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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 30348 ***
+
+ _Before reading this story, prepare yourself for a
+ jolt and a chill in capsule form. O. Henry could
+ have been proud of it. It could well become a
+ minor classic._
+
+
+The Last Supper
+
+By T. D. Hamm
+
+
+Hampered as she was by the child in her arms, the woman was running less
+fleetly now. A wave of exultation swept over Guldran, drowning out the
+uneasy feeling of guilt at disobeying orders.
+
+The instructions were mandatory and concise: "_No_ capture must be
+attempted individually. In the event of sighting any form of human life,
+the ship MUST be notified immediately. All small craft must be back at
+the landing space not later than one hour before take-off. Anyone not so
+reporting will be presumed lost."
+
+Guldran thought uneasily of the great seas of snow and ice sweeping
+inexorably toward each other since the Earth had reversed on its axis in
+the great catastrophe a millennium ago. Now, summer and winter alike
+brought paralyzing gales and blizzards, heralded by the sleety snow in
+which the woman's skin-clad feet had left the tracks which led to
+discovery.
+
+His trained anthropologist's mind speculated avidly over the little they
+had gotten from the younger of the two men found nearly a week before,
+nearly frozen and half-starved. The older man had succumbed almost at
+once; the other, in the most primitive sign language, had indicated
+that, of several humans living in caves to the west, only he and the
+other had survived to flee some mysterious terror. Guldran felt a throb
+of pity for the woman and her child, left behind by the men, no doubt,
+as a hindrance.
+
+But what a stroke of fortune that there should be left a male and female
+of the race to carry the seed of Terra to another planet. And what a
+triumph if he, Guldran, should be the one to return at the eleventh hour
+with the prize. No need of calling for help. This was no armed
+war-party, but the most defenseless being in the Universe--a mother
+burdened with a child.
+
+Guldran put on another burst of speed. His previous shouts had served
+only to spur the woman to greater efforts. Surely there was _some_ magic
+word that had survived even the centuries of illiteracy. Something
+equivalent to the "bread and salt" of all illiterate peoples. Cupping
+his hands to his mouth, he shouted, "Food! food!"
+
+Ahead of him the woman turned her head, leaped lightly in mid-stride,
+and went on; slowing a little but still running doggedly.
+
+Guldran's pulse leaped. He yelled again, "Food!"
+
+The instant that his foot touched the yielding surface of the trap, he
+knew that he had met defeat. As his body crashed down on the
+fire-sharpened stakes, he knew too the terror from which the last men of
+the human race had fled.
+
+Above him the woman looked down, her teeth gleaming wolfishly. She
+pointed down into the pit; spoke exultantly to the child.
+
+"Food!" said the last woman on earth.
+
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Note:
+
+    This etext was produced from _If Worlds of Science Fiction_
+    September 1952. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
+    the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed. Minor spelling
+    and typographical errors have been corrected without note.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Last Supper, by T. D. Hamm
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 30348 ***