Teressa said, “Probably he’s gone into hiding. After all, he is a True Human. He got out of Torres while the going was good. Did you see how those crewmen kicked, on those crosses? And the yelling — True Humans died noisily, that’s for sure.”
El Tigre and his followers rode grimly up the hill in the direction of the community hut, where a crowd was now gathering. The girls lingered beside Estrella del Oeste, pondering the whereabouts of the Pegman. Suddenly their whole world had changed; their sister was dead, the Canton was in an uproar — and the Pegman represented a link with the past; with the childhood they’d left behind so suddenly. Karina fingered the ancient woodwork, slippery with rain.
“Nothing’s ever going to be the same,” she said.
And a voice suddenly spoke, hollow and ghostly.
“Who’s that? Who’s that?”
Karina said, “It’s the Pegman. He’s in there.”
“Have they gone? Huh? Is that you, Karina?” The Pegman’s eyes appeared at a gap in the warped timbers.
“Have who gone?”
“The Palace Guards. They were here, didn’t you know? They commandeered the Estrella — stole it, if the truth be told — and sailed it back from Torres. I was scared, I tell you. When I saw them coming I hid in the hold. I knew they wouldn’t be poking about amongst the kegs of grease.” There was a scuffling and he emerged from the cargo hatch, swung himself to the ground and glanced around nervously. “What’s happening?”
“Father’s holding a meeting,” said Runa.
“We’re going to wipe every True Human off the face of the Earth,” added Teressa.
“I’m a True Human.”
“You’re out of luck, Pegman.”
The Pegman’s eyes sought Karina, but he found little comfort there either. Her face was set, the lips clamped together. Then, after a moment, she said,
“We didn’t find those bastards, Enri. We’ve been looking for them all night. They got clean away.”
“You mean Captain Tonio and his wife and son?”
“That’s who I mean.”
He was silent, remembering the unintelligible discussions on the deck. And those final words, couched in tones of quiet menace, You will report to the Palace in the morning. Captain Tonio’s family, in trouble. Enri didn’t know the whole truth of the matter; but one thing he did know, it was easy to misjudge speed in a sail-car.
Rayo had been so fast.… Unnaturally so. He’d seen a car break away from the shruglegger team once, and run backwards down the bank at Jai’a. And, like Rayo, it had hit the curve at terrifying speed, and the guiderail had collapsed.… One felino had been killed. Enri had pitied the captain.…
The El Tigre grupo stood before him, a fighting team.… Enri decided to keep his mouth shut. Casually, and just to change the subject, he asked, “Where’s Saba?”
And their eyes told him.
“Saba?” he said, as something seemed to hit him in the stomach. “Saba?”
“Her neck was broken,” said Karina. “And other things.” She was watching him strangely and, after a moment, she stepped close. “Tell me, Enri. Tell me right now!”
“They were on Estrella,” he muttered, unable to look into the furnaces of her eyes. “They’re probably at the house right now. The guards told them to report to the Palace in the morning. They may have left.”
“Come on!” said Karina, beginning to run. “Let’s tell father, quickly!”
The Pegman looked after them. “I couldn’t help it,” he said to himself. He walked to a nearby team of shrugleggers. Cupping his hands trumpet-fashion he bawled at the leader. “Couldn’t help it, couldn’t help it! Couldn’t help it!”
The creature regarded him in dumb puzzlement.
“But father, we’ve got to get after them! Isn’t that what this whole business is about?”
El Tigre regarded Karina somberly. They stood in the community hut on a makeshift stage. The place was jammed; the audience spilled out through the doors. The South Stage leaders were grouped around El Tigre: Diferir, Manoso, Dozo, all the influential felinos united in a common cause.
El Tigre said, “There are more important things, Karina. Tonio is small fry.”
“But Saba.… Your own daughter …!” Karina was shaking his arm trying to get him to look at her; but El Tigre had learned the folly of looking into Karina’s eyes. “How can you fool around with some stupid meeting when the murderers are getting further away all the time! We have to get after them, now, and nail them up like we did the crew!”
El Tigre said, “Listen, Karina. The important thing is, the True Humans have started using metal to build ships fast enough to spell the end of us. Look at this crowd. It’s the biggest we’ve ever had — half of North Stage is here, too. And this time we’re united. We’re going to put our plans to these people, and they’re going to agree with them. It’s the revolution, Karina.” Yet there was no excitement in his voice. The spark had died at Torres, with Saba.… “Now, what are they going to say if I send them all running after a couple of True Humans? They’ll ask what kind of revolution this is. They’ll say instead of dealing with the big issues, El Tigre is pursuing a personal vendetta. Can you understand that, Karina?”
“No, I can’t! I can’t believe it, either! We’re just back from burying Saba, and we know who the murderers are, and all you want to do is talk!”
“I’m sorry.” El Tigre’s attention was wandering. Torch was calling the meeting to order and he needed to marshal his thoughts. “That’s the way it is.”
“Well, if you’re not going to do anything about it, I am! I’m going to Rangua with the grupo, right now, and we’re going to hunt down those bastards, and you’re not going to stop us!”
The girls headed straight up the hill at a run.
Arriving at Tonio’s house, they found every sign of a recent hurried departure. Although the rain was still falling steadily they were able to follow the trail into the forest, where three mules had obviously been tethered overnight.
“They headed west,” said Runa, examining the grass.
The felinas loped through the forest. “The Palace,” said Teressa finally, halting and motioning the others to stop, too. Ahead of them lay the vast open area; the grounds, the private sailway running through, and the huge ancient building. And the guards, too powerful for even the grupo to tackle.…
“So what do we do now?” asked Runa.
“There are the mules — see?” Karina pointed. “So they’re still in there somewhere. We just wait for them to come out, let them get clear of the guards, then we take them.” Her fingers itched.
But it didn’t work out like that. Eventually Tonio, Astrud and Raoul emerged, accompanied by two guards. For a while the True Humans stood under the portico, sheltering from the rain. They put on black cloaks, drawing them tight around the neck and pulling the hoods over their heads. Presently a sailcar arrived, halting nearby. The five people climbed aboard, the crew let off the brakes and hauled in the sails, and the car accelerated quickly away, heading north.
“Quick!” shouted Teressa. “After them!”
“No!” Runa grabbed her arm as she was about to run across open ground. “There are guards everywhere. Let’s go back the way we came. If we hurry, we can catch them at the station in Rangua!”
When they reached the station some time later, however, the Lord’s private car was already at the platform and there was no sign of the True Human family. The two guards were there, furling the sails in leisurely fashion, but otherwise the station was deserted.
“They’ve gone into a house somewhere,” said Karina in despair. “How are we going to find them now? It’s no good asking the guards.”
“Maybe when the revolution comes, it’ll flush them out,” suggested Teressa. “According to father, we’ll sweep everything before us. We’ll roust everyone out and line them up, and kill them.” Teressa warmed to her theme. “Then we’ll take their places. We’ll be top cats. We’ll capture the
Palace, kill the Lord, and live there with El Tigre as the new Lord. The guards will obey us and we’ll rule the Canton, and if anyone has the gall to step out of line, by Agni we’ll set the guards on him!”
Runa laughed. “I love you, Teressa.”
“We’ll try the inn,” said Karina decisively.
That moment, when the El Tigre grupo entered the Rangua inn in search of Captain Tonio and his family, for some reason caught the imagination of the later bards. It was a moment of some drama, although the couplet in the Song of Earth exaggerates a little. But then, few epics would be worth a damn without poetic licence.…
“She led the fearsome hunting girls into the house of sin,
And terror gripped the drunken soul of every man within.”
In point of fact there was little drunkenness, since it was only mid-morning. And annoyance, rather than terror, was the emotion uppermost in the souls of the men. Specialists were not welcome in the house of sin that morning, with revolution in the air, and the Town Elders holding a meeting upstairs to discuss defensive measures.
Karina stood in the center of the floor eyeing the drinkers who sat around the walls. Teressa and Runa stood in the doorway to discourage anyone from leaving.
“We don’t want any trouble here, now,” said the innkeeper, pausing in the act of filling a pitcher with ale.
“Throw them out!” somebody called.
Karina spat briefly in that direction, then said, “Anyone seen Captain Tonio?”
There was a sullen silence.
“Maybe you didn’t hear me too well.” Karina took the pitcher from the innkeeper and threw its contents into the face of the nearest customer. “We’re looking for Captain Tonio and his family. They were last seen wearing black cloaks, headed this way.”
The customer, spluttering and dashing ale from his eyes, said, “I don’t know. Why pick on me?” He was elderly, and shaking with impotent rage. “He hasn’t been in here, that’s all I can tell you.”
Suddenly a voice said, “I think I know where he might be.”
“Pegman!” Now Karina saw the figure in the corner.
The Pegman rose, draining his mug. “Let’s go outside,” he said. “It wasn’t doing me any good in there, anyway.”
He followed the grupo into the street, blinking at the light. The sailway ran nearby and he sat on a running rail.
“Well?” asked Teressa impatiently.
But the Pegman was not to be hurried. He uttered a couple of strange cries while be collected his thoughts. Finally he said, “You remember a little while ago, Karina, we talked about … the Dedo.”
“That bitch! I’m going to get her!”
“She lives in the rain forest above Palhoa. Now, Captain Tonio once worked on that old sailcar track that ran from Palhoa up to Buique. It’s all wrecked, now. It’s a region nobody ever goes to — even the mountain people stay away — because of the Dedo, I think. Anyway, things are a bit strange around there and Tonio knows that. I think that was the real reason why the sailway track was abandoned — you could almost smell the strangeness. Tonic’s mentioned it to me more than once. It’s a perfect place to hide out — no people, plenty of food.… I think that’s where Tonic’s headed for.”
“You don’t think he’s in town here?”
“Not if he’s got any sense. This town will be a battlefield before long. The signalmen reported a big gathering down at South Stage — but I expect you know about that. No. I think Tonio caught the morning car to Palhoa.”
“But the cars aren’t running, Enri.”
“The Palhoa car is a square-rigger, remember? It doesn’t need felino help. It’ll be back later on today. All we have to do is ask the crew if three passengers in black cloaks travelled to Palhoa today. And if they did, we take the car tomorrow.”
“You’re coming?”
“Of course,” said Enriques de Jai’a, hoping that he would be able to prevent bloodshed, not expecting success, and wondering why all this seemed predestined as though the Ifalong had suddenly become inevitable.
“Was it worth all those years of disappointment, El Tigre?” Dozo asked his chief.
The meeting had been a rousing success. The hillside still resounded with the roars of acclamation. The felinos were pouring out of the community hut prepared to do battle now, this minute. Mules were being brought, and the few precious horses. Even the shrugleggers had drawn near, mouths hanging open in dull astonishment.
“A moment’s cheering?” El Tigre regarded the crowd, which was now being marshalled into three armies. “No.”
“Still not satisfied, El Tigre?” Manoso gave his sly grin. “Maybe when I’ll capture the delta for you, you’ll smile then.”
“No.” The chief felino stood for a moment in thought. “When we control the whole Canton and I’m satisfied that people — all people — are better off than they were; and when the Canton is running so well that we can start giving things back: the tumpfields to the tumpiers, the town to the True Humans, the delta to the cai-men; and when I can see that everyone has his fair share, and no one race is setting itself up as chief; then maybe you’ll see me smile. But even then,” he added with a faint grin, “only if I’m happy.”
“I’m surprised to hear you considering giving the True Humans a share in anything,” said Diferir. “I mean, you, El Tigre.”
“My personal feelings have no place in the revolution.”
Dozo said, “It never occured to you that this racial segregation is the real cause of the problem?”
“No — that’s natural. It’s the very existence of races which causes trouble. Which takes me right back to a question I’ve asked myself many times. Was the great Mordecai — our creator — a saint or a devil?”
They followed the tail-end of the crowd outside, where the rain still fell steadily. Like the Pegman, El Tigre felt he was caught up in an inevitable flow of events. The revolution was not his doing; it had been brought about by a series of happenings culminating in the accident at Torres. He was a tool, and so was everyone else. Just for a moment, he allowed himself to wonder who was wielding that tool.…
They were watching him, waiting for a sign.
“Move out!” he shouted.
The revolution had started.
The felinos were divided into three fighting units, commanded by Dozo, Manoso and El Tigre himself.
Dozo headed west. His task was to take his army into the foothills to deal with the tumpiers and any True Humans who might be around. It was the easiest job of the three and little active opposition was expected although — and this was why El Tigre had chosen Dozo for the task — a considerable amount of diplomacy had to be used. The tumpiers had to be won over rather than conquered, to ensure the continuance of the food supply. They were proud people with their own culture and traditions and El Tigre did not want to antagonize them any more than necessary. In order to demonstrate good intentions, Dozo’s army consisted of good-natured bachelors. He had been given strict instructions that the Women’s Village was not to be entered.
Manoso headed north with a mixed army of bachelors and felina grupos to conquer the delta region and to seize the yards, workshops, and tortuga pens. The Canton’s whole economy was based on this region, and stiff opposition was expected. There were a number of True Humans in the jungle, Maquinista himself was known to have unusual and effective weapons, and the cai-men were an unknown quantity. Logically, as Specialists, they should side with the revolutionary forces; but past experience told Manoso that, once stirred up, the crocodile-men would probably fight both sides indiscriminately, just for the hell of it. El Tigre had faith, however, that Manoso’s devious mind would be equal to any challenge.
El Tigre headed northwest with a strong force of grupos plus their closest males and other chosen felinos such as Torch. His target was Rangua Town, and here the fiercest fighting was expected. Rumor had it that the Town Elders had already declared martial law, that all Specialists were being interned and that d
efenses were being organized.
These rumors were substantiated about a kilometer further on, when the advancing army met Karina, Teressa and Runa hurrying downhill.
“They’re putting barricades across the streets,” Karina told them. “And they’ve sent word to the Palace asking for a contingent of guards.”
“Guards?” echoed Diferir nervously.
“They won’t fight in Rangua,” said El Tigre confidently. “The Lord will keep them back at the Palace. He’ll want to protect his own neck.”
“All the same, guards.…”
“The Palace …?” somebody else said. “Are we intending to attack the Palace?”
“Mordecai!” roared El Tigre. “My only hope is that True Humans have even less guts than you. Torch! Round up the men for a frontal diversion. Iolande! take your grupo and fifteen others and circle west. Attack across the sailway, near the station. Tamaril! East, and keep below the ridge. Twenty grupos. Attack through the residential areas. Now.…” He regarded them broodingly. “We don’t know what to expect. But one thing we do know — if we fail, we won’t get another chance in our lifetimes. Now, we’re not used to killing — the Examples forbid it. But just for a few hours we’re going to have to forget the Examples. Kill if you have to, but only as a last resort. Make a few examples, scare them into surrender, and take prisoners. Then stop. No looting, no vandalism. We have to live with these people afterwards.”
“And if we find Tonio?” said Torch.
“Bring him to me. I want him alive. I want to be sure he dies correctly, in the utmost pain.”
“What about the rest of us?” asked Amora, the well-built mother of a strong grupo.
“Wait with me,” said El Tigre. “I want plenty of reserves. Now, Torch, Iolande, Tamaril! Move!”
The attack on Rangua Town began.
Into the mountains.
Astrud looked back on her old life, knowing she would never see it again, and the collection of shacks which was Rangua shimmered into tears. Raoul seemed to accept things better; he looked forward, up the track towards the jungle-clad hills, and there was a gleam of excitement in his eyes.
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