Bombs began bursting not far from them in the pass as the Aerie's bomb wing tried to assist in the defense as much as possible. Kit looked up to witness the fate of a Glider Rider who had pressed his attack too close. The bombs had been dropped well into the pass and, since the Rider's altitude was already too low to pass over the barrier rim, he attempted to go through the pass. Unfortunately, he pressed too close to the south wall of the pass and caught the tip of his glider wing on its unyielding surface. The wing went out of control, falling into a rapid dive, and crashed into a troop of nomad cavalry who were storming toward the crest of the pass. There must have been unreleased bombs still attached to the wing for the resulting explosion had devastated the troop and vaporized the heroic Glider Rider.
Suddenly, a great noise arose from the crest of the pass and Kit could see the helmets of the Home Guard as its vanguard, a cavalry troop, came into the fray with swords drawn and trumpets blaring. Within minutes, the tide of the battle was turning but as the enemy began to withdraw, one more challenge presented itself to the battle weary hunters.
The trio stood momentarily unopposed when Chan spotted an enormous nomad warrior on horseback riding back down from the crest of the pass. Chan suddenly jumped forward in a mighty leap that placed him twenty feet from his former position and directly in the horseman's path.
"Crill, you son of a dog," he shouted. "Come meet Chan of Ajax's tribe and learn of your doom!"
The large war chief's cruel face broke out in a grim smile and he pulled his pony to a halt some ten feet in front of his challenger. "So we meet again," he said in a loud voice, "only this time it will be my pleasure to send you on to your ancestors." He spurred the pony forward with a howling war cry.
His sword was parried by Chan's long sword and was deflected. As the momentum of the attack threw the horseman past Chan, the hunter struck with his short sword at Crill's pony, pivoting on his right foot and slicing the tendons in the unfortunate beast's right rear leg. The pony came down with a shrill cry that sounded almost human. Crill slipped from his back as he fell and turned to meet his opponent.
In the meantime, Kit and Helvon, finding themselves temporarily without adversaries had loaded their crossbows and stood ready to protect their friend from any who might try to interfere. Among the nomads, a personal challenge, like this one, was between the two combatants and was expected to be fought by them alone. When the fight was over, however, the victor was a fair target for further aggression by friends and comrades of the vanquished. It was for this eventuality that Chan's two friends waited with loaded weapons.
Chan launched himself into his opponent with a flurry of flashing iron. Crill backed up three steps before he launched his own offensive. The two adversaries were of about the same size. Chan was in his early twenties while Crill was over forty. It was a contest of younger vigor against older experience. The Silarite had three times the practice in this type of conflict and had never been bested. Chan, too, had never been bested except on the practice field with Kit and in a contest some seven years earlier in which he had barely escaped with his life. His opponent on that occasion had been Crill.
The battle raged all around them and yet not a single man came within twenty feet of the two duelists as they bounded around, trading blows and counter blows. Inside of five minutes, they were both covered with small cuts and slices but neither had truly landed a crippling or fatal blow.
For the last minute or so, Crill had been giving ground and circling. He was maneuvering his opponent in a subtle way to set up a trap that he had conceived in his cunning mind. Suddenly he pressed the less experienced warrior backward with a tremendous flurry of sword strokes. Chan took one step backward and then another but his leg came up against the prone body of a fallen warrior and he lost his footing, falling flat on his back. A look of cruel triumph lit up the Silarite's face as he raised his sword and brought it down toward his fallen foe's head with all his strength. Chan's left arm flashed out, deflecting the blow on the iron blade of his short sword. At the same moment, he thrust forward with his long sword. Crill's forward movement drove its point deep into his own bowels. The triumph on his face was replaced by one of surprise. He had finally made the fatal error of ignoring that second weapon in his thirst for a quick victory.
Chan jumped to his feet as soon as his foe's rapidly failing body rolled to one side. He gripped the hilt of his sword, placed his foot on the man's side and twisted the blade as he pulled it out. Something snapped within the fallen Silarite and the light of life snuffed out in his eyes as the blade came free.
"Chan, duck," Kit called out as he fired his crossbow.
The bolt flew home into the body of a nomad who had just fired his short bow. Chan moved just in time to avoid the flight of the arrow by mere inches. Another bolt flew out from Helvon's weapon as the big nomad bounded back to their position. Those two shots proved to be the last of that first skirmish as the nomads completed their tactical withdrawal.
It was not, by any means, the end of the battle. Silar the Great had rushed the bulk of his army to follow up the attack of his war chief's first wave. The Home Guard, however, was now in position in force at the entrance to the pass and an Eagle Rider battle team was overhead. The Aerie's bomb wing was also in evidence, devastating the nomad forces long before they were able to engage the defenders. The happy conclusion of the battle soon became obvious.
The three hunters had been sent to the rear by Captain Farquon along with the five survivors of the original pass guards. Chan had identified himself and had volunteered to stay outside the crater. He had, he pointed out, been banned from all of the craters on pain of death and, as an honorable man, he was willing to live by that edict to the end of his days.
"Nonsense," replied the Captain who stood before him. "You have many wounds that require attention and they were incurred in the defense of this pass. I would consider myself dishonored if I were to put you out under those conditions. You may enter the crater and stay as long as you like in the company of these two, fine friends of yours. I am sure that they will vouch for your good behavior but I will be satisfied with your word that you will do nothing to endanger the safety and peace of this community."
Chan had accepted this verdict and was surprised at the warm welcome he received upon his arrival at the Guardsmen's barracks. His aid to the troop led by the late Peron Washington had not been forgotten and when the five survivors of the pass guard related the story of his feats during the first hour of the battle that morning, he was elevated to the stature of hero along with Kit and Helvon.
CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN
Tunia had been helping the Master Healer lay out medical supplies in the Home Guard infirmary when the three hunters arrived along with the five survivors of the pass guard contingent.
She had looked up to see the group filing into the building, two of the soldiers were limping and one was being half carried by two of his comrades. All had suffered some wounds in the fury of the battle. The last to enter were Kit, Helvon and Chan. When the big nomad's body had filled the door frame, Tunia's heart had skipped a beat. She turned and hurried toward them. As the Healer and his assistants tended to the more seriously wounded Guardsmen, she looked to the hurts of the three hunters.
Kit only had a few minor cuts and scrapes that were quickly tended to. Helvon had a deep cut on his left upper arm and several minor scrapes in other places. Tunia cleaned the cut out with an antiseptic wash and began to apply a poultice to it.
"Kit," the old hunter said, "I 'spect ya ought ta fly out an' see how them ponies is. Hope th' nomads ain't found 'em yet. It'll be hard ta r'place 'em 'thout spendin' hard cash."
"Not necessarily," Chan pointed out. "After the battle, there will be many nomad ponies running loose in these hills. We probably could collect quite a few that can be sold at a profit within the crater. Kit can spot them, direct us to their area and drive them into our hands. It should make much more money for us in the next few days than huntin
g meat. But I agree, those ponies have been trained to our use and it would be nice to know if they are still where we hid them and if it is safe to go get them. I imagine the battle is just about over by now. The Silarites have never been too persistent when an easy victory was denied them."
Kit started to head for the door and then stopped. "Why don't you three meet me at my grandfather's house? I should be back in a half hour or so and it's just up the road. Helvon, if you get there before I do, tell my grandfather that he'll have a couple more guests for a few days." He turned toward Tunia. "I guess I should have asked you first, Tunia, isn't it? Do you have any place to stay in the crater?"
Tunia blushed. "I have a few friends here but none so close that I could impose on them. I had been traveling with a band of Gypsies before they were wiped out and I was captured. Now I have no money and no close friends or relatives to turn to."
"Ya got friends now, I 'spect," said the tall hunter at her side. "Three at least, fur as I can see, an' as long as we got money, ya won't be penniless nor hungry."
"But you don't know me or anything about me," she protested. "Why would you bother with someone you just met today?"
"What you did today," explained the big nomad, "showed a lot of bravery, intelligence and resourcefulness. Without your help, the futures of everyone in this crater might have been considerably bleaker including ours."
"'Sides," Helvon put in, "in a way, we was partially ta blame fer yer troubles. B'fore Chan jined us, Goovon were partners with Kit an' me. Th' day he were captured, Chan heped us'n ta swat down some nomads an' we all jest natcherly jined forces. Been best o' friends ever since. Seems th' fates done decreed thet ya was ta fall in with us too."
Chan put a big hand on her shoulder. "Nomads believe that when you save a person's life, you become responsible for them, bound by a blood debt that lasts a lifetime. Unless you wish otherwise, you have now become one of us."
"Then, it’s settled," announced Kit. "When you have Chan patched up, go on up to the orchard and I'll meet you there later." With that, he turned and left.
Finally, Tunia turned to tend to Chan's wounds. None of them was as deep as the one Helvon had suffered but there were more of them. There were minor scratches and more serious gashes on his torso, legs, arms and head. As Tunia tended them, she noticed the scars from similar encounters in the nomad's past. The man was only a half dozen years older than she but had experienced so much more in his life. She noticed how his facial expression changed not a whit as she poured a stinging antiseptic into an open wound.
"You do well in tending wounds," he commented as she finished securing a bandage around his chest. "You did not learn this in a crater, did you?"
"While traveling with the Gypsies these last three years, medicine became one of my little duties. I learned from an old woman who had seen it all. She taught me a lot but she still took many secrets with her when Silar's warriors hacked her apart." Her expression was pensive and slightly sad. "Well, I guess we're done here. Helvon, lead the way to Kit's grandfather's house."
Dressing Chan's wounds had taken over an hour. As they rode up to the farmhouse nestled in the pear orchard, they saw a black stallion tied up in front of the house.
"Looks like Kit beat us back," Helvon commented. "Thet stallion's his'n, name's Satan."
Inside the house, Kit was talking to Jaron in the living room.
"...'And he called you his best friend.' Grandfather, I think there isn't any chance that Daron will ever try to understand. I doubt if he'll even allow me to tell my side of the story. He thinks I was trying to steal Flash right out from under Heron's nose."
"What will you do now?" the man asked. "Where will you get the training that you need?"
"I told Master Aferon at McAllister crater the story of my impression with Flash. He didn't seem too upset and his school is the best on Randor. I have plenty of money. Maybe I can pay him for the equipment and the training."
"It seems a shame to have a fully trained Eagle Rider flying around without an Aerie to serve in," Jaron commented. "Will you try to go to another crater and offer your services?"
"Not right away," Kit said, "my friends need me..." He was interrupted by a knock at the door.
"Right now, it looks like they need you to let them in," the man said, rising from his seat. "We will continue this discussion when we are once again alone."
The two walked to the door together. Kit introduced Chan and Tunia to Jaron and turned the girl over to his grandfather's care.
"I will put you in Fala's room. She was Kit's mother and was small like you. I imagine there are some of her old clothes that might fit you..."
Kit turned from watching their exit and excitedly addressed his partners. "The ponies are still where you left them. What's more, I spotted over twenty ponies within a few miles of them. The nomads are twenty miles or more from the pass by now and still running. The Aerie bomb wing destroyed their main camp and they have moved out over the plains in full retreat leaving a lot of their equipment behind them. If we get moving right away, we can bring our pack ponies and twenty or thirty others in by nightfall. What do you say?"
That afternoon, while Tunia bathed and slept in the big, comfortable bed in Fala's long unused room, the three partners worked hard to round up ponies. As Chan had suggested earlier, Kit and Flash had flown out to spot the nomad ponies whose riders had been killed in the battle. They tended to run in bunches and the three hunters used a blind canyon as a holding pen. Kit and Chan would ride out and drive the ponies toward the canyon while Helvon stayed behind to guard its entrance, keeping in the stock they had already collected.
Finally, about an hour before sunset, the three drove a small herd of thirty nine ponies in through Maryland Pass. They turned up the back trail and left the half wild stock in the pasture where Satan had been kept for so long. It was after dark when they returned to the farmhouse.
The next morning, the three partners rose early. They were seated around the breakfast table as Tunia assisted Jaron's cook in serving their morning meal.
"We'll have to take off the saddles before we do anything else this morning," said Chan. "The ponies must have been pretty uncomfortable all night with them on. If they get sores from them, their immediate value will drop considerably."
"Should we try to sell these right away or get right out and collect more this morning?" Kit asked.
"Was they many more out thar?" asked Helvon. Kit nodded. "We best collect 'em as quick as we can. Th' pass guards'll have seen what we done an' others 'll try ta do th' same. Flash gives us a 'vantage but we still gotta be th' fust ta find 'em."
"Last night's pass guards won't be getting off for another hour or so," Kit informed them. "If we hurry, we can still be the first party out in search of ponies. With Flash's help, we'll get most of what's left, maybe all of them."
"Perhaps," Tunia suggested, "two of us could stay behind long enough to unsaddle those ponies. You and Chan could get an early start and Helvon and I can meet you a couple of hours later."
"You will join us?" asked Chan. "It is dangerous work that we do today. Those ponies are half wild. You could easily be hurt."
"You all told me yesterday that I was a part of your group," she pointed out. "I am a pretty good horsewoman and those mustangs are probably no wilder than the ones I rode among the Gypsies. Unless you forbid it, I'm in. I'll join you in earning a living but there's no way I'll become a charity case no matter how many people I saved by warning you about Goovon's plan. Can I borrow your pinto for a while longer, Kit? I'll pick out a good pony from those that we collect today but, 'til I train it properly, no nomad mount is safe for this type of work. Paint is."
Kit grinned. "All right, I guess you're in. We can sure use your help. If you can guard the entrance to the box canyon, Chan and Helvon can help me drive them in."
That day was a hard one for the four partners. The nomad ponies had been given more time to spread out and had to be driven farther and farther t
o get to the canyon just outside of the pass. Tunia stood guard with Kit's old crossbow. To the boy's surprise, she had taken to it like an eagle to the skies. She had learned on a similar weapon a number of years earlier and had not lost her eye.
About halfway through the afternoon, she had been required to warn away a party of off duty cavalrymen with that weapon. She saw four of them approach the entrance to the canyon and rode out in front of them with the crossbow leveled on the leader.
"Where are you going, friends?" she asked.
A sergeant walked his pony forward and spoke up. "We're going to check out that canyon for stray ponies. We thought we'd use it to round them up before we drive them into the pass tonight."
"There are ponies in there all right," the girl said, "but they're ours. You'd best find another canyon to use. There are plenty of them around. Try the other side of the pass."
"What's a little girl like you doing out here?" asked another of the troopers with a gleam in his eye.
"Keeping men like you from stealing what we've already collected," she replied. "Whatever is found out here is free and you're welcome to all you can collect but these have already been found. I will thank you to move on. I saw enough fighting yesterday to keep me for a while. I'd hate to have to start another battle so soon, especially with the men who are supposed to be on our side."
"You saw the battle yesterday?" the sergeant asked suspiciously. "Who are you and who are you working with?"
"My name is Tunia and I'm partners with Kit, Helvon and Chan," she said. "We're the ones who raised the alarm and foiled the nomad trick that would have broken through into the crater. I was standing right behind the pass guards while they and my partners repulsed Crill's first cavalry charge."
Soul of an Eagle Page 20
