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"I will try to explain, then," said Ghek, "if you will pro to me later"

"I proan "They are creatures of a low order, like yourself and the banths and such things We have no sex-not one of us except our king, who is bi-sexual He produces s from which we, the workers and the warriors, are hatched; and one in every thousand eggs is another king egg, fros in the roo If one of them escaped he would fall upon Luud and try to kill hi; but there would be no difference His nao on as before, for are we not all alike? Luud has lived a long tis, so he lets only a few live that there may be a successor to him when he dies The others he kills"

"Why does he keep irl

"Sos that a swarm has saved are killed When this happens the swar swarm"

"Are all of you the children of Luud?" she asked

"All but a feho are fro, as was Luud; but Luud has lived a long ti time, or short?" Tara asked

"A very long ti time?"

"No; the rykors live for ten years, perhaps," he said, "if they reer be of service to us, either through age or sickness, we leave theet them"

"How horrible!" she exclai horrible about that The rykors are but brainless flesh They neither see, nor feel, nor hear They can scarcethe of thought than our leather All that they can do for theh and put it in their mouths, but with us-look at theure that he sur

"How do you do it?" asked Tara of Helium "I do not understand it at all"