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Whenever they were silent for a time, small things rustled. Sometimes it
seemed the things were not so small.
"There," Spud said.
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"What?"
"Made a lariat out of the rope."
"What good is that?"
"I don't know. Yet. It's a tool. The only one we have. Maybe I could rope the
guy and pull him in."
Soup did not think much of that. "Maybe we ought to sit tight."
"You think Rider knows where we are?"
"There's a good chance."
They sat tight a few hours because they had no choice.
Next time a meal came through the hatchway the light was weaker outside. Spud
complained, "How about you guys untie us? There's rats down here."
Only one man had come. He laughed. "You don't eat for a few days, those ropes
will loosen up." He lowered another basket.
"Keep him talking," Soup whispered.
Spud did his best. Soup examined their prison.
It had been used as a garbage pit. And dump for bodies. He saw fragments of
several skeletons. But nothing useful as a tool or weapon.
"Quit your whining," the man above said. "You're alive." And, "I heard you
guys was tough. Guess maybe you're not so much after all." He laughed as Spud
spat something back.
The easterner demolished the man's claim to a family history.
The light went out.
"I think you made him mad, Spud."
Spud chuckled. "That was the idea. Look up there."
Soup saw a hairline crack of light.
They argued about who would climb onto whose shoulders. The fading of the
light caused Soup to give in.
Spud fell off his first two tries. Third time around he caught hold and kept
his balance. Soup huffed and muttered. Spud strained and stretched, forced the
tips of his fingers through the crack. He ground his teeth, expecting a heel
to smash them.
Nothing happened.
He pulled himself up, pushed the cover with his head. "Heavy!" he gasped.
"Hurry!" Soup growled. "You're ruining my shoulders."
Spud heaved again. A corner of the lid rose. Then the whole thing slid aside.
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He threw an arm over the edge of the hole, anchored himself, looked around.
"Nobody up here." A moment later he was out. "The rope!" he said.
It came up. He hoisted Soup. They swung the lid into place.
"Where are we?" Soup asked.
"Someplace near the Bridge. Tell that by the smell."
"Yeah. Looks marshy down there... What's that?"
A whiny, muted, metallic sound came from the north. "Music," Soup said.
"If you say so." Spud coiled his lariat. "Let's take a look."
In a moment they crouched behind a fallen wall, looked at a shabby building
which leaked light and sound. A door opened on the far side. Enough light
escaped to betray a small ship drawn up on a narrow beach.
"Smugglers," Soup said. "They hired smugglers to watch us."
"What now?"
"Put some distance between us and them. Hole up till dawn. Then head along the
coast till we come to a village."
Spud snorted. "We'll see."
"We won't see much for long if we don't start stepping."
The sun had not been up an hour before they knew the awful truth. "An island!"
Soup snarled. "We're on an island."
"One of the Hurm Islands, to be exact," Spud said. "Nowhere else fits."
"So we're trapped anyway."
"We'll steal a boat. We're not that far from the Saverne side."
Soup demanded, "How do you expect to do that? It won't be long before they
know we're gone and start hunting. We can't grab one of their boats in broad
day-light."
"We won't. I'll lower you back down so you can grouch and complain when they
come to feed us. I'll pull you out again after dark. Then we'll grab a boat.
And have twelve hours' head start."
"Why don'tyou go down in the hole?"
"It's my plan."
Bickering, they headed for their former prison.
XVIII
Rider was thoughtful as he descended to the Treasury chambers.
"Why so quiet?" Su-Cha asked. In the shadows the imp was almost invisible. He
gave Rider a start.
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"I'd better pay more attention," Rider said. "You could have been one of Shai
Khe's gang."
"Right. I could. So what did Belledon say?"
"That Kentan Rubios was the chief of the King's Shadows."
"Aha."
"Aha indeed. Polybos House-a pseudonym, of course-is the only other Sanjek in
the City."
"Aha again. Where are you headed?"
"To look into Vlazos' safety chest. Afterward, we'll visit Rubios' City house.
Belledon said he ordered everything left as it was found."
"What's he going to do about Polybos House?"
"Call him in for a conference and surprise him with a set of chains. We get
first crack at him."
"What was that?" They were near the Treasury vault, deep in the living stone [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]