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When they parted, he reached for his pouch. He grinned.  You did not obtain my
pouch! he laughed.
 Here is your wristlet, said Tina, handing him the amethyst-studded wristlet.
There was much laughter.
I and perhaps one or two of the others had seen her unbuckle it, deftly,
lightly, with one hand, while his hand was at her waist. Most of those at the
fire were as startled as the handsome young seaman when they saw the wristlet
in
Tina s hand.
We gave her much applause.
Chagrined, but laughing, the young man rebuckled the wristlet, and went and
sat down by the fire.
 Master, said Tina.
He looked up.
 Your pouch, she said, throwing it at him.
There was much more laughter.
 It is not always easy to unknot a pouch, I told her.
 That is true, she admitted. She looked at me, and smiled.  The strings, of
course, she said,  might be cut.
I laughed ruefully. I well recalled how well she had robbed me in our first
acquaintance on the wharves of Lydius.
 Rim has been kind enough, she said,  from the blade of an old shaving knife
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to supply a suitable implement. Rim, from his own pouch, handed up to her a
tiny steel half crescent, ground from the blade of a shaving knife. Part of
it, wrapped in physician s tape, was bent and fitted behind her first two
fingers. The blade, as it projected from between her two fingers, was almost
invisible.
against me, before I realized it, neatly, the purse strings had been cut.
 Master? asked Tina.
I got to my feet, determined not to be fooled. But when Tina stumbled
 Excellent, I told her. I reknotted the strings, tying them together. I
would have a new purse tomorrow.
 Do you think you could do it again? I asked.
told her.
bottom of the purse, dropping the coins into her hand.
strings dangled from my belt.
 Perhaps, said Tina.  I do not know. You are now on your guard.
She passed me once again. The strings were still intact.  You missed, I
She handed me the contents of the purse. I laughed. She had cut the
Then, a moment later, the purse itself was in her hand, and again the
 Slave girls are not permitted weapons, I laughed.
Tina tossed the tiny knife back to Rim.
We all much applauded her.
I pointed to the sand. She dropped to her knees in the sand, and put her head
down.
 Lift your head, I told her.
She did so.
 You are skillful, said I, adding,   Slave.
 Thank you, Master, she said.
I was much pleased.  Thurnock, said I,  give her wine.
The men applauded.
 Very well, grinned Thurnock. But he approached her warily.
 Turn you back to me, he said,  and place your wrists, crossed, behind the
back of your neck.
She did so, and Thurnock, with a length of binding fiber, looped twice about
her throat, and then four times about her wrists, fastened her wrists behind
the back of her neck.
he said to her,  Kneel.
her throat.
with amethysts.
 I will see where her hands are, he grumbled. There was laughter. Then
She did so, and, he holding her head back, by the hair, poured wine down
I turned to the handsome young seaman, he with the wristlet studded
I indicated Tina.
 Take her to the wall, I said,  to where she is chained for the night in the
sand.
 Yes, Captain, said he. He lifted her easily in his arms. She struggled a
bit, bound, but I could see that she was excited to be in his arms.
She had picked him out from all the others.
 Tonight, I told the young man,  she is yours to chain in the sand.
chains, in the darkness of the wall, on the other side of the Tesephone.
 Captain? he asked.
 Tonight, I told him,  the chains she wears are yours.
 My gratitude, Captain! he cried.
She, a slave, bound, turned her lips to his, carried from the fire to her
Rim rose and yawned. He put his arm about Cara, and together they left the
fire.
The men began to drink and talk.
Sheera made so bold as to touch my forearm. My eyes warned her from me. She
put down her head.
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I talked long with Thurnock, discussing the plans for the enterprise in the
forest, and my wishes for appointments and regulations at the camp.
The fire had burned low, and the guard had been changed, before we were
finished.
It was a hot night. The stars were very bright in the black Gorean sky.
The three moons were beautiful. The men lay on their blankets in the sand,
under the awnings stretched from the Tesephone.
The sound of the river was slow and sweet, moving between its banks, flowing
downward to greet Thassa, the sea, more than two hundred pasangs from this
small, silent camp.
a pasang distant, carried to the camp. I heard the sounds of insects.
ship.
figure.
throat.
I heard night birds cry in the forest. The shrill scream of a sleen, perhaps
I looked at the lines of the Tesephone in the darkness. She was a good
Before my shelter, on the sand, at the stern of the ship, there stood a
She wore the brief, sleeveless garment of white wool. My collar lay at her
 Greetings, Sheera, I said.
 In the forests, she said,  you made me carry trade goods on my back.
you braceleted me, and sent me into the woods, when sleen and panthers were
hunting. By the women of Verna I was much abused. I was much switched.
I shrugged.  You are slave, I said.
 I hate you, she cried.
I regarded her.
 You are making me learn to cook, she said,  you are making me learn to sew,
to wash garments, to iron them!
 You are slave, I told her.
 Tonight, she said,  you forced me to serve you at the feast. She looked at
me, with fury.  You forced me to serve you as a slave girl!  Whose collar do
you wear? I asked.
She turned away.
 Are you not a slave? I asked, amused.
She turned to face me, her fists clenched. I heard the river behind her.
 Why did you buy me? she asked.
 To serve my purposed, to implement my plans, I told her.
 And I have done so, she said.
 Yes, I said.
 They you may now sell me, she whispered.
 Or slay you, I said. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]