gunshots into the trees below.

Ed crouched into the hillside. Wondering. An accident? Did loose rocks fall regularly from me higher slopes? There was no evidence for this. No broken trees. No crushed pathways through the undercover.

"That cunning so-and-so!" gasped Ed, "He knew I was coming this way, so he went up the other side!"

Even though it had nearly cost him his life, he admired the gall of the creature. It had sent the rocks as a warning. It was telling him to go away.

But Ed could never do that. His mission was to collect data, raw data, on every reasonable planet he came to. He was a hunter and he enjoyed the kill. Besides, he was also thinking of the money he might get for identifying a new intelligent form of life. This one could be worth big bucks. A creature intelligent enough to set ambushes could be used as a worker in a factory. If there was one, there must be others. They could be bred up large and used in the cities. Cleaners. Garbage collectors. Construction workers. Manual labourers were always needed, especially at the initial stages of colonization.

Ed went back along the way he had come then cut straight up the slope. He went faster now, pushing himself until he felt faint. When he was high enough he scanned for heat and picked up the telltale marks where the creature had been. He walked across and examined the ground. There were still some loose rocks lying about, but they were small. Obviously too small to send rolling.

Breathing hard, Ed marched after the creature, throwing caution away for the time being. He knew he was gaining on it because the trail grew steadily hotter, but the way was also becoming more difficult. Trees blocked the way, branches hung low in his face, and the canopy was so thick it was like evening on earth. Ahead, in the gloom, Ed could hear the crack of twigs and the scuffing sounds of something moving. He increased his pace, while at the same time he pulled his gun from its holster.

The trail stopped at a vertical wall of rock. He scanned for heat and saw that the trail went straight up the wall, into the white light of the sky. The creature couldn't fly, could it? If so, why did it stay on foot this far? No, there must be some other way to go up a cliff. A rope? Why not? Ed looked for marks on the rock. There were several The creature had used a rope and pushed against the wall with its feet. Yes, that made sense. He looked up again and something swung out from the rock and then back again, into a hollow. It was the creature.