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"I ain't especially fond of her myself, but when you're trying to save your
neck and the necks of your friends, personal likes and dislikes kind of recede
into the background. You don't have to marry her, just sail with her. Now what
about a representative from our scientific contingent?"
"Ought to be Milliken." Ethan looked down on the deck. Williams was deep in
animated conversation with Cheela Hwang and Snyek, the glaciologist. "He knows
what it's like out on the ice. The others don't."
Hwang and her colleagues agreed that the teacher was the best qualified of
their number to make the journey. This Ethan expected. They were nothing if
not sensible. What he did not expect was the ferocity with which Hwang kissed
the teacher farewell. That was neither expected nor sensible. Amazing what a
little casual conversation could accomplish between intelligent people, he
mused.
"Six then," said Hunnar as they watched the crew un-
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latch one of the icerigger's two lifeboats. "Three Tran, three human."
"Go, husband," Elfa murmured softly. "Ride the wind back to me. I will be here
waiting for you when you return." Sailors swung the small craft over the side,
manipulating ropes and pulleys.
"Till the next evening." Hunnar put out his right paw, palm upward, and they
locked fingers, then parted. September was already over the side, catching and
stowing sacks of supplies. Williams followed, then Grurwelk Sees-far, Hunnar,
Ethan, and lastly Ta-hoding, puffing hard and trying not to show it.
With only six of them aboard they had ample room to move about. It was a much
smaller version of the
Sland-nerscree
, equipped with four runners instead of five, a steering handle instead of a
wheel, and a single folding mast. The raised central cabin provided the only
shelter from the ceaseless wind. As they settled in and found places, sailors
began to push the little iceboat toward the metal barrier. The central cabin
barely passed between two of the welded-beam X-shapes and beneath the
connecting bar.
Then they were on the other side, past the barrier. Ta-hoding, Hunnar, and
September fought to raise the mast and lock it into position just forward of
the cabin. The single sail was set and secured to the tip of the boom. As wind
filled the woven pika-pina the metal gate, the mountains, and Yingyapin harbor
began to
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deluge recede behind them. The icerigger's bulk was clearly visible,
imprisoned on the other side of the barrier. No one cheered their escape, no
lookouts waved enthusiastically from their posts atop the masts. If they were
lucky, they would slip away without being noticed by those on shore, whose
attention should be concentrated on the much larger ice ship.
As they began to emerge from the shelter of the harbor the sail bulged with
west wind and they picked up speed. Freezing water splashed up and back from
beneath the bow runner, splattering everyone aboard. Icicles began to form on
the boom, the rails, and the roof of the cabin. Water was something no ship on
Tran-ky-ky was designed to contend with.
Utilizing a spare sail from the lifeboat's storage locker, they were able to
rig a crude screen between bow and mast. It slowed them slightly but kept the
water off. Williams had been staring intently astern ever since they'd left.
"No skimmers. That means Bamaputra and his people don't know we've left. They
might not miss us for quite a while."
"Don't count on it," said September, scraping ice crystals from the rim of his
visor.
"The first thing Antal will do is order a head count. They might not miss the
lifeboat but they'll sure as hell miss us. I'm sure your lady friend will
stall them as long as possible."
"Yes, Cheela ought to " Williams halted in mid-sentence and eyed him sharply.
"Lady friend? What makes you say that, Skua?"
"Why, nothing, nothing at all, Milliken. Except she pretty near had you right
there on the deck by way of saying good-bye."
Fortunately for the easily embarrassed teacher, his skin was much too dark to
show a blush.
XII
Tran-ky-ky's frozen ocean surrounded them, the rim of the southern continent
was rapidly falling astern, and still there was no sign of the expected
pursuit. Ethan was beginning to believe they'd pulled it off.
September stood on Ta-hoding's right, shielding his visor with one hand while
peering into the rising sun. "Let's turn east for a bit, Captain."
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"East? But Poyolavomaar lies north by northwest." The wind ruffled his dense
fur.
Like Hunnar and Grurwelk he appeared oblivious to the cold.
"That's the way they'll expect us to go. Better we waste a few days by sailing
east before turning north. Once we're sure we're in the clear we can make a
gradual swing back toward Poyo. Keep in mind that those sky boats' range is
limited by the amount of fuel they can carry. The more they waste searching
for us where we ain't, the less likely they are to find us. We sure as hell
ain't going to outrun them.
Not in this stuff." He gestured over the side.
It seemed to Ethan that the layer of water atop the ice sheet had deepened by
half a centimeter just while they'd been imprisoned. That was impossible, of
course.
Such an increase would require months of heating. But it was hard
*»-JT
r'til4.fl l-SCt*fl I
C/OCCr to escape the feeling that at any moment their little craft might
become a boat instead of an ice ship.
By midday the familiar cliffs which marked the limits of the continental
plateau had replaced the unusual gentler slopes which embraced the harbor
they'd left behind.
The sun was bright and piercing, the air still warm to the three Tran, though
not warm enough for the trio of humans to consider doffing their survival
suits. At least they were able to flip back their hoods and visors. It was
worth a little cold to be able to breathe Tran-ky-ky's pure, unpolluted air
directly.
With your hood back you could also hear better, so everyone heard the low,
buzzing whine at about the same time. It was loud enough to rise above the
whistle the wind made as it passed through the little craft's rigging.
September hurried to the stern where he raged at ice and a mocking fate.
"How did they find us? How?" He clutched the stolen beamer in one huge fist
even though he knew it wouldn't be of much use against a heavily armed
skimmer.
Ethan gripped the other pistol.
"I'm not sure this time they'll give us the chance to ask questions." He
gestured with the weapon. "Maybe they'll move in close to check on us and we
can pick them off."
"Maybe." September's tone clearly indicated what he thought of their chances.
"Depends who's on board; humans, Tran, or a mix."
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Grurwelk had moved to stand alongside them. Now she pointed. "There it is."
Several minutes passed before the air-repulsion vehicle had come close enough
for the less farsighted humans to pick out the silvery silhouette. It flew
swiftly over the flat surface, keeping three meters above the ice.
"Good tracking equipment." September was muttering unhappily. "I was counting
on them not having any porta-ble stuff. Obviously I was wrong. Or maybe they
just guessed lucky."
"Maybe it's our turn." Ethan slipped his beamer out of sight. "They probably
know we took .these but they don't know for sure that we have them here. It's
possible they think they're back on board the
Slanderscree
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."
September hesitated, then shoved his own weapon into a pocket in the pants of [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]