Battlefield Earth

He was a real hit. The crowds came, they saw an actual Psychlo, they even threw things at him.

They had heard that he put Jo

Terl thought that a great idea. A couple of days later, five guards came in and put a heavy iron collar and chain on Terl and fastened him to the old stake.

The Compound Commander was quite happy about it. But he told the guards that if Terl showed any sign at all of trying to escape, they were to riddle him.

Terl's mouthbones wore a private smile as he capered and postured. He rumbled and roared.

His plans were working out perfectly.

Chapter 2

Jo

The guard at the door looked in through the glass, abruptly alert. Colonel Ivan whirled in an automatic response, combat ready: it had sounded like the thud of a grenade for a moment.

“It makes no sense,” said Jo

The others, seeing it was no emergency, relaxed. The sentry returned to his usual position and the colonel went on wiping down the white tile.

But Chrissie remained alarmed. It was almost unheard of for Jo

The untouched lunch worried her. It was venison stew with wild herbs cooked especially for him by Aunt Ellen. Weeks ago she had rushed to the old base to give him a glad and relieved greeting and to tell him that though her fears for him had almost come true, here he was alive! She had stood around suffused with delight until she suddenly saw what they were feeding him. The old village was only a few miles away down the pass, and either personally or through a small boy mounted on one of the horses Jo

Had he been able to walk easily, Jo

He pushed back from the metal dolly table and rose shakily, supporting himself with his left hand on the bed.

"I," he said in a determined voice, “am going to get out of here! There is no sense just waiting around for the sky to fall in on us! Where is my shirt!”

This was something new. The colonel went over to help Jo

Chrissie turned around in a flurry and opened three or four wrong bureau drawers. The colonel picked up a handful of assorted canes and sticks that stood in the corner and knocked half of them down. The sentry, ordered to report any unusual happenings to Robert the Fox, got on the radiophone right away.

Jo

Jo

He struggled with a drawer and got it open. One of the shoemakers had made him a left-handed holster and had more properly fitted the old gold belt buckle to a wide belt. He put them on over the shirt.

The holster had a .457 magnum Smith and Wesson on it with radiation slugs, and he lifted it out and laid it back in the drawer and got out a small blast gun, made sure it was charged, and dropped it in the holster. At the colonel's odd look, Jo

He was engaged in stuffing his right hand into the belt to get it out of the way– that arm tended to dangle-when an uproar broke out in the passageway.

Jo

But it wasn't. The door burst open and the base officer of the day, a big middle-aged Scot in kilts and claymore, a man named Captain MacDuff, rushed in.

"Jo

Jo

Jo

There stood Ker!

And in the glaring mine lamps out there he was a very bedraggled creature. Ker's fur was matted with the filth clinging to it; his fangs seen through the faceplate were yellow and stained; his tunic was all ripped down one side and he had on only one boot, no cap. Even his earbones looked messed up.

They had put four chains on him with a soldier at the far end of each one. It looked so overdone on the midget Psychlo.

“Poor Ker," said Jo

“Did you send for him, Jo

“Bring him in here,” said Jo

“Do you think that's wise?” said MacDuff. But he waved them forward.

Jo

Chrissie wrinkled her nose. What a stink! She'd have to clean and air the whole place!

No one wanted to go. Jo

“I had to tell the lie,” said Ker. “I just had to see you, Jo

“You sure haven't put a comb to yourself lately,” said Jo