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keep all the treasure to yourself, eh?
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The herdsman s gaze rolled heavenward. Yes, that is it. I want to keep all the treasure to myself.
Well, don t worry. I ll only expect for what I ll earn. So you won t mind if I keep company with you for
a little while?
It may be more than a little while, a somber Ehomba informed him. As to you tagging along, much
as I might wish to do so, I cannot very well prevent it. I think you are like malaria: It can be made to go
away for a while, but it always comes back to make a man sick and uneasy.
Simna lengthened his own jaunty stride. Flattery ll get you nowhere, cattle-man. So this fortune you re
on the trail of, how big is it? Are we after gold, or works of art, or what?
By evening Ehomba was almost ready to use the spear on his tirelessly garrulous new companion, but he
was too weary. Simna ibn Sind prattled more than a convocation of women gathered for the village s
annual coming-of-puberty ceremony. The herdsman finally compared it to a forlorn steer bulling in the
fields. Eventually and with an effort of will he was able to largely tune out the drone of the peripatetic
swordsman s voice.
Briefly, he considered abandoning the man while he slept. Attractive as he found the imagery, however,
he could not quite bring himself to do it. Since he could not courteously lose the fellow, he decided that
he would have to find some way to tolerate him. The prospect did not concern him overmuch.
Once they had trudged another couple of hundred leagues or so north without encountering any sign of
treasure, he decided, Simna ibn Sind would undoubtedly dissolve their little company of his own accord.
XII
HIS SUPPOSITION WAS CORRECT. NOT ABOUT SIMNA IBN SIND, but about the lay of the
land ahead of them. There were more jungle-clad ridges, but they continued to grow smaller and less
difficult to surmount, the rain forest that flourished on their flanks thinning out even as the knife-edged
ridge tops became more manageable.
Then, without warning, there were no more tree-crowned summits to ascend.
They found themselves standing on the last ridge top looking out upon a sea of grass that stretched,
utterly unbroken, to the northern horizon. No rocky knoll poked its stone-crowned head above that
perfectly flat green-brown plain. Not a single tree thrust its trunk or lofted its branches over the endless
emerald sward. Unobstructed sunlight did not glint off isolated lakes or ponds, or flash from the mirrored
surface of some lazily meandering stream. There was nothing, nothing but the grass.
The country ahead looks like it s going to be easy to cross but difficult to hunt in. Simna held his chin in
his hand as he studied the terrain spread out before them.
It may not be so easy to cross, either, Ehomba commented. His eyes glistened. What wonderful
country!
His companion gaped at him. Wonderful? He stretched out an arm to encompass the endless
overgrown meadow. You call that wonderful? There s nothing there but Gopuy-bedamned grass!
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Ehomba looked sideways at Simna. I am a herdsman from a dry country, my friend. To one
responsible for the wellbeing of cattle and sheep, forced to move them from place to place just to keep
them from starving, this would be an earthly kind of paradise. Not all people see riches only in gold.
The swordsman eyed the tall southerner tolerantly. You reallyare a simple guy with simple needs, aren t
you? Ehomba nodded, and the other man responded with a sly, knowing smile. I ve got to hand it to
you, Etjole. I ve crossed paths with some shrewd, closed-mouthed types in my time, but you re right up
there with the best of them! How long do you think you can fool me with this simple herdsman routine?
Grass my ass! We both know what you re after, and you re not going to get rid of me that easily! It ll
take more than cheap, obviously phony claims of ignorance to fool Simna ibn Sind! He edged nearer.
Come on, Etjole you can tell me now. What is it you re after, really? A lost city like Damura-sese,
only even richer? A bandit s abandoned cache? Clandestine merchant gold?
Ehomba sighed tolerantly. It is a shame, Simna. Having so narrow a vision, you must miss much of what
goes on in the world. You are like a horse with blinders.
Annoyed, the swordsman stepped back. Okay, okay. So don t tell me. I know you must have your
reasons, and that you ll make everything clear when the time comes.
Yes, Ehomba assured him candidly, everything will become clear when the time comes. He started
down the slope. The last slope, for which he was grateful. Clambering over the jungle-wrapped ridges
had been as tiring as it was dangerous. Seeking to change the subject, he said, I would think you would
know this country. Did you not come from here?
Simna shook his head. Extraordinarily agile, he had an easy time picking his way down through the last [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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keep all the treasure to yourself, eh?
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
The herdsman s gaze rolled heavenward. Yes, that is it. I want to keep all the treasure to myself.
Well, don t worry. I ll only expect for what I ll earn. So you won t mind if I keep company with you for
a little while?
It may be more than a little while, a somber Ehomba informed him. As to you tagging along, much
as I might wish to do so, I cannot very well prevent it. I think you are like malaria: It can be made to go
away for a while, but it always comes back to make a man sick and uneasy.
Simna lengthened his own jaunty stride. Flattery ll get you nowhere, cattle-man. So this fortune you re
on the trail of, how big is it? Are we after gold, or works of art, or what?
By evening Ehomba was almost ready to use the spear on his tirelessly garrulous new companion, but he
was too weary. Simna ibn Sind prattled more than a convocation of women gathered for the village s
annual coming-of-puberty ceremony. The herdsman finally compared it to a forlorn steer bulling in the
fields. Eventually and with an effort of will he was able to largely tune out the drone of the peripatetic
swordsman s voice.
Briefly, he considered abandoning the man while he slept. Attractive as he found the imagery, however,
he could not quite bring himself to do it. Since he could not courteously lose the fellow, he decided that
he would have to find some way to tolerate him. The prospect did not concern him overmuch.
Once they had trudged another couple of hundred leagues or so north without encountering any sign of
treasure, he decided, Simna ibn Sind would undoubtedly dissolve their little company of his own accord.
XII
HIS SUPPOSITION WAS CORRECT. NOT ABOUT SIMNA IBN SIND, but about the lay of the
land ahead of them. There were more jungle-clad ridges, but they continued to grow smaller and less
difficult to surmount, the rain forest that flourished on their flanks thinning out even as the knife-edged
ridge tops became more manageable.
Then, without warning, there were no more tree-crowned summits to ascend.
They found themselves standing on the last ridge top looking out upon a sea of grass that stretched,
utterly unbroken, to the northern horizon. No rocky knoll poked its stone-crowned head above that
perfectly flat green-brown plain. Not a single tree thrust its trunk or lofted its branches over the endless
emerald sward. Unobstructed sunlight did not glint off isolated lakes or ponds, or flash from the mirrored
surface of some lazily meandering stream. There was nothing, nothing but the grass.
The country ahead looks like it s going to be easy to cross but difficult to hunt in. Simna held his chin in
his hand as he studied the terrain spread out before them.
It may not be so easy to cross, either, Ehomba commented. His eyes glistened. What wonderful
country!
His companion gaped at him. Wonderful? He stretched out an arm to encompass the endless
overgrown meadow. You call that wonderful? There s nothing there but Gopuy-bedamned grass!
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
Ehomba looked sideways at Simna. I am a herdsman from a dry country, my friend. To one
responsible for the wellbeing of cattle and sheep, forced to move them from place to place just to keep
them from starving, this would be an earthly kind of paradise. Not all people see riches only in gold.
The swordsman eyed the tall southerner tolerantly. You reallyare a simple guy with simple needs, aren t
you? Ehomba nodded, and the other man responded with a sly, knowing smile. I ve got to hand it to
you, Etjole. I ve crossed paths with some shrewd, closed-mouthed types in my time, but you re right up
there with the best of them! How long do you think you can fool me with this simple herdsman routine?
Grass my ass! We both know what you re after, and you re not going to get rid of me that easily! It ll
take more than cheap, obviously phony claims of ignorance to fool Simna ibn Sind! He edged nearer.
Come on, Etjole you can tell me now. What is it you re after, really? A lost city like Damura-sese,
only even richer? A bandit s abandoned cache? Clandestine merchant gold?
Ehomba sighed tolerantly. It is a shame, Simna. Having so narrow a vision, you must miss much of what
goes on in the world. You are like a horse with blinders.
Annoyed, the swordsman stepped back. Okay, okay. So don t tell me. I know you must have your
reasons, and that you ll make everything clear when the time comes.
Yes, Ehomba assured him candidly, everything will become clear when the time comes. He started
down the slope. The last slope, for which he was grateful. Clambering over the jungle-wrapped ridges
had been as tiring as it was dangerous. Seeking to change the subject, he said, I would think you would
know this country. Did you not come from here?
Simna shook his head. Extraordinarily agile, he had an easy time picking his way down through the last [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]