Shame of Man by Piers Anthony Read Free Book Online Page B

marsh, the “beests” moved elsewhere, and hunting grew harder. Mankind had to find a new hunting and foraging ground. He did it the old-fashioned way: by following the herds. But sometimes this led him to strange new lands.
    T HE beests were grazing in the jerky way they had, turning one way and then another with seeming randomness. They were not the easiest creatures to hunt. But one of them represented a lot of good eating, and the berries were thinning. It was time to run one down.
    Bil made the signal, identifying the beest to go after. It was a fairly fat young female who was grazing foolishly far from the main herd. She would be easy to start.
    Joe hefted his club and walked slowly forward, so as not to spook the herd. It was possible to get fairly close to beests if no sudden motions or noises were made. They were rather stupid animals. But if the herd was spooked, there would be no stopping it. Once they cut out the cow, the herd wouldn't matter, so long as it spooked away and not toward them, but this first part was critical.
    Bil followed Joe, moving as carefully, just far enough behind so that the two could close the gap swiftly if they had to. The cow continued to graze, not realizing what was starting. Then Hue moved out, similarly spaced, and Rae after him. Still the cow didn't react.
    Vic and Iti followed, silently. After them came the women: young Fae, old Lil, and the others, interspersed by children such as Bee and Lee. Theyformed a long line that quietly stretched between the beest cow and the herd. The stupid creature still hadn't caught on.
    Now the men turned and started walking toward the cow. The women and children did the same, keeping the line intact. They remained silent. They wanted to spook the lone beest, but not the herd, if possible.
    At last the cow became aware. She lifted her head, alarmed. She knew these weren't her kind. Her first instinct was to run to rejoin the herd. But there were people between her and the herd, so she hesitated. If she simply charged through the line, they would not be able to stop her, especially if she picked a section with children. But the cow did not know that; all two-legged creatures were the same to her. Soshe walked away from them, and from the herd. Ideal!
    They followed her. She retreated farther, growing more nervous. She could have galloped around the line and they could not have caught her, but she didn't know that either. They weren't charging at her, or making noise, or even moving very quickly; they were just advancing slowly and silently. So she retreated at the same rate.
    By the time the beest realized that she was getting well away from the herd, it was almost too late, for the herd was moving in another direction, not liking this strange line of people any better than the cow did. She could still break into a run and crash through to them, but she still hesitated, and decided to retreat some more.
    They followed, at a faster pace. She could spook now; the herd was safely away. But she kept thinking that she could somehow avoid them by taking a few more steps away. That was her undoing.
    Soon they had her hurrying away from the herd. She broke into a run, but in the wrong direction: away. They strode after her, maintaining the line, but closing it up somewhat. When the beest finally summoned courage and made ready to charge them, they shouted and waved their arms, changing her mind. So the cow ran away again. She still could have looped around and run by too swiftly for them to intercept, but she just wasn't smart enough to figure that out. So she was doomed.
    Hue, though a predator, nevertheless had some sympathy for the prey. He hoped that he would never allow himself to be maneuvered similarly to his disadvantage. He would try to take the necessary forceful action, despite his fear, if he thought that he were being herded where he did not want to go
    Now the chase was on in earnest. The big marsh had filled up much of their hunting ground,