[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
sively, but neither Joe nor Macore was willing to let him off the hook.
"Yeah," the rooster pressed. "What happens to a man with
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0the%20Danc.txt (92 of 234) [1/19/03 4:23:27 PM]
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ods%201%20-%20The%20River%20of%20the%20Danc.txt
106
THE RIVER OF DANCING GODS
a broken leg? You get an adept in the healer's art, rest a couple of weeks,
and you got it. And how old might you grow? To sit around the alehouses and
swap the old yams and be the object of respect or to that certain fate our new
friend here predicts if you remain the same? As for me, I do not look forward
Page 74
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
to my certain slaughter, but even if, as a man, I were then to die, I would
rather die a man than live this kind of life."
As with any group of basically pedestrian, unimaginative minds, sentiment
shifted with the latest decent argument. Now heads were nodding in favor of
Macore's words. Joe decided not to let anybody else swing things the other
way.
"A vote!" he called. "Let's have a vote! Those with us will try it. Those not
with us can go back to their ways for a while, until fate takes them, or until
they are overrun and enslaved by the Dark Baron's forces because they were not
there to fight him like men!"
That last, said in the heat of passion, shocked them a little more. He'd
forgotten how out of touch they'd be and he hoped he hadn't gone too far.
Macore's rooster head cocked and looked at him a bit dubiously, but there was
nothing to be done. "Yes," the rooster agreed. "Let us vote now. In turn, I
will call your names and you tell me aye or nay."
"I think " Posti began, but Macore cut him off by starting the roll call. The
early vote was clearly for escape, but begin-
ning with Posti it seemed to go the other way. In the end, it was Joe, Macore,
Grogha, Houma, and the other horse, whose name was Dacaro, who voted to
escape. The others, the ma-
jority of the group, decided against.
"Very well," Macore told the dissenters. "Go back to your stables and fields
and vegetate. We will be gone soon."
"Or turned to maggots," one of the oxen snorted. Slowly the nay votes 'drifted
away into the gathering darkness.
Macore sighed. "Okay. Sorry if I have problems, but I have no night vision at
all. I make it five of us. We'll need a plan."
Joe looked at the odd barnyard assortment. "I'd say our roles are pretty
clear. Macore, you absolutely guarantee we can get off this farm if she
doesn't have the stick?"
"If she doesn't have ownership, then yes," the rooster as-
sured him. "That means it must be in the possession of one of us or hidden
where only we, not she, know about it."
JACK L.CHALKER 107
"I have no intention of chancing her getting it back again,"
Joe said flatly. "Who knows what she might do? So once we have it, I'll take
the stick. But I can't get inside her house to get it. Our friends the pig and
the goat must be the actual
file:///F|/rah/Jack%20L.%20Chalker/Chalker,%2...s%201%20-%20The%20River%20of%2
0the%20Danc.txt (93 of 234) [1/19/03 4:23:27 PM]
file:///F|/rah/Jack%20L.%20Chalker/Chalker,%20Jack%20L%20-%20The%20Dancing%20G
ods%201%20-%20The%20River%20of%20the%20Danc.txt burglars."
"I figured something like that," Grogha grumped. "Hell, she's a light sleeper.
She's lasted a long time.-Our hooves will clatter on that stone floor of
hers."
"Then you must go silently and slowly," Joe told them.
"But once one of you has the stick securely in your mouth, both run like hell.
I'll be waiting outside and I'll grab it. Then we all start running."
"Damn! Wish I could see in this," Macore swore in frus-
tration. "Well, let's work it out as best we can. First the bur-
glary, then the getaway. We can't afford to get separated once we're clear of
here."
"Then let's get to details," Joe responded anxiously.
"When do you want to do this?" Houma asked uneasily.
"Frankly, I'd like to do it right now," Joe told him, "but none of us have had
any rest and we'd better be at our best for this. There's no reason for
waiting, though. There's just as much chance of getting caught if we rehearse
it as if we do it.
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ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
I'd say tomorrow, at mid-eve, about halfway through her sleep.
Macore you seem to know a lot of her habits. When does she usually go to bed?"
"She's asleep now," the rooster told the bull. "She eats her meal shortly
after sunset, makes a final check of the outbuild-
ings, then turns in. There's one help, too she snores."
"How do you know so much?" the goat asked.
Macore laughed. "1 been dreaming of this for a long, long time. But I'm not
strong enough to lift that stick, and no good at night. Believe me,
though I've worked it out again and again..."
The company gathered in the dark away from the house about an hour after
moonrise. Joe didn't like the clear, moonlit night much it would make them
very easy to spot but Ma-
core liked it just fine. Although his vision was bad, there was light enough
for him at least to see what was going on.
They were surprised to find an addition to the night's work
Posti, the leader of the opposition. "I just keep dreamin' and
108
THE RIVER OF DANCING GODS
dreamin' about dogs," he grumbled. "Besides, if you pull this off, it might
get lonesome around here."
"Glad to have you," Macore said, "but there's little for you to do. Just stand
out here with Joe and Dacaro and be ready to run interference if you get the
chance."
"When I get the stick, run like hell in any direction except the one / take
until you're out of sight, then double back to the west gate." Joe looked
around, his vision not so hot, either.
Finally he saw a small stick actually the broken handle of a
file:///F|/rah/Jack%20L.%20Chalker/Chalker,%2...s%201%20-%20The%20River%20of%2
0the%20Danc.txt (94 of 234) [1/19/03 4:23:27 PM]
file:///F|/rah/Jack%20L.%20Chalker/Chalker,%20Jack%20L%20-%20The%20Dancing%20G
ods%201%20-%20The%20River%20of%20the%20Danc.txt shovel or something similar.
"Hey! There's a thought. Find one more like this. Then all three of us tearing
off will have something in our mouth. She won't know which one to chase."
They scouted around and finally found an old piece offence.
Joe sighed, looked at the company, said, "All right we all know what we're
going to do. If we do it, we're free and clear.
If not, well, I'd rather try than sit and say I never did."
They moved slowly, singly or by twos, to the cottage. All was dark inside, and
they could hear that Macore had spoken the truth when he said she snored,
although it was soft and low and would not mask much in the way of sounds.
Macore perched on Joe's back. "I can't get far alone and I
don't want to miss this," he explained. Joe just nodded, then turned to the
two smallest members of the team.
Grogha and Houma had been very hesitant about this from the start; but once
they had made up their minds, there was no second-guessing.
"I figured we needed a small one or two," Macore explained to Joe. "That's why
I got the roll call in that order. The sure ones first, then Grogha and,
finally, Houma. I figured, if it looked at first like everybody was going to
make the break, Houma'd come in. When it turned out different, he was too
stubborn and too proud to back down."
"I never could have gotten this far without you, Macore. I
owe you one," Joe told him.
"Maybe," Macore replied, almost to himself. "But maybe
I owe you one, Joe."
The pig and the goat had already disappeared inside the house.
The fact was that the witch had little to fear and so had taken few
precautions. As long as the spell of her staff was on the farm, anyone could
get onto the property, but never off.
Page 76
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109
JACK L.CHALKER
Her reputation alone was enough to keep most everybody away, but any who came,
perhaps to do her harm, would have raised enough of an alarm among the [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl szamanka888.keep.pl
sively, but neither Joe nor Macore was willing to let him off the hook.
"Yeah," the rooster pressed. "What happens to a man with
file:///F|/rah/Jack%20L.%20Chalker/Chalker,%2...s%201%20-%20The%20River%20of%2
0the%20Danc.txt (92 of 234) [1/19/03 4:23:27 PM]
file:///F|/rah/Jack%20L.%20Chalker/Chalker,%20Jack%20L%20-%20The%20Dancing%20G
ods%201%20-%20The%20River%20of%20the%20Danc.txt
106
THE RIVER OF DANCING GODS
a broken leg? You get an adept in the healer's art, rest a couple of weeks,
and you got it. And how old might you grow? To sit around the alehouses and
swap the old yams and be the object of respect or to that certain fate our new
friend here predicts if you remain the same? As for me, I do not look forward
Page 74
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
to my certain slaughter, but even if, as a man, I were then to die, I would
rather die a man than live this kind of life."
As with any group of basically pedestrian, unimaginative minds, sentiment
shifted with the latest decent argument. Now heads were nodding in favor of
Macore's words. Joe decided not to let anybody else swing things the other
way.
"A vote!" he called. "Let's have a vote! Those with us will try it. Those not
with us can go back to their ways for a while, until fate takes them, or until
they are overrun and enslaved by the Dark Baron's forces because they were not
there to fight him like men!"
That last, said in the heat of passion, shocked them a little more. He'd
forgotten how out of touch they'd be and he hoped he hadn't gone too far.
Macore's rooster head cocked and looked at him a bit dubiously, but there was
nothing to be done. "Yes," the rooster agreed. "Let us vote now. In turn, I
will call your names and you tell me aye or nay."
"I think " Posti began, but Macore cut him off by starting the roll call. The
early vote was clearly for escape, but begin-
ning with Posti it seemed to go the other way. In the end, it was Joe, Macore,
Grogha, Houma, and the other horse, whose name was Dacaro, who voted to
escape. The others, the ma-
jority of the group, decided against.
"Very well," Macore told the dissenters. "Go back to your stables and fields
and vegetate. We will be gone soon."
"Or turned to maggots," one of the oxen snorted. Slowly the nay votes 'drifted
away into the gathering darkness.
Macore sighed. "Okay. Sorry if I have problems, but I have no night vision at
all. I make it five of us. We'll need a plan."
Joe looked at the odd barnyard assortment. "I'd say our roles are pretty
clear. Macore, you absolutely guarantee we can get off this farm if she
doesn't have the stick?"
"If she doesn't have ownership, then yes," the rooster as-
sured him. "That means it must be in the possession of one of us or hidden
where only we, not she, know about it."
JACK L.CHALKER 107
"I have no intention of chancing her getting it back again,"
Joe said flatly. "Who knows what she might do? So once we have it, I'll take
the stick. But I can't get inside her house to get it. Our friends the pig and
the goat must be the actual
file:///F|/rah/Jack%20L.%20Chalker/Chalker,%2...s%201%20-%20The%20River%20of%2
0the%20Danc.txt (93 of 234) [1/19/03 4:23:27 PM]
file:///F|/rah/Jack%20L.%20Chalker/Chalker,%20Jack%20L%20-%20The%20Dancing%20G
ods%201%20-%20The%20River%20of%20the%20Danc.txt burglars."
"I figured something like that," Grogha grumped. "Hell, she's a light sleeper.
She's lasted a long time.-Our hooves will clatter on that stone floor of
hers."
"Then you must go silently and slowly," Joe told them.
"But once one of you has the stick securely in your mouth, both run like hell.
I'll be waiting outside and I'll grab it. Then we all start running."
"Damn! Wish I could see in this," Macore swore in frus-
tration. "Well, let's work it out as best we can. First the bur-
glary, then the getaway. We can't afford to get separated once we're clear of
here."
"Then let's get to details," Joe responded anxiously.
"When do you want to do this?" Houma asked uneasily.
"Frankly, I'd like to do it right now," Joe told him, "but none of us have had
any rest and we'd better be at our best for this. There's no reason for
waiting, though. There's just as much chance of getting caught if we rehearse
it as if we do it.
Page 75
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
I'd say tomorrow, at mid-eve, about halfway through her sleep.
Macore you seem to know a lot of her habits. When does she usually go to bed?"
"She's asleep now," the rooster told the bull. "She eats her meal shortly
after sunset, makes a final check of the outbuild-
ings, then turns in. There's one help, too she snores."
"How do you know so much?" the goat asked.
Macore laughed. "1 been dreaming of this for a long, long time. But I'm not
strong enough to lift that stick, and no good at night. Believe me,
though I've worked it out again and again..."
The company gathered in the dark away from the house about an hour after
moonrise. Joe didn't like the clear, moonlit night much it would make them
very easy to spot but Ma-
core liked it just fine. Although his vision was bad, there was light enough
for him at least to see what was going on.
They were surprised to find an addition to the night's work
Posti, the leader of the opposition. "I just keep dreamin' and
108
THE RIVER OF DANCING GODS
dreamin' about dogs," he grumbled. "Besides, if you pull this off, it might
get lonesome around here."
"Glad to have you," Macore said, "but there's little for you to do. Just stand
out here with Joe and Dacaro and be ready to run interference if you get the
chance."
"When I get the stick, run like hell in any direction except the one / take
until you're out of sight, then double back to the west gate." Joe looked
around, his vision not so hot, either.
Finally he saw a small stick actually the broken handle of a
file:///F|/rah/Jack%20L.%20Chalker/Chalker,%2...s%201%20-%20The%20River%20of%2
0the%20Danc.txt (94 of 234) [1/19/03 4:23:27 PM]
file:///F|/rah/Jack%20L.%20Chalker/Chalker,%20Jack%20L%20-%20The%20Dancing%20G
ods%201%20-%20The%20River%20of%20the%20Danc.txt shovel or something similar.
"Hey! There's a thought. Find one more like this. Then all three of us tearing
off will have something in our mouth. She won't know which one to chase."
They scouted around and finally found an old piece offence.
Joe sighed, looked at the company, said, "All right we all know what we're
going to do. If we do it, we're free and clear.
If not, well, I'd rather try than sit and say I never did."
They moved slowly, singly or by twos, to the cottage. All was dark inside, and
they could hear that Macore had spoken the truth when he said she snored,
although it was soft and low and would not mask much in the way of sounds.
Macore perched on Joe's back. "I can't get far alone and I
don't want to miss this," he explained. Joe just nodded, then turned to the
two smallest members of the team.
Grogha and Houma had been very hesitant about this from the start; but once
they had made up their minds, there was no second-guessing.
"I figured we needed a small one or two," Macore explained to Joe. "That's why
I got the roll call in that order. The sure ones first, then Grogha and,
finally, Houma. I figured, if it looked at first like everybody was going to
make the break, Houma'd come in. When it turned out different, he was too
stubborn and too proud to back down."
"I never could have gotten this far without you, Macore. I
owe you one," Joe told him.
"Maybe," Macore replied, almost to himself. "But maybe
I owe you one, Joe."
The pig and the goat had already disappeared inside the house.
The fact was that the witch had little to fear and so had taken few
precautions. As long as the spell of her staff was on the farm, anyone could
get onto the property, but never off.
Page 76
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
109
JACK L.CHALKER
Her reputation alone was enough to keep most everybody away, but any who came,
perhaps to do her harm, would have raised enough of an alarm among the [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]