“But then they gets the reward!”
“Oh, no, they don’t. We’ll see that they get a nice letter from the government, and we’ll handle the cash.”
They all laughed loudly and began boasting about what they would do with the gold.
“But are you sure that folks know about the reward?” someone asked.
“How could they not know about it when the Chief Interrogator has had a notice posted in every village within two hundred miles? Oh, they’ll be seen all right enough!”
The soldiers rested only ten minutes, but it seemed like days before the helpless band heard the sergeant order his men down the road.
They waited until they could no longer hear the troops. Then they all heaved deep sighs of relief.
“I thought sure they had us,” Volka said.
Josh saw that Volka’s hands were not steady, and he was a little less ashamed of his own shakiness.
“What do we do now?” Sarah asked. “Even if we were all well, it would be hard enough to travel without being seen, but Crusoe and Mat are getting worse.”
There was a silence, and they all looked at Dave.
Dave spoke hurriedly, “Well … I suppose …” He paused uncertainly, then must have got a glimpse of Josh’s grin. He seemed to make a decision. “I’d like to go on, of course, but that’s impossible now. We’ll have to go back.”
“Go back where?” Josh asked sharply.
If Josh had been older and wiser, he would have realized that his attitude was simply helping Dave reinforce his rash decision—a decision Josh didn’t like one bit. But all that struck Josh at the moment was that Dave wanted to give up.
“We’ll go back to the cave.” Dave’s answers came smoothly now. “We’ll be safe there. There’s plenty of food and water, and there’ll be time for the patrols to get tired …”
He talked faster as if trying to convince himself, but he refused to meet Sarah’s eye.
“Well, let’s get started,” Hamar quietly prompted.
And they would have pushed on had it not been for Volka. The group had looked to him for physical help, but no one had really considered that he could make any other kind of contribution. So it came as a shock when they heard him ask, “Well, what about that thing Sarah said this morning?”
“What about it?” Dave said sharply.
Josh could have hugged the giant! “That’s right, Dave. We’re not supposed to turn back, no matter what!”
Dave’s face grew red. He seemed to turn fiery whenever someone questioned anything he said or did. “That isn’t important,” he snapped. “We didn’t even understand the words, so they can’t have any meaning.”
“Why not?” Sarah asked quietly. She was looking at Dave with a different light in her eyes, as if she were seeing something for the first time.
“In the first place,” Dave argued, “it’s impossible to go on. There are patrols everywhere, and we’ve got two sick men. We would go on if we could, but there are some things that just can’t be done.”
They all tried to talk at once, and the argument grew louder until a new voice broke through.
“Would you mind if I say a word?” The travelers looked around, startled. For a moment, they had forgotten that there was a relative stranger in their midst. Hamar was sitting off to one side. He spoke with a small smile on his face. “I’ve tried not to notice who you are —but it’s getting a little difficult.”
Dave broke in suddenly. “I told Hamar last night who we are. He’s anxious to help us.”
Dave must have read the look of betrayal on the faces around him. Dave had heard, as they all had, Crusoe’s instructions to keep their identity a secret. Dave hurried on before they could accuse him. “Oh, it’s all right. Hamar figured out who we were anyway. And he’s with us all the way. I mean, he’s no friend to the Sanhedrin. Isn’t that right, Hamar?”
Hamar smoothly reassured them. “Well, there’s no reason for any of you to believe me, but Dave is right. I’ve always been sort of a rebel, and I saw at once that you were hiding from the priests. So if you want to trust me, maybe I can help you. If not, I’ll just be moving on.”
He got to his feet, but before he could move, Josh called out.
“Hold him, Volka.” The giant’s massive hand closed firmly on Hamar’s neck.
“Well” —Hamar actually smiled— “I see your point.
It wouldn’t do to turn me loose if I wanted the reward, would it?”
If Hamar had been angry, or if he had attempted to get away, quite likely Volka would have wrung his neck. However, he was so quiet and had such a relaxed look on his face that Josh had the feeling that he was on their side.
“Actually,” said Hamar, “if you would like to go on —instead of going back, that is—I can show you a way.”
“Do you trust him, Sarah?” Josh asked.
Sarah looked carefully into Hamar’s face.
Then she nodded slowly. “Yes, I think I do. What else can we do?”
Hamar looked at her with a gentle smile. “Yes, at times we must trust someone—even if they fail us, perhaps?”
Then he looked at the others. “What is it to be?”
Dave nodded quickly, then Volka.
Slowly Josh nodded his agreement also.
“It’s not an easy way,” Hamar said firmly, removing Volka’s hand from his neck. “We’ll have to carry this gentleman.” He indicated Crusoe.
Volka gently picked up the unconscious hunchback. The others agreed to help Mat. Hamar got them all up, and soon the travelers were moving slowly down the road.
They had gone less than a mile when Hamar led them off onto a path. It was a detour that Josh had not noticed.
“Where does this go?” Dave asked.
“It will take us to the Great Road. We follow it until we come to Roaring Horse—that’s a river—and then we follow the river until we come to the Great Road.”
“How long will it take?” Josh asked.
“Two days usually. With sick men, maybe three. We’ll camp at the river tonight and go on tomorrow.”
It was a difficult trip to the river. Rain was still falling lightly, and the path was overgrown with vines and tangles of thorns.
Fortunately, Mat grew better and was able to walk as they went slowly along. Volka easily managed the weight of Crusoe, so the group progressed steadily through the dense forest.
Hamar seemed to know every tree. He even pointed out some of the strange vegetation and rare animals that thrived in the woods.
Finally they reached Roaring Horse River, a wide, swift-flowing stream with wild-breaking whitecaps. Quickly Hamar set up camp, and soon everyone was sitting around the fire, eating steaks from a small antelope that the piper had brought down.
The fire burned cheerfully in the darkness, and there was a strange new sense of safety that all of them seemed to feel. Crusoe had begun to stir, and Sarah made him some broth that he tasted, then gulped down.
Hamar walked over to the old man and knelt beside him, looking him full in the face. After a moment’s silence, he said, “Sir, you are right not to trust strangers. I will hope to show you that I am not dangerous.”
For a long time Crusoe looked at the strange figure. Then he smiled, nodded slightly, and whispered in a weak voice, “We shall see.”
Josh felt much easier now that that hurdle was over. He slept like a rock that night, but by the cold light of morning the safety he had felt in the warmth of the fire had faded.
The company gathered their gear and plunged through the overgrowth beside the river. It was not long before they began to ascend a steep incline. Soon most of them were panting for breath.
“It gets steeper from here on,” Hamar shouted. He had to speak loudly because the river was growing more narrow, and the water was beginning to roar.
Looking ahead, Josh saw that the river disappeared into a deep canyon. Their group was poised on one lip of the abyss.
As they moved ahead, the tree
s grew scarce. The bushes and vegetation thinned out. There was no doubt now—they were climbing a mountain along the narrow path cut into its steep side. The ledge was at least six feet wide, but the wall of the canyon rose sharply on their left. On the right, far down—so far that it made Josh dizzy just to peer over the edge—the roar of the river increased.
“Why do they call this Roaring Horse River?” Sarah asked Hamar.
“Once in a while, horses lose their footing in the stream and are pulled into the rapids and through the canyon. When that happens, they—well, they roar!” He shook his head sadly. “It isn’t a pleasant sound, I can assure you.”
“Are they all killed?” Sarah asked, peering at the wild whitecaps raging far below.
“Oh, yes, nothing could live in that turmoil,” Hamar said, waving a hand toward the river. Then he stood up saying, “Not too far to go now. Here, let me play a tune to cheer you.”
He pulled his silver flute from his knapsack and raised it to his lips.
“Won’t somebody hear us?” Sarah asked nervously.
Hamar looked at her in amusement, then waved his flute at the sky. “A bird, perhaps?” He laughed. Then he began to pipe a merry little tune as the group marched down the narrow path.
Soon they were approaching what appeared to be a ledge of stone. Josh felt that it must be the very crest of the mountain path. He started forward more quickly, but suddenly there was a movement. The little party stopped as suddenly as if they had run into a wall.
A priest clad in scarlet with a gold insignia on his chest was barring their way, a cruel smile on his pale face.
“I arrest you all in the name of the High Priest of the Sanhedrin.”
“Run! Back down the mountain!” Josh called. He started to run but had not gone ten feet when four red-robed priests slipped down from the rocks overhead and barred his path.
“Pull back,” Josh shouted as he drew his sword. “Get Mat and Crusoe behind us. We’ll make our stand there!”
There was a little hollow in the side of the mountain, and they gathered there, placing Mat and Crusoe inside the hollow. But their situation was hopeless. The soldier-priests had drawn bows, and cruel arrows with steel tips were trained on them all.
“Drop your weapons,” the leader commanded sternly. “You will die here if you resist.”
He began advancing and was joined by five other soldiers. The troopers coming up the path moved forward and began to squeeze the little group as in a vise.
“We’re trapped,” Dave cried and threw down his sword with a bitter cry.
Slowly Volka dropped his weapon, then Mat and Sarah did the same.
Now, according to all reason, Josh should have done so, but he was filled with an anger he had never known. He gripped his sword fiercely and stepped out on a rock that projected over the roaring river. He turned to meet the approach of the sinister soldiers.
“If you will throw down your weapon,” the priest said, “you will have a fair inquisition. If you are not one of the—Sleepers.” His lips curled as he spat out the word. “You will only have a term in prison for defying the Sanhedrin. Throw down the sword.”
Light glinted on the arrows of the soldiers, and Josh heard someone begging him to surrender. He thought it was Sarah, but he could not be sure because something was happening to his hearing.
Even the loud roaring of the river was growing fainter. He stood on the rock over the raging water with arrows trained on his heart. But suddenly he was not afraid, for he could not hear the river or the voice of the priest telling him to surrender. Instead, he heard the still, strong voice that he had heard once before. The voice was giving him a command.
He shook his head as if to clear it, then he whispered, “Is—is that you, Goél?”
And the answer came. “Yes, I am here.”
Without hesitation Josh said, “What would you have me to do, Sire?”
“Do you believe in me, Joshua?”
“Yes! Yes, I believe in you. I don’t know who you are, but I believe in you!”
“Would you do anything I commanded you to do?”
Josh answered instantly. “Yes! Anything, Goél!”
There was a moment’s pause. Then Josh heard the voice say calmly but with authority, “I command you to throw yourself into the river, Joshua.”
If Josh had had time to think, he could have found plenty of reasons for not doing what the voice commanded. Even as he stood there, still another voice began nagging at his mind, whispering, “But who is Goél? He may be evil.”
The second voice grew stronger—so strong that Josh knew that if he listened any longer, he would not be able to obey Goél’s command. So without a moment’s further hesitation, he threw his sword high into the air and cried out in a piercing voice.
Then he flung himself off the rock and plunged down, down, down until he disappeared into the murky depths of the waters.
10
In the Tower
Sarah never forgot the sickening feeling that swept over her as she watched Josh disappear into the froth of the churning river. A scream rose in her throat, but she did not have time to make a sound. The iron hand of one of the priests closed on her arm. She was dragged down the steep path along with the other travelers.
“He’ll be one less to worry about,” said one of the swarthy guards, grinning at her. “By the time the Questioning is over, you’ll be wishing you had gone into the drink with him.”
“Be silent!” the head priest commanded. One look of his burning eye was enough to turn the guard’s dark face pale ivory.
The trip to the Tower was long, and Sarah was reeling with aching legs by the time they passed through the heavy stone wall.
“Put them in the Common until the Questioning is ordered,” the tall priest commanded.
The prisoners were pushed down a dark, moldy corridor of massive stones until they passed through a large court. Sarah thought she heard strange snorting noises, but in the darkness she could see nothing.
Using two keys, the guard opened a huge steel door. Without ceremony, the prisoners were shoved through, and the heavy door clanged shut behind them.
Two or three torches flickered in the gloom. When Sarah’s eyes grew accustomed to the prison, she gave a frightened cry. “Oh—oh, Mr. Crusoe,” she whispered, and then her voice choked with fright. The little band was surrounded by ominous dark forms moving in the shadows of the torchlight.
Suddenly a familiar voice called, “Hey, Sarah!” Out of darkness stepped Jake, his face alight with pleasure at seeing them.
“Jake!” Sarah said, running to hug him. “We thought you were dead!”
“Are you all right? Did they hurt you?” Dave asked.
“Well—” the little redhead grinned “—those Questionings aren’t much like exams back in school, but they haven’t hurt me—yet. Tam is OK too. He’s being questioned now, but he ought to be back. Hey, what’s wrong with Crusoe?”
Crusoe had suddenly collapsed on the stone floor.
“Here,” Hamar said quickly, “he’s fainted. We’d better try to get him warmed up.”
Hamar looked at the dark forms around the room and said something in a strange language. There was a rustle in the shadows, and some of the creatures began to edge toward them.
This time Sarah did not scream, but she took Dave’s hand and realized that he was trembling too.
“Who are they?” he whispered.
“What?” Hamar asked, looking around. “Oh, you haven’t been inside the Tower before, have you? Well, these are some of the enemies of the Sanhedrin. Don’t be afraid. They won’t harm you. They’re prisoners too.”
As he spoke, two prisoners came forward and said something to Hamar in the tongue he had used. Then they picked up Crusoe and moved him toward another area.
“Hey!” Jake objected. “Where are they taking him?”
“They’ve a warm bed and some food, and that’s what he needs.”
Sure enough, as th
e young people watched, the two prisoners were joined by several others. They placed the limp body of the old man on a rough wooden bunk and wrapped him with warm blankets. One of them began to chafe his hands and another his feet. In a few moments, Crusoe’s eyes flickered open. Then one of the prisoners produced a bowl of some kind of soup.
Hamar said, “I think he’ll be all right. You watch him. I want to see if I can get one of the guards to come to the door.”
When Hamar disappeared into the gloom, the group around the three young people began to draw in closer. There were about six of the strangers.
The one feeding the soup to Crusoe was the most frightening. He had a dwarfish body that looked as if it had been driven into a large lump with a huge mallet. His head was shapeless. A drooling mouth, a potato nose, and wicked little eyes under beetling brows stood out of the lumpy mass.
Beside him there was a pair of Gemini twins—small females with long black hair and fair skin. Nothing frightening about them.
But the three strange creatures standing near the twins were like nothing Sarah had seen before. They were all small boned and very thin. They looked like athletes, runners perhaps. It was not their bodies, but something else that made Sarah draw closer to Jake and Dave.
“They’re awful!” she whispered.
All three of the strange creatures had normal, rather attractive faces, except that each had one terribly disproportionate feature. One had huge eyes. In the darkness, they looked like twin mirrors.
Another had ears like those of an elephant. Even as Sarah whispered, one ear twitched in the direction of her voice, while the other independently swept the room like a radar antenna.
The third creature had a nose that extended at least six inches in front of his face. It twitched and moved like a piece of soft rubber tubing as he sniffed and snorted.
“We look stranger all the time, don’t we?” Jake said with a crooked grin.
It did Sarah good to see the tough little redhead able to smile in such a dark place.
“Ah, you speak Oldworld!” said one of the strange creatures.
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