The man fell sprawling to the ground, and lay still.
Malhomme looked at him for a moment, then he turned to the men behind
him. "That's enough!" he shouted. "_Enough!_" Angrily, he looked down at
the crumpled form of Manning's body. "Bury him!" he said.
There was still no movement from the men; Malhomme grabbed two of them
roughly and shoved them out of the crowd. They hesitated, looking
quickly from Malhomme to the disintegrator in Rynason's hand, then bent
to pick up the body.
"It's a measure of man's eternal mercy," said Malhomme acidly, "that at
least we bury each other." He stared at the men in the mob, and the fury
in his eyes broke them at last. Muttering, shrugging, shaking their
heads, they dispersed, going off in two and threes to take cover from
the wind-driven sand.
Malhomme turned to Rynason and Mara, his face relaxing at last. The hard
lines around his mouth softened into a rueful smile as he put his arm
around Rynason's shoulder. "We can all take shelter in the buildings
here for the night.
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