From fifteen feet away, he launched himself through the air, his outstretched hands ready to kill. But Stanton's marvelous neuromuscular system was already in action. At this stage of the game, it would be utter suicide to let the Nipe get in close. Stanton couldn't fend off eight grasping hands with his own two. He leaped to one side, and the Nipe got his first surprise in ten years when Stanton's fist slammed against the side of his snouted head, knocking him in the direction opposite that in which Stanton had moved. The Nipe landed, turned, and charged back toward the man. This time he reared up, using his two rearmost pairs of limbs for locomotion, while the two forward pairs were held out, ready to kill. He got surprise number two when Stanton's fist landed on the tip of his rather sensitive snout, rocking his head back. His own hands met nothing but air, and by the time he had recovered from the blow, Stanton was well back, out of the way. _He's so small!_ Stanton thought wonderingly. Even when he reared up, the Nipe's head was only three feet above the concrete floor. The Nipe came in again--more cautiously this time. Stanton punched again with a straight right. The Nipe moved his head aside, and Stanton's knuckles merely grazed the side of the alien's head, just below the lower right eye. At the same time, one of the Nipe's hands swung in in a chopping right hook that took Stanton just below the ribs. Stanton leaped back with a gasp of pain. The Nipe didn't use fists. He used his open hand, fingers together, like a judo fighter. The Nipe came forward, and, as Stanton danced back, the Nipe made a grab for his ankle, almost catching it. There were too many hands to watch! Stanton had two advantages: weight and reach. His arms were almost half again as long as the Nipe's. Against that, the Nipe had all those hands; and with his low center of gravity and four-footed stance, it would be hard to knock him down. On the other hand, if Stanton lost his footing, the fight would be over fast. Stanton lunged suddenly forward and planted a left in the Nipe's right upper eye, then followed it with a right uppercut to the Nipe's jaw as his head snapped back. The Nipe's four hands cut inward from the sides like sword blades, but they found no target. Backing away, Stanton realized he had another advantage. The Nipe couldn't throw a straight jab! His shoulders--if that's what they should be called--were narrow and the upper arm bones weren't articulated properly for such a blow. The alien could throw a mean hook, but he had to get in close to deliver it. On the other side of the coin was the fact that the Nipe knew plenty about human anatomy--from the bones out. Stanton's knowledge of Nipe anatomy was almost totally superficial. He wished he knew if and where the Nipe had a solar plexus. He would like to punch something soft for a change.