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grievously impaired, it having been muchly damaged on the
Alaria
, and he feared, too, that on this world it would constitute little more than
a clumsy, weighty encumbrance. Could one manage edged or pointed weapons, even
staves or clubs, well, if one were so housed? Might one not be tripped, or
caught, or be for most practical purposes helpless in such garb? Would it turn
the blow of an ax, for example, or be of much service if one were caught in a
noose, cast from a tree? Too, men seen in such things might be taken to be the
barbarians of the ships, and he doubted that such would be likely to be
popular with primitively armed rustic or sylvan populations, if they knew of
them, at all. The armor, of this sort, which weighed in the vicinity of a
hundred pounds, had its place, surely, in a world of fire pistols, and weapons
of a similar sort, but it did not seem that it would be of great value in a
primitive, natural, savage world, one where survival was more likely to be a
function of speed and agility, and will, intelligence and ferocity, than an
arrangement of relative impenetrabilities.
The gladiator prepared a bundle, consisting of most of the materials they had
salvaged from the capsule, including some rations, and also Janina's clothing.
This bundle the slave would bear. He himself slung the empty Telnarian rifle
across his back. He retained the belt from the armor, and housed the empty
fire pistol in its holster. He also put on the belt a sheathed knife, from the
survival kit. He was, for the most part, however, unencumbered. He cut himself
a staff, both as a weapon, and to assist in the transit of the river. He then,
leading the slave on her rope, she bearing the bundle of supplies, and such,
on her head, steadying it with her hands, waded into the river. In a few
minutes they had safely crossed.
On the other side he wound the free end of Janina's rope about her neck. There
were then several coils about her neck. He tucked in the free end.
"You will follow me," he said.
"Yes, Master," she said.
In this fashion she would bear the rope herself, and it would be conveniently
at hand, obviously ready for a variety of employments.
Toward noon they heard the horns again.
The horns, now, were on their side of the river.
One seemed to be behind them, and another to their right. They then began to
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move left, through the thick, dark forest.
But, in an hour, they heard a horn before them.
They then resumed their original march, away from the river.
"They are closer, Master," said Janina, a little later.
"Yes," said the gladiator.
"Those are hunting horns, Master?" asked Janina.
"Yes," said the gladiator.
"What are they hunting, Master?" asked Janina.
"Us," he said.
CHAPTER 16
"Keep behind me," said the gladiator.
Janina, the rope on her neck, crouched down, behind him.
The gladiator stood with his back to a large rock. There was a clearing here,
in the forest, and several such outcroppings.
"Abandon me, Master," Janina had begged.
But he had turned about, in anger, and cuffed her to silence.
She had not even requested permission to speak.
To be sure, he had not made a practice of requiring this deference of Janina.
She had then knelt at his feet and gratefully kissed them.
He had seen shadows in the forest, about them.
Shortly thereafter he had come to the open place, and had gone to the rock, a
large, high, broad rock, where he had turned about and placed himself as he
now stood.
There had been more blasts of horns, some doubtless summoning blasts, others
perhaps signaling that the quarry had been brought to bay, and then, in a few
minutes, the shadows among the trees, darknesses among darknesses, had become
numerous.
Nothing emerged from the forest.
The gladiator sat down, cross-legged, then, waiting.
He picked up pebbles, after a time, and threw them about.
Janina continued to crouch behind him, eyeing the forests.
Then, something like a quarter of an hour later, a man emerged from the
forest. He had a leather headband. He was clad in skins. There was a large ax
tied across his back.
He sat down, also cross-legged, back near the trees. He was some twenty yards
from the gladiator.
After a time the gladiator called to him. "Can you understand my speech?" [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]