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"What is your name?" demanded Vogel Womack, the Parnassus Arbiter. "Your float and
your caste?"
The captive took a deep breath, cast off his pretense of drunkenness. "I am Henry Bastaff.
1 am a dissident. I am here to learn if you plan evil against us. That is my sole
purpose."
"A spy!" cried Barquan Blasdel in a voice of horror. "A self-confessed spy!"
"It is a serious matter," said Emacho Feroxibus, "but the truth of the matter is undoubtedly
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as he has averred."
The Intercessors set up a chorus of indignant hoots and jibes. Barquan Blasde! said, "He is
guilty of at least a double offense: first, the various illegalities entering into his dissi- dence;
and second, his insolent attempt to conspire against us, the staunch and the faithful- The
crime has occurred on Apprise Float, and affects our relations with King Kragen. Hence, I,
Barquan Blasdel, am compelled to demand an ex- treme penalty. Parler Denk, the new
Apprise Arbiter, in such
THE KRAGEN 197
instance, can implement such a penalty by simple executive command, without consultation
with the council. Arbiter Denk, what is your response?"
"Be not hasty," warned Vogel Womack. "Tomorrow the man's deed will not appear so
grave."
Barquan Blasdel ignored him. "Parler Denk, what is your response?"
"1 agree, in all respects. The man is a vile dissident, an agent of turmoil and a spy. He must
suffer an extreme penalty. To this declaration there will be allowed no appeal."
On the following day a significant alteration was made in the method by which King Kragen
was tendered his custom- ary oblation. Previously, when King Kragen approached a lagoon
with the obvious intent of feasting, arbors overgrown with sponges were floated to the edge
of me net, for King Kragen to pluck with his palps. Now the sponges were plucked, heaped
upon a great tray and floated forth between a pair of coracles. When the tray was in place,
Barquan Blasdel went to his sanctum. King Kragen was close at hand; the scraping of his
chitin armor sounded loud in Blasdel's listen- ing device. Blasdel sounded his submarine
horn; the scraping ceased, then began once more, increasing in intensity. King Kragen was
approaching.
He appeared from the east, turret and massive torso riding above the surface, the great
rectangular swimming platform gliding through the ocean on easy strokes of his vanes.
The forward eyes noted the offering. King Kragen ap- proached casually, inspected the
tray, began to scoop the sponges into his maw with his forward palps.
From the float folk watched in somber speculation mingled with awe. Barquan Blasdel
came gingerly forth to stand on the edge of the pad, to gesticulate in approval as King
Kragen ate.
The tray was empty. King Kragen made no motion to depart; Blasdel swung about,
gestured to an understudy. "The sponges: how many were offered?"
"Seven bushels. King Kragen usually eats no more."
"Today be seems to hunger. Are others plucked?"
198 Jack Vance
"Those for the market: another five bushels." "They had best be tendered King Kragen; it is
not well to stint." While King Kragen floated motionless, the coracles were pulled to the float,
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another five bushels were poured upon the tray, and the tray thrust back toward King
Kragen. Again he ate, consuming all but a bushel or two. Then, replete, he submerged till
only his turret remained above the water. And there he remained, moving sluggishly a few
feet forward, a few feet backward.
Nine days later a haggard Denis Maible reported the cap- ture of Henry Bastoff to the
Seven. "On the following day King Kragen had not yet moved. It was clear that the new
method of feeding had impressed him favorably. So at noon the tray was again filled, with at
least ten bushels of sponge, and again King Kragen devoured the lot.
"During this time we learned that Henry Bastaff had been captured and
condemned indeed the news had gone out over the hoodwink towers but we could not
discover where he was imprisoned or what fate had been planned for him.
"On the third day Blasdel made an announcement, to the effect that the dissident spy had
sinned against King Kragen and King Kragen had demanded the privilege of executing him.
"At noon the tray went out. At the very top was a wide board supporting a single great
sponge; and below, the usual heap. King Kragen had not moved fifty yards for three days.
He approached the tray, reached for the topmost sponge. It seemed fastened to the board.
King Kragen jerked, and so decapitated Henry Bastaff, whose head had been stuffed into
the sponge. It was a horrible sight, with the blood spouting upon the pile of sponges. King
Kragen seemed to devour them with particular relish.
"With Henry Bastaff dead, we no longer had reason to delay except for curiosity. King
Kragen showed no signs of moving, of visiting the other floats. It was clear that he found the
new feeding system to his liking. By then, Apprise Float was bereft of sponges.
"The Intercessors conferred by hoodwink and apparently
THE KRAGEN 199
arrived at a means of dealing with the situation. King Kragen's meal on the fourth day was
furnished by Granolt Float and ferried to Apprise by coracle. On the fifth day the sponges [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]