But before his men could move, the Eysie champion bounded forward, his
net whirling out. Only he never reached the Captain. In the very act of
falling Jellico had pulled his legs under him so that he was not supine
but crouched, and his net swept but at ground level, clipping the I-S man
about the shins, entangling his feet so that he crashed heavily to the
sod and lay still.
"The whip--that Lalox whip trick!" Wilcox's voice rose triumphantly above
the babble of the crowd. Using his net as if it had been a thong, Jellico
had brought down the Eysie with a move the other had not foreseen.
Breathing hard, sweat running down his shoulders and making tracks
through the powdery red dust which streaked him, Jellico got to his feet
and walked over to the I-S champion who had not moved or made a sound
since his fall. The Captain went down on one knee to examine him.
"Kill! Kill!" That was the Salariki, all their instinctive savagery
aroused.
But Jellico spoke to Groft. "By our customs we do not kill the conquered.
Let his friends bear him hence." He took the claw knife the Eysie still
clutched in his hand and thrust it into his own belt.
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