Thurman looked surprised. "What's the matter, Bill?" he asked. William Karsten sighed. "I think I used to know him." "Oh," Thurman said. And then he frowned. "You're sure it's not just because he's so small that you're giving him up?" he questioned. "No. Quite sure. I think he was one of my professors back in college." "Oh, well, then," Thurman said. He put his gun to his shoulder and took careful aim. "Shoot for the body, Tom," Karsten whispered to him. "Don't want to spoil the head." Thurman pulled the trigger. The explosion split the quiet air apart and cast the pieces of silence as echoes up and down the little canyon. * * * * * "Good shot!" Karsten told his companion. "Nice and clean." Thurman smiled. "Thank you," he said. And then, "Too bad you had to give him up." Shrugging his shoulders, Karsten said, "Well, that's the way of things. I don't remember him too well, but I think he taught me anthropology. Old Mac something-or-other. I forget his name." The two men started walking back towards the entrance to the canyon. "I suppose that I could have taken him anyway," Karsten said as they walked. "But I've never considered it good taste to shoot someone whom I've known." "I know how you feel," Thurman told him. "It sort of ... well ... ruins the sport, if you know what I mean," Karsten said. "Sure," replied Thurman. They went quietly through the narrow little pass, stopping on the other side. Thurman lit a cigarette and leaned back against a rock to rest. Karsten put a star shell into his rifle, pointed it towards the sky, and fired. They both watched as it burst into a gaudy blossom of fire and smoke far above them. "That ought to bring Emmett on the run," Karsten said. "He can clean things up and leave a marker. The plane will pick up the body later today." Thurman took a deep breath. The air had a tangy smell to it of springtime grass and early flowers. The warmth of the sun gave the forest a hazy sort of glow. In the nearby trees small animals chattered loudly. "Nice day, isn't it, Bill?" "It certainly is," Karsten answered, gazing thoughtfully at the pleasant landscape. "But look at those clouds. It might rain tonight." "It might at that," Thurman told him. He gave another sigh and then smiled, dropping his cigar to the ground and crushing it out beneath his boot. "Well, shall we go?" he asked. "I'm getting hungry."