He wished he knew if and where the Nipe had a solar plexus. He would like to punch something soft for a change. Instead, he tried for another eye. He danced in, jabbed and danced out again, The Nipe had ducked again, taking it on the side of his head. Then the Nipe came in low, at an angle, trying for the groin. For his troubles, he got a knee in the jaw that staggered him badly. One grasping hand clutched at Stanton's right thigh and grasped hard. Stanton swung his fist down like a pendulum and knocked the arm aside. But there was a slight limp in his movement as he back-pedaled away from the Nipe. That full-handed pinch had hurt! Stanton was angry now, with the hot, controlled anger of a fighting man. He stepped in and slammed two fast, hard jabs into the point of the Nipe's snout, jarring the monster backwards. This time, it was the Nipe who scuttled backwards. Stanton moved in to press his advantage and landed a beaut on the Nipe's lower left eye. Then he tried a body blow. It wasn't too successful. The alien had an endoskeleton, but he also had a hide that was like somewhat leathery chitin. He pulled back, out of the way of the Nipe's judo cuts. His fists were beginning to hurt, and his leg was paining him badly where the Nipe had clamped on to it. And his ribs-- And then he realized that, so far, the Nipe had only landed one blow! _One punch and one pinch,_ he thought with a touch of awe. _The only other damage he's inflicted has been to my knuckles!_ The Nipe charged in again, then he leaped suddenly and clawed for Stanton's face with his first pair of hands. The second and third pairs chopped in toward the man's body. The last pair propelled him off the floor. Stanton stepped back and let him have a right just below the jaw, where his throat would have been if he'd been human. The Nipe arced backwards in a half-somersault and landed flat on his back. Stanton backed up a little more, waiting, while the Nipe wriggled feebly for a moment. _The Marquis of Queensbury should have lived to see this,_ he thought. The Nipe rolled over and crouched on all eight limbs. His violet eyes watched Stanton, but the man could read no expression on that inhuman face. "_You did not kill._" For a moment, Stanton found it hard to believe that the hissing, guttural voice had come from the crouching monster. "_You did not even_ try _to kill._" "I have no wish to kill you," Stanton said evenly. "_I can see that. Do you ... Are you...._" He stopped, as if baffled. "_There are not the proper words. Do you follow the Customs?_" Stanton felt a surge of triumph. This was what George Yoritomo had guessed might happen! "If I must kill you," he said carefully, "I, myself, will do the honors. You will not go uneaten." The Nipe sagged a little, relaxing all over. "_I had hoped it was so. It was the only thinkable thing. I saw you on the television, and it was only thinkable that you came for me._"