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disgrace them by becoming ill, Reeve turned mildly surprised at Todd's
detachment as the carcass of his former hunter was butchered and hung.
Todd grinned at Hrriss with pleasure when Hrrula told him, in Hrruban now,
that the skin would be cured for Todd's use.
At least, Ken thought grimly, the skin would provide enough credit to
soundproof a room for Todd back on Earth.
Hrrula then cut thick steaks from the flank, rolling them up in the wide
leaves of a river plant for Reeve to bring home.
Reluctant to leave this pleasant scene, Reeve was finally roused by the
unmistakable roar of a blast-off. He grinned to himself in sudden relief and
self-awareness; by God, he'd been procrastinating in an unconscious desire not
to be jerked away from Doona a moment sooner than necessary. And now that Hu
Shih hadn't been able to persuade Kiachif to remain until the Codep reply
arrived, they had another reprieve.
"Todd, we've got to get home. That was Kiachif's ship leaving."
Todd nodded solemnly but clung to Hrriss's tail. As if looking for a cue,
Hrriss turned to Hrrestan. The Hrruban growled a brief spate of sound at the
cub, who hung his head sadly. Gently but firmly he uncurled Todd's fingers
from his tail and put the hand down at Todd's side. He flipped his tail
straight out behind him.
"Tomorrow?" asked Todd with plaintive resignation.
Hrriss's eyes flicked back to his father, saw the assent and his jaw dropped
in a smile. Todd's face lit up beatifically and he moved to his father's side.
"I have promised the big one (the Hrruban description of Ben) to help with the
hrrsses," Hrrula said to Reeve as he accompanied them out of the village after
the farewells required by Hrruban etiquette.
Reeve grinned back at the Hrruban, amused by the catman's obsession with
horses. Since they'd probably have to leave the beasts here, they'd be well
cared-for. Maybe, even -- Ken cut off that half-formed thought. He set a pace
easy enough for Todd to follow and the three moved along in a companionable
silence.
The moment they reached Saddle Ridge, Reeve sensed something else must have
happened down at the colony. There was no activity in the clearing by the
river or among the houses. He held up his binoculars and, training them on the
Common, brought into focus the colonists sitting in small groups at the
tables, obviously waiting.
He tried to tell himself that perhaps Hu Shih had ordered a day of rest for
everyone to recuperate from yesterday's feverish unloading and last night's
festivities. But these people weren't laughing or enjoying themselves.
They were waiting anxiously.
"The sky ship has left," Hrrula said at Ken's shoulder.
"Yes, thank God," Reeve sighed, lowering his glasses. But, he told himself, it
is only a reprieve by any stretch of the imagination, won by a conniving
captain. But Ken was grateful.
If the message capsule had arrived before the ship had left...
Reeve swung around to look back at the hills. Christ, he and his could live
comfortably in those hills. Caves had been found. It'd be hard, dangerous, but
anything was better than a return to the constrictions of over-crowded earth.
Let those who liked that sort of semi-existence, regimented, regulated,
restricted, have it. His eyes had had to learn to see distances. He could no
longer entertain the thought of shortening his vision to the confines of the
standard 10 x 12 room in an apartment warren or the straight, short horizon of
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ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
a Corridor or Hall. He lengthened his stride, an unconscious revolt against a
return to a planet where a free-swinging stride was a social insult.
Christ, social insult? The whole structure on Earth was one social indignity
after another heaped on its members. And to what end?
Maybe that nardy captain was right! And the whole Siwannese mess was a
travesty, perpetrated by cowards moral and physical, on an apathetic, indolent
majority.
Spacedep had made a mistake. Maybe Codep could force them to -- no, Alreldep
was also involved. Was there any chance that Alreldep could be made to
bargain? There was that other continent. We could go there and let the
Hrrubans keep this one.
His eyes, sweeping desperately across the valley he coveted, stopped at the
Bridge. The Bridge -- his shoulders sagged in resignation, aware of the
futility of his hopes and his position.
History had taught too many lessons in which man-imposed boundaries were
broken; solemnly sworn treaties were abrogated and the honest intentions of
one generation put aside by the exigencies of the next.
A groan, the inadvertent protest welling from the bottom of his soul, escaped
him. He felt the velvety touch of Hrrula's hand on his arm and turned,
puzzled.
"Oh, here, I'll take Todd. He must be heavy," he said quickly, only just aware
that Todd was riding Hrrula pickaback.
Hrrula backed off, shaking his head.
"The child is not heavy. Not as heavy as your spirit, Rrev," the Hrruban said.
"Is it because the ship is gone and you will see no more of your fellows?"
"We will see our fellows again when we leave Doona."
"Leave Doona? Oh, Rrala, you mean. But why must you leave?"
"You are here," Reeve repeated wearily. He eased himself to the ground,
propping his rifle against a convenient boulder.
Hrrula, curling his tail around Todd's leg, hunkered down and waited.
Todd watched his father solemnly over the furry shoulder.
"Believe me, Hrrula, our people saw no trace of yours. You have no idea what a
shock you gave us."
Delicately extending one arching claw, Hrrula scratched behind his ear
thoughtfully. When Hrrula looked around again, Ken was sure he was chuckling,
the wheeze of his mirth barely audible.
"'You have no idea, Rrev, the shock you gave us when you entered our village,"
and Hrrula shook with his amusement. "After all," he added with curious haste,
"we've been here long enough to know the world has no bareskins."
"I don't wish to offend you but there are many things that puzzle me,"
Ken went on, hoping to catch Hrrula in a non-evasive mood. "We have wondered
if your people sleep through the long winter in some protected place. That
would explain why we saw no sign of you. But how did you take your homes with
you?"
"If we do not object to your presence here, why do your elders?" Hrrula
countered.
Evasion again, Reeve sighed to himself. "Because of the nature and history of
my race," he said aloud and waved toward the colony across the river. "Look at
that bridge. We have all we need on the other side -- right now." Reeve
paused, trying to explain abstract philosophy in his still limited
Hrruban vocabulary. "But soon, because we are inherently greedy, we will want
something that can be found only on your side and we will cross that bridge."
"The bridge was built by Hrruban and Hayuman," Hrrula remarked, looking at
Reeve through half-closed eyes. "At Hrruban insistence. Yes, even then I
understood that you did not want the bridge. We," and his furry thumb jabbed
at his sleek chest, "wanted the bridge. Far better than the little boat, [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]