Randy pulled in a hard breath. "My blaster's jammed. They could've nailed me any time they felt like it. It's been hell, waiting for that." He looked at the gun. The hand that held it was trembling. Hale sighed. "I guess I could walk you out at gunpoint, then, but I don't want to do that. Come out with me on your own hook, Randy. You've played your four queens till now, but you drew a bad hand tonight." * * * * * Randy drew unsteadily on his cigarette. Hale, looking beyond, saw the dark mass near one wall that must be the guardian. The stain on the fur robe was black. The blind sockets in the skull of the _Lhrai_, who sprawled batlike against the chanting wall, were black too. "I didn't want to shoot the redboy." Randy slowly holstered the gun. "I slugged him, but he had a hard head. He came at me with a knife while I was prying the twin-stones out of the idol. Why couldn't he lay quiet? I never wanted to kill anybody." His eyes found Hale's in the gloom, and the brightness in them tonight was mostly fear. "You always said I ought to get off Mars. Last week, I decided to. But I didn't have any money, so I went to Ricco. He wouldn't trust me off-world with his money, but he said he had a tourist interested in a good set of twin-stones. He said there was five thousand in it for me. He said there was a good pair here, and--" He stopped short, his young face hardening with shocking suddenness. "By the red gods, _Ricco_!" he ground out. "Of course--he tipped them off I'd be here. So he'd have me killed over a girl, damn his black soul." He spun away from Hale in a violent motion, his thin mouth feral with rage. Hale waited in the blackness and slowly Randy turned back. Carefully he flattened the cigarette his clenching fist had bruised. "Why didn't I think?" he almost whispered. "They told me he was after my skin--" Hale started to say something, but Randy's hands were suddenly tight on Hale's arms, and his breath carried the taint of _inque_ liquor to Hale's nostrils. "Hale, you've got to help me. I want to get off Mars. That was why I did it. It was my first mark. Oh, I've drifted the canals and chilled some decks, but this was my first mark--" Hale said, "I came in to try to help, Randy. If you'll walk out with me, it'll be easier all around." Randy shook his head fiercely. "Lord, you don't want them to turn me over to the redboys, do you? The _Lhrai_ priests can peel a man and keep him alive for days--" Uncomfortably, Hale said, "I couldn't help you if I wanted to. They're waiting outside." Randy took breath through his teeth. "Just stay here. Let me walk out. They won't blast, thinking it's you. Is your beetle anywhere near the temple?" "They're practically sitting on it." "Then I can break for the desert. It's a good chance in the dark. I can cut up along Coprates to Freightport and--" Hal said, "No, Randy."