tissue.
'That is no ordinary fighting slave,' I told Kenneth.
'No,' said Kenneth, not looking back. 'That is Krondar. He is a famous fighting slave of Ar.'
'His face,' I said, half in awe.
'In the pits of Ar,' he said, 'he has fought with the spiked leather, and with the knife gauntlets.'
'Doubtless he has cost Miles of Vonda much,' said Barus, rubbing my back.
'Why should Miles of Vonda have purchased such a slave?' I asked. 'Can the championship of the local stables mean so much to him?'
'More is at stake here,' said Barus, 'than a local championship. Miles is not pleased at having had you best Gort, his former champion. He is not pleased, so to speak, to have had his stables lose to those of the Lady Florence, whom he once courted in vain. Too, it is well known you were once a silk slave to Lady Florence. Thus I think he would not be entirely displeased were you to be humiliated and crushingly defeated in the pit, perhaps even broken, disfigured and maimed.
'Surely he could not be jealous of me,' I said. 'He is a free person, and I am only a collared slave.'
Kenneth laughed.
Across the pit, Krondar's seconds were wrapping leather about his hands.
'Do not delude yourself,' said Kenneth, 'he will rejoice in each blow that is struck upon your body. When you fall broken and bloody at the feet of Krondar, unable to move and at his mercy, will that not be a sweet vengeance for him, against you, and, in its way, against the Lady Florence?'
'Doubtless,' I said.
'Beat and mark his face well, Krondar!' called Miles of Vonda to his slave.
'Yes, Master,' growled the slave.
'When Krondar is through with him,' laughed a man in the tiers, 'a she-tharlarion would not have him for a silk slave!' There was laughter at this.
'Krondar seems a formidable antagonist,' I said.
Batas laughed.
'He is one of the finest fighting slaves of Ar,' said Kenneth.
'It seems he could tear me to pieces,' I smiled.
'I do not think it is impossible,' said Kenneth, finishing with the leather on my hands.
I began to feel sick. 'Do you think I can win?' I asked.
'Of course not,' said Kenneth.
'Why then am I fighting?' I asked.
'You are champion,' said Kenneth. 'You must fight.'
'Have you bet upon me?' I asked.
'No,' said Kenneth.
'Have you bet on Krondar?' I asked.
'No,' said Kenneth.
'Why not?' I asked
'Such a bet would cast suspicion on the honesty of the bouts,' said Kenneth.
'Such a bet could be placed secretly, through agents,' I said.
'Doubtless,' said Kenneth.
'But you have not done so?' I asked.
'No,' he said.
'Why not?' I asked.
'I will not bet against my own men,' said Kenneth.
'Does Master speak the truth?' I asked.
'A bold question,' he smiled.
'Its answer?' I asked.
'Yes,' smiled Kenneth, striking me on the shoulder. 'I speak the truth!'
'Bet,' I told him.
'Bet?' he asked.
'Yes,' I said, grinning. 'I am going to win.'
'You are mad,' said Barus.
'After the first few blows,' said Kenneth, 'feign disorientation, then when another is struck, fall to the sand.'
'And then?' I asked.
'Why pretend unconsciousness,' said Kenneth, 'or inability to rise.'
I regarded him.
'Krondar will probably kick you a few times, that your ribs may be broken, or pull you by the hair to your knees, that he may break loose your teeth or shatter your jaw, but you will live.'
'As an overwhelmingly humiliated and defeated slave,' I said.
'Of course,' said Kenneth.
'Does Master command me,' I asked, 'as the collared slave I am?',
'I advise you,' said Kenneth, 'to adopt that course of actiontion which is in your own best interest.'
'Does Master command me,' I asked, 'as the collared slave I am?'
'I have watched you, Jason,' said Kenneth. 'The collar does not belong on your throat. You are not a woman, born to lie licking and loving at a man's feet. In you there is the stuff of masters.'
'I am not then commanded,' I said.
'No,' said Kenneth. 'I do not command you.'
'Thank you, Master,' I said. I measured Krondar across the sand.
'The bar will soon be struck,' said Barus.
Krondar was eager. I was pleased at this. I decided that I would make short work of him.
'I have done all that I can do,' said Kenneth.
'Not all,' I said.
'What else can I do?' asked he.
'Why bet,' said I.
'You are indeed mad,' said Kenneth.
The bar then suddenly sounded and I leaped to my feet and moved quickly onto the sand.
I was not before him, however, when Krondar, raging, hurled himself toward me. He reeled, struck in the side of the head, against the wooden palings at the side of the pit of sand.
The crowd seemed stunned.
I did not pursue my advantage. 'There are fighters other than in Ar,' I told Krondar. 'I hope that you understand this clearly.'
He glared at me.
'A golden tarn disk on Jason!' I heard Barus cry.
'Taken!' called a man in the tiers.
'But ten to one!' called Barus.
'Granted!' called the man. 'Let me bet, too,' cried another.
Furious Krondar head down lunged at me. He was thus not in a position to protect against the upward stroke with which I caught him. Fortunately we did not engage with knife gauntlets or his head might have been torn from him. Even the cruel cestae of the low pits might have cut away his lower jaw. I still felt the shock in my right arm and shoulder. He staggered backward and to one side. I did not, again, pursue my advantage. 'I tell you,' I said, 'that there are fighters, too, in what you might consider the wilderness or the outlands.' He was breathing heavily. 'Even in the stables of Vonda,' I said, 'there are champions.' There was a cheer at this from many in the tiers. Even the slave girls, in their rags and collars, cried out with pleasure.
'A golden tarn disk on Jason!' cried Barus. 'At ten to one!' There was silence. 'Eight to one!' cried Barus. 'Five to one!'
'Taken,' said a man, uncertainly.
Again, maddened, Krondar, again head down, hurled himself toward me. This time I did not strike him, but
