by John Norman
"Is the new girl pleasing?" she had asked me, reproachfully.
"Yes," I said.
"More pleasing than I?" she asked, lying at my feet, her hands tied behind her,her ankles crossed and bound, her neck in the coffle collar.
"Yes," I said. "She is an experienced slave. You are only a new slave. You havemuch to learn."
"Yes, Master," she said.
I then, for good measure, gagged her. She must learn that she was a slave.
Corn Stalks, after a time, took his leave. Before he left Grunt gave him somehard candy and a fine steel knife.
"You seem moody," I said to Grunt. He had returned to the fire, and sat beforeit, not speaking.
"It is nothing," he said.
"I should like to learn some Dust Leg," I said.
"I will teach you some, as we ride," he said.
"If I learn some Dust Leg, I should be able, to some extent, to communicate withKaiila," I said.
"Very easily," said Grunt, "for they are much the same, and, too, you would beable to make yourself understood to the Kailiauk, and, to some extent, to theFleer."
"I have heard little of the Kailiauk," I said.
"They are not well known west of the perimeter," he said. "Their country lies tothe south and east of that of the Kaiila."
"Mostly," I said, "you spoke to Corn Stalks in sign."
"Yes," he said. "It is easier for us." He looked at me. "To learn sign," hesaid, "would probably be more useful to you, all things considered, thanlearning a smattering of Dust Leg."
"Teach me sign," I asked.
"To be sure," he said, "it would be wise for you to learn some Dust Leg orKaiila. There is no substitute for being able to converse with these people intheir own language. Sign, as far as I know, is common to all the tribes of theBarrens."
"Why are they called Dust Legs?" I asked.
"I do not know," said Grunt, "but I think it is because they were the last ofthe major tribes to master the kaiila. Afoot, they were much at the mercy of theothers. Their heritage as traders and diplomats may stem from that period."
"It is an interesting hypothesis," I said.
"I can teach you hundreds of signs in a short time," said Grunt. "It is a verylimited language, hut in most situations it is quite adequate, and, because manyof the signs seem so appropriate and natural, it can be easily learned. In fouror five days you can learn most of what you would need of sign."
"I would like to learn something of Dust Leg and Kaiila, and also sign," I said.
"I will be pleased to help you," said Grunt.
"Grunt?" I asked.
"Yes," he said.
"After I came to join you," I said, "Corn Stalks didn't stay long."
"He does not know you," said Grunt.
I nodded. Goreans, in general, not merely red savages, tend to be wary ofstrangers, in particular those who speak other languages or come from otherterritories or cities. There is only one word in Gorean, incidentally, forstranger and enemy. To be sure, the specific meaning intended is usually clearin the context. Goreans are not unaware that there may exist such things asfamiliar enemies and friendly strangers.
"He did not do trading, as far as I know," I said.
"No," said Grunt. "We talked. He is a friend."
"What is the sign for a red savage?" I asked.
Grunt rubbed the back of his left hand from the wrist to the knuckle with hisright index finger. "The general sign for a man is this," he said. He held hisright hand in front of his chest, the index finger pointing up, and raised it infront of his face. He then repeated the sign for the red savage. "I am not clearon the specific rationale for the sign for the savage," he said. "You will note,however, that the same finger, the index finger, is used in the sign, as in thesign for man. The origins of some of these signs are obscure. Some think thesign for the red savage has a relation to the spreading of war paint. Othersthink that it means a man who goes straight or a man who is close to the earth,to nature. Doubtless there are other explanations, as well. This is the sign forfriend." He then put his first two fingers together and raised them upward,beside his face. "It probably means two men growing up together."
"Interesting," I said. "What does this mean?" I put the middle fingers of myright hand on my right thumb, extending the index and little finger. Thissuggests a pointed snout and ears.
"You have seen Dust Legs make that sign," he said. "It means a wild sleen. It isalso used for the Sleen tribe. Do you know what this means?" He then spread theindex finger and the second finger of his right hand and drew them from the leftto the right, in front of his body.
"No," I said.
"That is the sign for a domestic sleen," he said. "You see? It is like thespread poles of a travois, which might be drawn by such an animal."
"Yes!" I said.
"What is this?" he asked, drawing his right index finger across his forehead,from left to right.
"A white man?" I asked.
"Yes," he said. "Good."
"It is like the line of the brim of a hat, across the forehead," I said.
"Good," he said, "And this?" With the fingers of both hands slightly curved, hemade downward motions from the top of his head to the shoulders. It was asthough he were combing hair.
"A woman?" I asked.
"Good," he said. "Good. And this?"
"A white woman?" I asked.
"Yes," he said. He had traced a line with his right index across his forehead,from left to right, and had then opened his hand and moved it downward, towardhis shoulder, in the combing motion. "What do you think this means?" he asked.
He then made the combing motions with his hand, then lowered his head and lookedat his left wrist, which he grasped firmly in his right hand, the left wrist,the weaker wrist, helpless in the grip of the stronger.
"I am not sure," I said.
"The second sign indicates bondage," he said.
"A female slave?" I asked.
"Yes," said Grunt, "but, more generally, it is another sign which may stand forany white woman, and is often used in this way."
"The same sign then," I said, "that sign, stands for both white woman and femaleslave? "Yes," he said. "It is the most common way of referring to a white woman. Yousee, in the Barrens, all white women are regarded as being female slaves. Ourfriends of the plains divide white women into those who have already, properly,been imbonded, and those who, improperly, have not yet been imbonded."
I considered the nature of women, and their desirability. "That distinctionmakes sense to me," I said. "But are there no women of the red savagesthemselves who are slaves?"
"Of course, there are," said Grunt. "They are fond of carrying off women of theenemy to make their own slaves. Surely you can imagine how pleasant it is forthese fellows to be served, and as a slave, by one of the enemy's women."
"Of course," I said.
"Such a woman may be designated as follows," he said, "by use of the sign woman,followed by the sign for the red savages, followed by a bondage sign."
"I see," I said. He had illustrated his words with the sign.
"If the context is clear," he said, "the signs simply for a female slave may beused."
"I understand," I said.
"Here is another way of designating a white woman or a female slave," he said.
He then made the sign for woman, followed by a downward striking motion, asthough holding a switch. "Sometimes, too," he said, "when the context is clear,this sign alone may be used." He then spread the first and second fingers of hisright hand arid laid them over the index finger of his left hand. "You see?" heasked. "It is ankles bound on a leg stretcher."
"I see," I said.
"The meanings in these signs are clear," he said, "the weaker who is held by thestronger, she who is subject to the whip, and she whose ankles may be spread ather master's pleasure."
"Yes," I said.
"What is this?" asked Grunt. He held his left hand with the palm in, before hischest, and placed the index
and second finger of his right hand astride the edgeof his left hand.
"A rider?" I asked.
"Kaiila," he said. Then, holding his hands as he had, he rotated his hands intiny circles, as though the kaiila were in motion. "That is to ride," he said.
"I see," I said.
"What is this?" he asked. He placed his left fist in front of his mouth andsliced between it and his face with the edge of his opened right hand.
"I do not know," I said.
"Knife," be said. "See? One holds the meat in one's hand and clenches it betweenthe teeth, too. Then one cuts a bite from the meat, to eat it, thus the sign forknife."
"Good," I said. "And what does this mean?" I drew an imaginary line across mythroat with my right index finger. I had seen Corn Stalks make this sign in histalk with Grunt.
Grunt's eyes clouded. "It is the sign for the Kaiila," he said, "the CutthroatTribe."
"Oh," I said.
"You may have seen this sign," said Grunt. "It is an interesting one." He thenheld his fists in front of his chest, his thumbs almost touching, and thenspread his fingers out, horizontally.
"I have no idea what it means," I said.
"Does it remind you of nothing?" be asked. He repeated the sign.
Suddenly the hair on the back of my neck rose. "It is like men breaking out ofcolumns," I said, "fanning out, to take up positions for battle."
"Yes," said Grunt. "It is the sign for soldiers." He then added to it the signfor riding, that of the kaiila in motion.
"Kaiila soldiers," I said. "Cavalry."
"Yes," said Grunt, soberly. He then held both fists close to his chest, with thebacks of his hands down and the index fingers curved. He then made a forward,circular motion.
"Wheels?" I said. "Wagons."
"Yes," said Grunt.
These last signs had been used by Corn Stalks. Grunt knew that I had seen them.
"I do not mean to pry," I said.
"It is all right," said Grunt.
"We need not continue," I said.
"It is all right," said Grunt.
I held my hands near the ground, with my fingers curved upward and slightlyapart. I then swung my bands out in a small, upward curve.
"Grass," said Grunt.
I held my right hand, palm down, even with my shoulder, and lowered it, until itwas about eighteen inches from the ground.
"Height," said Grunt. "High. High grass. Summer."
The Summer solstice had taken place a few days ago.
I folded my arms, the right arm resting on top of the left. I then raised bothhands until my fingers pointed skyward.
"The spreading of light," said Grunt. "Day. Light."
I repeated the gesture twice more.
"Three days," said Grunt. "Three days ago, we may suppose."
I raised my hands in front of my body, my fingers slightly curved. I then sweptmy hands together in a looping curve.
"Many," said Grunt. "Much. Plenty."
I rubbed the back of my left hand from the wrist to the knuckle with my rightindex finger.
"Red savages," smiled Grunt. "Fleer," he then said. "Kaiila, Sleen, YellowKnives, Kailiauk."
I had smote my hands slowly together three times. It was like the beating ofwings. It now stood, I saw, for the Fleer tribe. The fleer is a large, yellow,long-billed, gregarious, voracious bird of the Barrens. It is sometimes alsocalled the Corn Bird or the Maize Bird. I had then drawn my finger across mythroat. That stood for the Kaiila, the Cutthroat tribes. The sign for the Sleentribe had been the same as that for the sleen, the resting of the middle fingersof the right hand on the right thumb, extending the index and little finger,this suggesting the animal's pointed snout and ears. The sign for the YellowKnives had been the sign for knife, followed by the sign for fleer. I laterlearned the sign for knife alone would suffice for this tribe. In the compoundsign fleer presumably occurs as a modifier in virtue of the bird's coloration.
Adjectives in sign commonly, though not always, follow the noun, so to speak.
This arrangement is doubtless to be expected, for it reflects a commongrammatical feature of the spoken languages of the red savages. The word" mazasapa', for example, literally means "black metal'. "Maza' is the word for" metal' and "sapa' is the word for "black'. We would translate the expression,of course, as "iron'. The sign for Kailiauk, as I had expected, was to hold upthree fingers, suggesting the trident of horns adorning the shaggy head of thislarge, short-tempered, small-eyed, lumbering ruminant.
"You have an excellent memory," said Grunt. I had been, of course, as best Icould, reconstructing portions of the conversation which I had earlier seen takeplace between Corn Stalks and Grunt.
I held my hands in front of my body, with the palms facing one another, with theleft hand a bit ahead of the right. I quickly brushed the right palm pass, theloft palm.
"Fast," said Grunt. "Quick. Hurry."
I held my left hand before my body, palm out, with my index and second fingersspread, forming a "V." I held my right band at my fight shoulder, the indexfinger pointing up. I then, quickly, brought my right index finger down,striking into the space between the index finger and second finger of my lefthand.
"Kill," said Grunt, soberly. "Hit. Strike."
I followed this with the sign for many, and then the signs for white man andwhite woman, and for soldiers, and kaiila soldiers, or cavalry.
"Yes," said Grunt "What is this sign?" I asked. I cupped my right hand close to the ground, myfingers partly closed. I then raised it a few inches from the ground, with ashort, wavy motion.
"It is the sign for fire," said Grunt. "Flames."
"It preceded this sign," I said. I then held my fists close to my chest, withthe backs of my own hands down, my index fingers curved. I then made theforward, circular motion, indicative of turning wheels. "This latter sign, as Irecall," I said, "Signifies wagons."
"It does," said Grunt. "Yes."
I was then silent. I did not feel much like speaking. I listened to the crackleof the fire.
"A wagon, or wagons, of course," said Grunt. "The specific meaning depends onthe context. It is the same with my signs."
"I understand," I said.
"Three days ago, or some three days ago," said Grunt, "a party of red savages,consisting of Kaiila, Yellow Knives, Sleen, Fleer and Kailiauk fell suddenlyupon a wagon train and a column of soldiers, both infantry and cavalry. Wagonswere burned. There was a massacre."
"I think I know the parties," I said. "The first left Kailiauk sometime before Ireached it. They were settlers. The second must have been the mercenaries ofAlfred, a captain, from Port Olni. He left Kailiauk shortly before we did."
Alfred, not stopping to trade, and moving swiftly, not slowed by a coffle ofslaves, had, it seemed, made contact with the settlers. Doubtless they wouldhave welcomed his presence. I wondered as to the fate of the settlers andsoldiers, and if any survived. Alfred had seemed to me as though he might be agood commander. He would not have been familiar, however, I speculated, with thewarfare of the Barrens. He had perhaps rated his red foes too lightly. He hadperhaps discounted their possible numbers or skills.
I thought of the squarish wagons, which had been with the soldiers, doubtlessconcealing the beasts of Sardak and Kog. There had been seventeen such wagons.
If these beasts had been destroyed I might, perhaps, consider leaving theBarrens. Zarendargar, then, would be safe, at least until another such forcemight be sent against him. Perhaps Priest-Kings, through their agents, mightmonitor towns such as Fort Haskins and Kailiauk.
I thought, too, briefly, of the red-savage youth, Urt, the red slave, supposedlya Dust Leg, who had been with the soldiers. If the red savages had found him inhis chains, fastened to a white man's wagon, they might have chosen, withamusement, to leave him there, to die. I thought, too, of the lofty, veiled LadyMira of Venna. No doubt now, she no longer wore her veils. I did not think thered savages would have killed her. There are better things to do with suchwomen. Dou
btless she would have been stripped, a thong perhaps on her neck, andassessed as casually as a tethered kaiila. If her captors found her of interest,perhaps they would give her a chance, albeit perhaps only a slim one, to striveto save her life, by absolute and total submission, and pleasingness, as aslave.
I did not fail to note, incidentally, that several, often mutually hostiletribes, had cooperated in the attack, with its attendant destruction andkilling. The Memory, as it is called, and their hatred for the white man, hadtaken priority, as it commonly did, over their bloody and almost continuousintertribal differences. The red savages, I speculated, if they wished, withtheir numbers, and their unity, conjoined with an approximate technologicalparity in weapons, should be able to hold the Barrens indefinitely against whiteintrusion.
"It is a horrifying thing," said Grunt, almost numbly.
"Yes," I said. "What does this mean?" I asked. I placed my right hand against myheart, with the thumb and fingers pointing down and slightly cupped.
"Heart," said Grunt.
I then lowered my hand toward the ground. I had seen Corn Stalks do this, afterhis account of the battle, if battle it had been.
"The heart is on the ground," said Grunt "My heart is on the ground. I am sad."
I nodded.
"My heart, too," said Grunt, "is on the ground. I, too, am sad."
I nodded. "Do you think there were survivors?" I asked.
"In actions of this sort," said Grunt, "our friends of the plains are seldominclined to leave survivors, but perhaps they did, perhaps, say, some children,to be herded to Waniyanpi camps, to be raised with Waniyanpi values, suitablefor slaves, or, say, perhaps, some females whose exposed curvatures at theirfeet they might have found acceptable. Who knows? They are the victors. It woulddepend on their whim."