El Tigre had assembled his shrugleggers beside the inland track, level with Dozo.
«Too proud to fight for position with the others?» Dozo taunted him.
“ Rayowas drawn on an inland track.»
«There are other cars beside Rayo .»
«I made an agreement with Tonio.»
«Ha!» Dozo uttered a bark of derision. «Since when have we trusted the word of a True Human? Mark my words, El Tigre. If Rayohappened to come to rest beside Manoso down there, do you honestly believe Tonio would wait for you to bring your team down? Of course not. He’d tell Manoso to hook up. I’m surprised at you. You’re the one who preaches revolution. You, above all, have reason to hate True Humans!»
«So far as we’re concerned, Dozo, the Race is the climax of our year’s work. I feel it would be sacrilege to disrupt it. I might cheat a True Human — or be cheated by him — at any other time. But not during the Race.»
The track trembled, and bright sails came gliding along the beach.
Uruburolled to a stop.
Dozo had overestimated, and his hindmost shruglegger stood twenty meters past Urubu’s nose. Herrero stood there, sizing up a team directly beneath him. It belonged to a felino from Rangua North Stage named Peleante.
«My honor,” said Peleante.
Dozo hurried up while an assistant undertook the difficult task of backing his team downhill to Urubu.
«Piss off,” said Dozo to Peleante. To Herrero he shouted, «My shrugleggers are raised on the southern slopes, Captain. They’re far stronger than these scraggy creatures.»
Herrero glanced over his shoulder. Another set of sails was approaching, passing swiftly through the coastal scrub. «Hook up, Peleante,” he snapped. «The fat man’s lost his chance.»
«I have three grupos to set on you,” said Dozo quietly to Peleante. «Look to your left.»
Peleante did so, and saw a row of powerful women lounging against the guiderail, watching him with narrowed eyes.
«Look to your left, fat man,” he said.
Another bunch of females stared through the tracks like caged animals. Dozo, recognizing a stalemate, changed his tactics. «Captain!» he called. «My price is reduced by the advance payment you made at the yards!» It was the ultimate sacrifice, allowing Herrero to apply the bribe against the towing charge.
Herrero’s habitual expression of irascibility did not change as he rapidly checked out the economics. Then, after another glance over his shoulder, he said, «Couple up then, Dozo. Make it fast!»
Dozo’s assistant was already fastening the harness to the towbar. Dozo named his price and Herrero tossed a handful of tokens at him. Meanwhile the car behind had arrived on the same track as Herrero and its captain, seeing a chance to overtake, was paying a gang of felinos to manhandle him through the crossover onto the other track. Peleante hurried across to haggle with this new arrival while his assistant reversed the shrugleggers. They became entangled with a team belonging to Diferir, and while they were sorted out Manoso’s team was engaged for the haul to the summit.
Peleante shrugged and turned to watch for further arrivals. It was all in the game; all part of the bright tapestry of the Tortuga Race. There was no point in getting excited over a few hardwood tokens.
A short distance away, El Tigre had company. A woman, beautiful with the voluptuousness of the mature felina had approached him. «All alone, El Tigre? What are your plans for today? I have a tent with many cushions of the best skin over there.»
«I’m sure you do, Iolande.» As she raised her arm to point, her tunic had slipped a little, displaying a brown, erect nipple. El Tigre smiled, it had been artistically done; no wonder Iolande was the most sought-after of the felinas. «I expect you have plenty to eat in there, too.»
«Everything a man could desire.» She still bore the marks of Karina’s nails on her face, but this imperfection had the perverse effect of heightening her desirability. «Anything you want, El Tigre.»
«Including stolen tumpmeat?» He reached out and tweaked the nipple playfully. «Maybe later. Right now, I have a job to do.»
«I may not be around later,” said Iolande.
«A woman is a woman,” he said casually. «There are plenty of opportunities on the day of the Festival.»
Now she smiled, too. «And a man is a man. Only True Humans make commitments, and look at them.» A True Human couple were walking past at that moment, arm in possessive arm, while their eyes wandered among the attractive cat people.
«Go away, Iolande,” said El Tigre gently.
«Later, then. And.… El Tigre, I’m sorry it had to be your grupo we tangled with the other day.» The theft of the meat was nothing; felinos’ principles were different from those of True Humans and Iolande’s punishment had been a mere reprimand. The framing of El Tigre’s daughters was a matter of circumstance; no felino could condemn opportunism. But it was a pity, and Iolande recognized this. «Where are your little girls today, El Tigre?» she asked maliciously.
Before he could reply, Torch walked up. The young man was frowning, scanning the hillside. «Yes, where is the grupo, El Tigre?»
«They’ve gone to Torres.»
«That’s a pity.… I’d hoped that we.…» Torch’s voice trailed away. He’d hoped that tonight, as the drink flowed free and dissolved petty objections, he might have consummated his relationship with the El Tigre grupo.…
While they’d been talking, four more sailcars had passed, drawn by shrugleggers amid much shouting and cracking of whips. Next came Dozo, riding downhill with his shrugleggers trotting behind.
«Herrero’s away. Salvatore close behind. Four on the hill — that leaves two.» As he talked, Dozo cocked an eye at El Tigre. «Ah, and that’s Belin coming in now. Arrajo has him. So that just leaves Rayo .…»
Iolande said, «You’ve agreed with Tonio, El Tigre?»
«Yes.»
«And you’re an honorable man. You could have taken any of the others, but you didn’t.» She made a parody of sighing. «Ah, well.… I must get back to the fun. Maybe …?»
«Perhaps.»
She left them, walking slowly to disguise her limp — another legacy of her fight with Karina.
Dozo said, «Just a couple of weeks ago we were all getting heated about this Rayo, and how it was going to give True Humans all kinds of advantages — and where’s Rayo now? Stuck on some siding, I’ll be bound, with a broken spar.»
“ Rayowill be here,” said Torch. «Or Captain Tonio will have El Tigre to answer to!»
«Loyally put,” Dozo’s tone was sarcastic, as the seventh car rumbled up the hill, the impetuous Arrojo flogging his shrugleggers and the captain yelling encouragement from the prow.
«Here she is!» The triumphant shout from Torch announced the flag which could be seen moving above the trees some distance away. Then Rayo burst out of the delta region and the white sails flitted along the flat lands behind the beach, taut and shining.
«She moves fast,” said Dozo thoughtfully. «Very fast.»
El Tigre took the harness of the lead shrugleggers and began to drag the team uphill, anticipating that Rayo’s present speed would carry her much further up the bank than he’d thought. «Move, you bastards!» he shouted, and the shrugleggers obeyed, eyes rolling in terror. Dozo and Torch ran beside him.
«She’s coming. She’s coming so fast ,” gasped Torch, trying to look over his shoulder and run at the same time.
The hubbub of the Festival quietened suddenly. The only sound was the pounding of feet from El Tigre’s team.
Then came a drawn-out, piercing shriek as Rayo hit the curve at the foot of the bank and the guiderails protested with the strain. Children scattered and felinos yelled in alarm, dragging their shrugleggers aside as Rayo swept by.