  We argue that one does not need to know the explicit solutions of the
scattering equations in order to evaluate a given amplitude. We consider the
most general quantity consistent with SL(2,C) invariance that can appear in an
amplitude that admits a scattering equation description. This quantity depends
on all cross ratios that can be formed from n points and we evaluate it for the
first non-trivial case of n=5. The combinatorial nature of the problem is
captured through the construction of an appropriate generating function that
depends on five variables.
