Nighthawks Hopper

Either because the speeder had passed out of range or because the second Tuskenhad convinced the other, the two broke off the discussion and scrambled down thebackside of the high ridge. Snuffling and a shifting of weight took place at the ridgebottom as the two Banthas stirred at the approach of their masters. Each was aslarge as a small dinosaur, with bright eyes and long, thick fur. They hissed anxiouslyas the two sandpeople approached, then mounted them from knee to saddle. With a kick Banthas rose. Moving slowly but with enormous strides, the twomassive horned creatures swept down the back of the rugged bluff, urged on by theiranxious, equally outrageous mahouts. "It's him, all right," Luke declared with mixed anger and satisfaction as the tinytripodal form came into view. The speeder banked and swung down onto the floorof a huge sandstone canyon. Luke slipped his rifle out from behind the seat andswung it over his shoulder. "Come round in front of him, Threepio," he instructed. "With pleasure, sir." The Artoo unit obviously noted their approach, but mad no move to escape; itcould hardly have outrun the landspeeder anyway. Artoo simply halted as soon as itdetected them and waited until the craft swung around in a smooth arc. Threepiocame to a sharp halt, sending up a low cloud of sand on the smaller robot's right.Then the whine from the landspeeder's engine dropped to a low idling hum asThreepio put it in parking mode. A last sigh and the craft stopped completely. After finishing a cautious survey of the canyon, Luke led his companion out ontothe gravelly surface and up to Artoo Detoo. "Just where," he inquired sharply, "didyou think you were going?"