"Everybody thought your space ship hit a meteor," he said.
"We hit this asteroid."
"But that was three years ago."
"Has it been that long? We lost track of time." She didn't take her
eyes off him, not for a second. Such attention made him acutely self
conscious. She said, "I'm Ann. Ann Clotilde. I was hunting when I saw
your space ship. You had been thrown clear. You were lying all in a
heap. I thought you were dead." She stooped, picked up a spear.
"Do you feel strong enough to hike back to our camp? It's only about
four miles," she said.
"I think so," he said.
* * * * *
Jonathan Fawkes fidgeted uncomfortably. He would rather pilot a space
ship through a meteor field than face twenty-seven young women. They
were the only thing in the Spaceways of which he was in awe. Then he
realized that the girl's dark blue eyes had strayed beyond him. A frown
of concentration marred her regular features. He turned around.
On the rim of the prairie he saw a dozen black specks moving toward
them.
She said: "Get down!" Her voice was agitated. She flung herself on her
stomach and began to crawl away from the wreck. Jonathan Fawkes stared
after her stupidly. "Get down!" she reiterated in a furious voice.
He let himself to his hands and knees. "Ouch!" he said. He felt like
he was being jabbed with pins. He must be one big bruise. He scuttled
after the girl. "What's wrong?"
The girl looked back at him over her shoulder. "Centaurs!" she said. "I
didn't know they had returned. There is a small ravine just ahead which
leads into the hills. I don't think they've seen us. If we can reach
the hills we'll be safe."
"Centaurs! Isn't there anything new under the sun?"
"Well, personally," she replied, "I never saw a Centaur until I was
wrecked on this asteroid." She reached the ravine, crawled head
foremost over the edge. Jonathan tumbled after her. He hit the bottom,
winced, scrambled to his feet. The girl started at a trot for the
hills. Jonathan, groaning at each step, hobbled beside her.
"Why won't the Centaurs follow us into the hills?" he panted.
"Too rough. They're like horses," she said. "Nothing but a goat could
get around in the hills."
The gulley, he saw, was deepening into a respectable canyon, then a
gorge. In half a mile, the walls towered above them. A narrow ribbon
of sky was visible overhead. Yellow fern-like plants sprouted from the
crevices and floor of the canyon.
They flushed a small furry creature from behind a bush. As it sped
away, it resembled a cottontail of Earth. The girl whipped back her
arm, flung the spear. It transfixed the rodent. She picked it up, tied
it to her waist. Jonathan gaped. Such strength and accuracy astounded
him. He thought, amazons and centaurs. He thought, but this is the year
3372; not the time of ancient Greece.
The canyon bore to the left. It grew rougher, the walls more
precipitate. Jonathan limped to a halt. High boots and breeches, the
uniform of Universal's space pilots, hadn't been designed for walking.
"Hold on," he said. He felt in his pockets, withdrew an empty cigarette
package, crumpled it and hurled it to the ground.
"You got a cigarette?" he asked without much hope.
The girl shook her head. "We ran out of tobacco the first few months we
were here."
Jonathan turned around, started back for the space ship.
"Where are you going?" cried Ann in alarm.
He said, "I've got a couple of cartons of cigarettes back at the
freighter. Centaurs or no centaurs, I'm going to get a smoke."
"No!" She clutched his arm. He was surprised at the strength of her
grip. "They'd kill you," she said.
"I can sneak back," he insisted stubbornly. "They might loot the ship.
I don't want to lose those cigarettes. I was hauling some good burley
tobacco seed too. The colonists were going to experiment with it on
Ganymede."
"No!"
He lifted his eyebrows. He thought, she is an amazon! He firmly
detached her hand.
The girl flicked up her spear, nicked his neck with the point of it.
"We are going to the camp," she said.
Jonathan threw himself down backwards, kicked the girl's feet out from
under her. Like a cat he scrambled up and wrenched the spear away.