XXIV.
For a strange length of time after that, there were only hazy patches ofmemory that impressed themselves on Jason. A sense of movement and largebeasts around him. Walls, wood-smoke, the murmur of voices. None of itmeant very much and he was too tired to care. It was easier and muchbetter just to let go.
* * * * *
"About time," Rhes said. "A couple more days lying there like that andwe would have buried you, even if you were still breathing."
Jason blinked at him, trying to focus the face that swam above him. Hefinally recognized Rhes, and wanted to answer him. But talking onlybrought on a spell of body-wracking coughing. Someone held a cup to hislips and sweet fluid trickled down his throat. He rested, then triedagain.
"How long have I been here?" The voice was thin and sounded far away.Jason had trouble recognizing it for his own.
"Eight days. And why didn't you listen when I talked to you?" Rhessaid.
"You should have stayed near the ship when you crashed. Didn't youremember what I said about coming down anywhere on this continent? Nomatter, too late to worry about that. Next time listen to what I say.Our people moved fast and reached the site of the wreck before dark.They found the broken trees and the spot where the ship had sunk, and atfirst thought whoever had been in it had drowned. Then one of the dogsfound your trail, but lost it again in the swamps during the night. Theyhad a fine time with the mud and the snow and didn't have any luck atall in finding the spoor again. By the next afternoon they were ready tosend for more help when they heard your firing. Just made it, from whatI hear. Lucky one of them was a talker and could tell the wild dogs toclear out. Would have had to kill them all otherwise, and that's nothealthy."
"Thanks for saving my neck," Jason said. "That was closer than I like tocome. What happened after? I was sure I was done for, I remember thatmuch. Diagnosed all the symptoms of pneumonia. Guaranteed fatal in mycondition without treatment. Looks like you were wrong when you saidmost of your remedies were useless--they seemed to work well on me."
His voice died off as Rhes shook his head in a slow _no_, lines of worrysharp-cut into his face. Jason looked around and saw Naxa and anotherman. They had the same deeply unhappy expressions as Rhes.
"What is it?" Jason asked, feeling the trouble. "If your remedies didn'twork--what did? Not my medikit. That was empty. I remember losing it orthrowing it away."
"You were dying," Rhes said slowly. "We couldn't cure you. Only ajunkman medicine machine could do that. We got one from the driver ofthe food truck."
"But how?" Jason asked, dazed. "You told me the city forbids youmedicine. He couldn't give you his own medikit. Not unless he was--"
Rhes nodded and finished the sentence. "Dead. Of course he was dead. Ikilled him myself, with a great deal of pleasure."
This hit Jason hard. He sagged against the pillows and thought of allthose who had died since he had come to Pyrrus. The men who had died tosave him, died so he could live, died because of his ideas. It was aburden of guilt that he couldn't bear to think about. Would it stop withKrannon--or would the city people try to avenge his death?
"Don't you realize what that means!" he gasped out the words. "Krannon'sdeath will turn the city against you. There'll be no more supplies.They'll attack you when they can, kill your people--"
"Of course we know that!" Rhes leaned forward, his voice hoarse andintense. "It wasn't an easy decision to come to. We have always had atrading agreement with the junkmen. The trading trucks were inviolate.This was our last and only link to the galaxy outside and eventual hopeof contacting them."
"Yet you broke that link to save me--why?"
"Only you can answer that question completely. There was a great attackon the city and we saw their walls broken, they had to be moved back atone place. At the same time the spaceship was over the ocean, droppingbombs of some kind--the flash was reported. Then the ship returned and_you_ left it in a smaller ship. They fired at you but didn't kill you.The little ship wasn't destroyed either, we are starting to raise itnow. What does it all mean? We had no way of telling. We only knew itwas something vitally important. You were alive, but would obviously diebefore you could talk. The small ship might be repaired to fly, perhapsthat was your plan and that is why you stole it for us. We _couldn't_let you die, not even if it meant all-out war with the city. Thesituation was explained to all of our people who could be reached byscreen and they voted to save you. I killed the junkman for hismedicine, then rode two doryms to death to get here in time.
"Now tell us--what does it mean? What is your plan? How will it helpus?"
* * * * *
Guilt leaned on Jason and stifled his mouth. A fragment of an ancientlegend cut across his mind, about the jonah who wrecked the spacer soall in it died, yet he lived. Was that he? Had he wrecked a world? Couldhe dare admit to these people that he had taken the lifeboat only tosave his own life?
The three Pyrrans leaned forward, waiting for his words. Jason closedhis eyes so he wouldn't see their faces. What could he tell them? If headmitted the truth they would undoubtedly kill him on the spot,considering it only justice. He wasn't fearful for his own life anymore, but if he died the other deaths would all have been in vain. Andthere still was a way to end this planetary war. All the facts wereavailable now, it was just a matter of putting them together. If only hewasn't so tired, he could see the solution. It was right there, lurkingaround a corner in his brain, waiting to be dragged out.
Whatever he did, he couldn't admit the truth now. If he died all hopedied. He had to lie to gain time, then find the true solution as soon ashe was able. That was all he could do.
"You were right," Jason said haltingly. "The small ship has aninterstellar drive in it. Perhaps it can still be saved. Even if itcan't there is another way. I can't explain now, but I will tell youwhen I am rested. Don't worry. The fight is almost over."
They laughed and pounded each other on the back. When they came to shakehis hand as well, he closed his eyes and made believe he was asleep. Itis very hard to be a hypocrite if you aren't trained for it.
Rhes woke him early the next morning. "Do you feel well enough totravel?" he asked.
"Depends what you mean by travel," Jason told him. "If you mean under myown power, I doubt if I could get as far as that door."
"You'll be carried," Rhes broke in. "We have a litter swung between twodoryms. Not too comfortable, but you'll get there. But only if you thinkyou are well enough to move. We called all the people within ridingdistance and they are beginning to gather. By this afternoon we willhave enough men and doryms to pull the ship out of the swamp."
"I'll come," Jason said, pushing himself to a sitting position. Theeffort exhausted him, bringing a wave of nausea. Only by leaning hisfull weight against the wall could he keep from falling back. He sat,propped there, until he heard shouts and the stamping of heavy feetoutside, and they came to carry him out.
The trip drained away his small store of energy, and he fell into anexhausted sleep. When he opened his eyes the doryms were standing kneedeep in the swamp and the salvage operation had begun. Ropes vanishedout of sight in the water while lines of struggling animals and menhauled at them. The beasts bellowed, the men cursed as they slipped andfell. All of the Pyrrans tugging on the lines weren't male, women werethere as well. Shorter on the average than the men, they were just asbrawny. Their clothing was varied and many-colored, the first touch ofdecoration Jason had seen on this planet.
Getting the ship up was a heart-breaking job. The mud sucked at it andunderwater roots caught on the vanes. Divers plunged time and again intothe brown water to cut them free. Progress was incredibly slow, but thework never stopped. Jason's brain was working even slower. The shipwould be hauled up eventually--what would he do then? He had to have anew plan by that time, but thinking was impossible work. His thoughtscorkscrewed and he had to fight down the rising feeling of panic.
The sun was low when the
ship's nose finally appeared above the water. Aragged cheer broke out at first sight of that battered cone of metal andthey went ahead with new energy.
Jason was the first one who noticed the dorym weaving towards them. Thedogs saw it, of course, and ran out and sniffed. The rider shouted tothe dogs and kicked angrily at the sides of his mount. Even at thisdistance Jason could see the beast's heaving sides and yellowfoam-flecked hide. It was barely able to stagger now and the man jumpeddown, running ahead on foot. He was shouting something as he ran thatcouldn't be heard above the noise.
There was a single moment when the sounds slacked a bit and the runningman's voice could be heard. He was calling the same word over and overagain. It sounded like _wait_, but Jason couldn't be sure. Others hadheard him though, and the result was instantaneous. They stopped,unmoving, where they were. Many of those holding the ropes let go ofthem. Only the quick action of the anchor men kept the ship from slidingback under, dragging the harnessed doryms with it. A wave of silencewashed across the swamp in the wake of the running man's shouts. Theycould be heard clearly now.
"_Quake! Quake on the way! South--only safe way is south!_"
One by one the ropes dropped back into the water and the Pyrrans turnedto wade to solid land. Before they were well started Rhes' voice crackedout.
"Stay at work! Get the ship up, it's our only hope now. I'll talk toHananas, find out how much time we have."
These solitary people were unused to orders. They stopped and milledabout, reason fighting with the urgent desire to run. One by one theystepped back to the ropes as they worked out the sense of Rhes' words.As soon as it was clear the work would continue he turned away.
"What is it? What's happening?" Jason called to him as he ran by.
"It's Hananas," Rhes said, stopping by the litter, waiting for thenewcomer to reach him. "He's a quakeman. They know when quakes arecoming, before they happen."
Hananas ran up, panting and tired. He was a short man, built like abarrel on stubby legs, a great white beard covering his neck and the topof his chest. Another time Jason might have laughed at his incongruouswaddle, but not now. There was a charged difference in the air since thelittle man had arrived.
"Why didn't ... you have somebody near a plate? I called all over thisarea without an answer. Finally ... had to come myself--"
"How much time do we have?" Rhes cut in. "We have to get that ship upbefore we pull out."
"Time! Who knows about time!" the graybeard cursed. "Get out or you'redead."
"Calm down, Han," Rhes said in a quieter voice, taking the oldster'sarms in both his hands. "You know what we're doing here--and how muchdepends on getting the ship up. Now how does it feel? This going to be afast one or a slow one?"
"Fast. Faster than anything I felt in a long time. She's starting faraway though, if you had a plate here I bet Mach or someone else up nearthe firelands would be reporting new eruptions. It's on the way and, ifwe don't get out soon, we're not getting out t'all."
* * * * *
There was a burble of water as the ship was hauled out a bit farther. Noone talked now and there was a fierce urgency in their movements. Jasonstill wasn't sure exactly what had happened.
"Don't shoot me for a foreigner," he said, "but just what is wrong? Areyou expecting earthquakes here, are you sure?"
"Sure!" Hananas screeched. "Of course I'm sure. If I wasn't sure Iwouldn't be a quakeman. It's on the way."
"There's no doubt of that," Rhes added. "I don't know how you can tellon your planet when quakes or vulcanism are going to start, machinesmaybe. We have nothing like that. But quakemen, like Hananas here,always know about them before they happen. If the word can be passedfast enough, we get away. The quake is coming all right, the only thingin doubt is how much time we have."
The work went on and there was a good chance they would die long beforeit was finished. All for nothing. The only way Jason could get them tostop would be to admit the ship was useless. He would be killed then andthe grubber chances would die with him. He chewed his lip as the sun setand the work continued by torchlight.
Hananas paced around, grumbling under his breath, halting only to glanceat the northern horizon. The people felt his restlessness andtransmitted it to the animals. Dogfights broke out and the doryms pulledreluctantly at their harnesses. With each passing second their chancesgrew slimmer and Jason searched desperately for a way out of the trap ofhis own constructing.
"Look--" someone said, and they all turned. The sky to the north was litwith a red light. There was a rumble in the ground that was felt morethan heard. The surface of the water blurred, then broke into patternsof tiny waves. Jason turned away from the light, looking at the waterand the ship. It was higher now, the top of the stern exposed. There wasa gaping hole here, blasted through the metal by the spaceship's guns.
"Rhes," he called, his words jammed together in the rush to get themout. "Look at the ship, at the hole blasted in her stern. I landed onthe rockets and didn't know how badly she was hit. But the guns hit thestar drive!"
Rhes gaped at him unbelievingly as he went on. Improvising, playing byear, trying to manufacture lies that rang of the truth.
"I watched them install the drive--it's an auxiliary to the otherengines. It was bolted to the hull right there. It's gone now, blown up.The boat will never leave this planet, much less go to another star."
He couldn't look Rhes in the eyes after that. He sank back into the fursthat had been propped behind him, feeling the weakness even more. Rheswas silent and Jason couldn't tell if his story had been believed. Onlywhen the Pyrran bent and slashed the nearest rope did he know he hadwon.
The word passed from man to man and the ropes were cut silently. Behindthem the ship they had labored so hard over, sank back into the water.None of them watched. Each was locked in his own world of thought asthey formed up to leave. As soon as the doryms were saddled and packedthey started out, Hananas leading the way. Within minutes they were allmoving, a single file that vanished into the darkness.
Jason's litter had to be left behind, it would have been smashed topieces in the night march. Rhes pulled him up into the saddle beforehim, locking his body into place with a steel-hard arm. The trekcontinued.
When they left the swamp they changed directions sharply. A little laterJason knew why, when the southern sky exploded. Flames lit the scenebrightly, ashes sifted down and hot lumps of rock crashed into thetrees. They steamed when they hit, and if it hadn't been for the earlierrain they would have been faced with a forest fire as well.
Something large loomed up next to the line of march, and when theycrossed an open space Jason looked at it in the reflected light from thesky.
"Rhes--" he choked, pointing. Rhes looked at the great beast moving nextto them, shaggy body and twisted horns as high as their shoulders, thenlooked away. He wasn't frightened or apparently interested. Jason lookedaround then and began to understand.
All of the fleeing animals made no sound, that's why he hadn't noticedthem before. But on both sides dark forms ran between the trees. Some herecognized, most of them he didn't. For a few minutes a pack of wilddogs ran near them, even mingling with the domesticated dogs. No noticewas taken. Flying things flapped overhead. Under the greater threat ofthe volcanoes all other battles were forgotten. Life respected life. Aherd of fat, piglike beasts with curling tusks, blundered through theline. The doryms slowed, picking their steps carefully so they wouldn'tstep on them. Smaller animals sometimes clung to the backs of the biggerones, riding untouched a while, before they leaped off.
Pounded mercilessly by the saddle, Jason fell wearily into a lightsleep. It was shot through with dreams of the rushing animals, hurryingon forever in silence. With his eyes open or shut he saw the sameendless stream of beasts.
It all meant something, and he frowned as he tried to think what.Animals running, Pyrran animals.
He sat bolt upright suddenly, wide awake, staring down in comprehension.
"W
hat is it?" Rhes asked.
"Go on," Jason said. "Get us out of this, and get us out safely. I toldyou the lifeboat wasn't the only answer. I know how your people can getwhat they want--end the war now. There _is_ a way, and I know how it canbe done."