Asimov's Future History Volume 3

by Isaac Asimov

  “We should waste no more time,” said Hunter decisively. “Come.”

  Hunter stepped out of the line and angled quickly across the slope, down toward the loaded wagons.

  Most of the teamsters sat holding the reins, simply waiting, but a few of them stood on the ground, adjusting harnesses or ropes holding cargo.

  “Can’t he tell somehow that you’re a robot?” Steve asked. “Didn’t we have to consider this on earlier missions, too? What did we do?”

  “If he studies me with magnified vision or hearing, he will detect that I do not have human skin or a heartbeat. We must gamble that he will not bother, since he has no reason to expect another robot here in this century.”

  “Oh, yeah. That’s right.”

  Steve followed Hunter, keeping an eye on MC 6. The component robot sat in the rear of a wagon watching his surroundings alertly, but of course he had no idea that Hunter and Steve had come from their time to get him. He glanced at them casually and then looked past them, toward the paddock.

  “Since he is not afraid of us, we can walk right up and speak to him,” said Hunter. “Give him a direct instruction to cooperate fully with us.”

  “What do we do after we get him?” Steve asked. “We don’t want to vanish with him in front of these other people. What should I say?”

  “Your second instruction must be to jump down out of the wagon and come around behind it with us.

  we will hurry out the main gate. As soon as we turn the corner and stand out of sight, I will trigger the belt unit.”

  “Got it.” Steve glanced at the gate, just on the other side of the wagon, and looked at MC 6 again.

  “Ho! You there! What do you want?”

  Steve stopped, startled. Hunter turned in surprise. A tall, burly man wearing a tanned leather tunic marched up to them. He scowled through a bushy brown beard.

  “I say, what do you want here?”

  “We must have a moment with this man,” Hunter said firmly, gesturing toward MC 6. “Who are you?”

  “I am Gaius, the wagonmaster.” He glared suspiciously at Hunter. “What do you want with him? He doesn’t speak British or Latin. The only way we can communicate with him is through gestures.”

  “We speak his language,” said Hunter.

  Steve almost called out to MC 6 in English, to order him to cooperate. He thought better of it, realizing that they might not get a chance to take MC 6 away from the sight of the wagonmaster. In that event, he did not want to alert MC 6 to the fact that they had come from his time to take him back.

  “And I asked, what do you want with him?” Before Hunter could answer, Gaius turned to MC 6. “You know these men?” He jerked a thumb toward Hunter.

  MC 6 looked back and forth between them. He obviously did not understand the question. He shrugged lightly, shaking his head.

  “You men get back to your horses,” said Gaius angrily. “Now. I have wagons to line up.” He moved to block Hunter’s path to MC 6.

  Hunter turned and walked back up the slope. Steve hurried to keep alongside. At least they had not revealed their true intentions to MC 6.

  Jane said nothing about Wayne’s plans the next morning. She helped Ygerna tend the fire, waiting to see what Wayne and Ishihara were going to do. They all ate breakfast, the same hot cereal as every other morning. Then Wayne and Ishihara stepped outside again, this time with Emrys.

  The suspense for Jane finally ended when Ishihara came back inside alone.

  “Emrys will drive us to the village again today,” Ishihara said to Jane. “Wayne instructed me to explain that we must search for an acquaintance there. Emrys expressed his gratitude again for my help in cutting the firewood and, by chance, causing him to drive his sheep to sell before his neighbors. So he will send his eldest son to tend the flock again and help us today, as well.”

  Jane nodded. She did not want Ishihara or Wayne to know that she was glad to be going, too. On her way out of the hut, she gave Ygerna a quick smile and pat on the shoulder. Jane hoped to join Hunter somehow today, which would mean she would not be back, but of course she could hardly say so.

  This time, Emrys did not have firewood to load or sheep to drive. Ygerna gave them some bread and cold cooked mutton to take with them, wrapped first in a clean cloth, then put into a heavier cloth bag.

  Ishihara lifted Jane into the back of the empty cart, as before, and climbed in with her. Emrys waited for Wayne to join him in the front, then shook the reins and started out.

  Today, other shepherds with their flocks clogged the road to the tor. Most of them walked, with a dog or two to drive the sheep. A few others also drove mule carts, carrying either butchered carcasses or, in some cases, an entire family going for an outing.

  Emrys, the only shepherd without sheep or a full cart, drove a little faster. With a big grin, he waved to some of his friends as he drew near, calling out greetings occasionally. He drove off the road to pass them and their flocks, taking the cart over the sod on one side or the other.

  Jane watched the tor closely, hoping to arrive before the riders left the tor. Today, however, they did not make it. The troop rode out well ahead of their arrival. Instead of breaking formation to begin maneuvers, however, the troop rode straight out along a different road, one that angled eastward across the rolling hills.

  When she saw they were leaving, she tensed, hoping to spot whether Hunter and Steve rode with them.

  She did not see either of them, though she realized they might be lost in the crowd of riders. However, she decided that even if she spotted Hunt er by his height, she could not risk trying to attract his attention from this distance. Hunter might not hear her and Wayne would get angry at the attempt. She wanted to reserve her efforts for a move that would work.

  13

  ISHIHARA SAW HUNTER’S head and shoulders towering above his companions, as he rode with the troop away from the tor, well ahead of Emrys’s cart. Since Wayne had told him not to alert Jane unnecessarily to new information regarding Hunter, Ishihara merely leaned forward between Emrys and Wayne and pointed with one finger toward the riders. Wayne nodded.

  After the riders had passed from the main gate, Ishihara watched a long train of wagons follow the riders out of the tor and up the road to the east. Over twenty men and women trudged behind it, failing to keep up. For a while, Ishihara, Wayne, and Emrys continued to ride in silence. As the cart reached the main gate of the tor, after the baggage train had moved far up the road, Wayne leaned close to Ishihara.

  “Who are those people walking behind the wagons?” Wayne asked.

  “I believe they are called camp followers. The women are following the soldiers and the men are scavengers, hoping to loot the dead after a battle. As the army marches, more of them will probably see it and follow, too.”

  “Do you agree that we have to follow them all, too?” Wayne whispered. The sound of the mule’s hooves helped camouflage his voice from Jane in the back of the cart.

  “Yes,” Ishihara whispered back. “I judge that Hunter and Steve would not go on this campaign unless they knew that MC 6 was also going.”

  “How can we arrange to go, too?”

  Ishihara turned to Emrys.

  “We must ask you for help once again.”

  “What is it?”

  “We would like to borrow your wagon,” said Ishihara. “For a few days, at least. Maybe more.”

  “What do you want with it?”

  “We must follow a couple of friends who have left with Artorius.”

  “You want to follow Artorius on campaign? That will take more than a few days. He could be gone until the leaves turn in autumn.”

  Wayne could not understand British, so he looked back and forth between them for a clue to Emrys’s answer.

  “I can guarantee we will bring it back as soon as possible,” said Ishihara.

  “But I may need it before you return.” Emrys shook his head. “You have done me several kindnesses, but I will need my cart. Maybe we
can find another way for you and your friends to follow Artorius.”

  “What do you mean?” Ishihara asked.

  “Well, I could drive you to the baggage train. They always need men to work on the wagons during a campaign. During the summer, some may go too close to the battle and get killed; others run away to find something else.”

  “What did he say?” Wayne asked.

  Ishihara switched to English. “He won’t let us borrow his wagon. Instead, he suggested that he take us to the baggage train and we can earn our keep.”

  “If Hunter saw us, we’d be helpless. He would take Jane and me.”

  “I cannot allow it, anyway. The danger to Jane is too great in that sort of company.”

  “Yeah.”

  Ishihara changed languages again. “We dare not take Jane to the baggage train. We need to find our own wagon or mounts to ride.”

  “I understand,” said Emrys. “And you want to be able to return on your own, as well, without having to walk.”

  “Yes.”

  Emrys looked across the slope. Then, without a word, he shook the reins and drove the cart at an angle up the tor. They left the road leading up to the village.

  Ishihara saw the paddock and two other buildings ahead of them. Only two animals remained in the pen and he supposed they had been left behind because they were not suitable to ride. He did not see any small carts similar to Emrys’s.

  As Emrys drew up in front of the paddock, a short, stocky man wearing a ragged leather tunic walked on a wooden crutch under his left arm from one of the buildings.

  “If you want to sell something, you’re too late,” said the man with the crutch. “You’ll have to catch up to the baggage train.”

  “No, no. We wish to buy,” said Emrys. “Are you the master of horse?”

  “Of course not.” The man scowled. “The master of horse has gone with Artorius. So has the armorer. I am Antonius.” He hesitated. “What do you want to buy?”

  “A couple of horses,” said Ishihara.

  “The price of a good horse goes up this time of year,” said Antonius.

  “Nonsense,” said Emrys. “Every good horse has already been taken. You have none at all.”

  “Then what do you want here?”

  “I will dicker with the man who can sell,” said Emrys. “If you are not the master of horse, who makes the decisions here now?”

  “Well, until Artorius returns, I do.”

  “We want two or three mounts to ride on the road.”

  “Just to travel? Not to join the cavalry or to pull a wagon?”

  “No.”

  “All right. Come and look.”

  Emrys and Ishihara got down and followed Antonius into the paddock. Wayne hopped down and watched but did not bother to enter the pen. Jane stayed where she was.

  Antonius led Emrys and Ishihara to a pair of small, brown mules standing quietly. Ishihara noticed their long ears and white noses. Both animals placidly watched them approach.

  Emrys looked over the mules carefully. He patted them and stroked their legs and necks as he walked around them. Then he examined their teeth.

  Finally, Emrys took some coins out of a pouch and held them out to Antonius.

  The other man leaned on his crutch and frowned, shaking his head.

  Without speaking, Emrys took out one more coin and held it out.

  Antonius shook his head again.

  “That is all he is worth,” said Emrys.

  Antonius said nothing.

  Emrys dropped the coins back into his pouch and walked away. Ishihara followed him. Just as they reached the gate of the paddock, Antonius began hustling after them awkwardly on his crutch.

  “All right,” Antonius called. “He is yours.”

  Emrys turned and spilled the coins carefully into his palm again. He dropped them into Antonius’s outstretched hand. Then Antonius walked back to the storage building and came out with an old bridle and a long rope. In the paddock again, he tossed them to Emrys, who slipped the bridle on one of the mules and tied the rope to rings on the bridle to use as reins. Then he led the mule out of the paddock.

  “I ask only that you return it to me when you come back,” said Emrys, holding the reins out to Ishihara.

  “That might not be possible,” said Ishihara, without accepting the reins. “If we have to act quickly, returning it could endanger me.”

  “I know the campaign could be dangerous. Please take care of yourselves.” Emrys placed the reins in Ishihara’s hands. “You are … unusual friends.”

  “Thank you. We shall bring the mule back if we are able.” Ishihara turned” and related this to Wayne, knowing that Jane could overhear him.

  “All right, but it’s only one mule for three of us,” said Jane.

  “What else can we do?” Ishihara asked.

  “Nothing,” said Wayne. “We have no money.”

  “What’s wrong with this mule?” Jane demanded.

  “What do you mean?” Wayne asked.

  “Why didn’t they take him to ride? Or for the baggage train? Is he old or something?”

  “Antonius explained,” said Ishihara. “This mule is young and healthy but too small to put in harness. The warriors disdain riding a mule into battle and they have enough food, so no one would want to eat it.”

  “I have another suspicion, too,” Wayne added, lowering his voice.

  “What?” Jane asked, concerned. “Something bad about the mule?”

  “No, nothing like that.” Wayne shook his head. “Since Antonius is in charge here for now, I think he’s going to pocket the coins Emrys paid him. So if he sells a cavalry mule and keeps all the profit, he’ll be happy enough.”

  “I am sure that Emrys cannot buy another,” said Ishihara. “However, you and Wayne can ride this one together, bareback. He will tire more quickly than a horse carrying one rider, but the teams pulling the baggage train will tire quickly, too. We should be able to catch up tonight after they stop to make camp.”

  Jane nodded. “And you’ll jog along beside us.”

  “Yes.”

  Jane climbed out of the cart. Emrys handed her the bag of bread and mutton. She accepted it.

  “Thank you, Emrys,” Jane said, in Latin. “Farewell.”

  Emrys understood her meaning, if not the words, and nodded politely.

  “This won’t last us very long,” said Jane, turning to Ishihara. “What else are we going to eat on the way?

  This might last us two small meals, but tomorrow morning, we’ll be on the road somewhere.”

  “If necessary, we can always use the belt unit to jump to another time and place for food,” said Wayne.

  “But if we’re lucky, we’ll find MC 6 tonight, get him to come with us, and be done with the whole mess.”

  “All right,” said Jane reluctantly. “I know you don’t want to starve, either. But now that I think about it, what about getting through the night? If you don’t get MC 6 to follow you tonight, we’ll freeze out on the road without some kind of bedrolls.”

  “We must find blankets in the village,” said Ishihara. “However, without money to buy them, we can only ask for Emrys to help again. I do not know how much more he will be willing and able to help.”

  “Maybe he can afford old ones, “said Jane. “Their condition won’t matter, as long as they don’t have bugs or anything. Please ask him.”

  Ishihara turned to Emrys again. “Can we buy old, inexpensive blankets in the village? We can return them, too, with the mule.”

  “Of course,” said Emrys. “I know which booth to visit. I can help with that. You will need a small pot in which to heat water, too.”

  “We will go to the village,” said Ishihara. “Then, if our search for blankets succeeds, we will hurry on our way up the road.”

  Steve enjoyed riding out with Artorius’s cavalry, in a column of four abreast. He rode on the far right of his rank, with Hunter on his immediate left and Cynric on Hunter’s other side. Ano
ther member of their squad rode on the far left, with the remainder in the ranks behind them.

  All of Lucius’s troop of green recruits rode in the rear. No dust roiled up, however, because of the dampness in the earth. Overhead, gray clouds drifted across the sky.

  Around him, Steve could see the excitement in the young faces of the other riders. The thought of going to war against the hated Saxons dominated their attention. None of them spoke now.

  Up ahead, as the column drew away from Cadbury, the squads in the van cantered ahead of the rest.

  When the vanguard had opened some distance, the entire column was ordered to canter. Steve understood and kicked his mount; Artorius, already a veteran leader, wanted his men to vent their tension.

  When the column slowed to a walk again, Steve could see the difference. The riders around him relaxed, breathless, and began talking and laughing among themselves. Under the hooves of the horses ahead, the soft road quickly turned to muddy slop, but no one cared. The road wound east and sometimes northeast around rolling hills covered with lush green grass; clumps of trees lined the hollows among the hills.

  “I hear word from up ahead,” said Hunter. “A rumor of our destination is slowly passing back through the column, from one man to another.”

  “Well, what is it? Where are we going?”

  “To the River Dubglas in Linnuis,” said Hunter. He lowered his voice and leaned toward Steve, switching to English.” According to the library data I took before we left, that is the Douglas River in modern Lincolnshire.”

  “River Dubglas, you say?” Cynric, riding on the far side of Hunter from Steve, nodded. “That sounds right.”

  “So I heard,” said Hunter.

  “We fought them by the banks of that river late last season,” said Cynric. “If we hope to drive them back this summer, we’ll have to attack their territory. Last year’s campaign penned them on the far side of the river, but I suppose they look to cross it again, with their reinforcements from across the Channel.”

  His face tightened as he considered this.

  “How long will we take to reach River Dubglas?” Hunter asked.