and steel. He smote the crude wheel with the palm of his hand. In the light of the sparks the green eyes of the big cat in the opening glowed balefully. Enery could see no more than a dim out- line—but he sensed that it was tensed for a spring. But the tow caught. It smoldered at first and then, after more than a little blowing on the part of the firemaker, burst into flickering flame. The hunter thrust up his crude, feeble torch. He was just in time. The big cat snarled, showing its sharp white teeth. It slashed out and down with a razor- clawed fore paw. It hit the torch, sent scat- tering a shower of sparks, but did not extinguish the flame. It snarled again—and there was something of a scream in the ugly sound. There was a frantic scrabbling of the three uninjured paws as it backed away from the hole. And only a stink of burned fur remained. “May ARP let you be smitten, you mucking, dirty swine!” shouted Enery. He jumped down from the carcass of the stag,. landed. with a Joud crackling, in a pile of dry debris. He tried to drag the stag away from under the opening, but it was too heavy. It was a pity. It meant that much good meat would be spoiled. Working fast—for he heard the cats prowling and crying to each other over- head—he piled the debris high on the body. of the animal. He smote his wheel again with the palm of his hand. This time the tow caught fast and easily. He blew upon the glowing smolder until he had a flame. This he applied to the bonfire that he had built on top of the dead stag. It roared and crackled into flaming life. The smoke and flames rushed up through the opening. A draft of colder air came in from some- where, replacing that lost by convection. There was no danger of suffocation—and the night-prowling cats would never dare a leap dowg through the blaze. . Enery grinned. He was safe for the night, The smell of roasting .venison was savory in his nostrils—he hoped that it would be equally savory in the nostrils of his enemies. He drew his knife and hacked for himself a large steak, impaled it on a Gomicbdooks co