«Yes, really.»
«You must be very proud to have a father who is a legend.» He was a couple of years younger than she — yes, he could be Mauo. «The old Pegman sings of him often — Haleka, the tumpier who solved the riddle of the ages, and saved the felinos. How does it go …?» And she sang, in a low, melodious voice, the song which begins,
«From the tumpfields to the ocean,
Sing Haleka, sing Haleka.
How he earned Mankind’s devotion,
Sing Haleka.…»
«Of course,” she added with a mischievous grin, «he may have had a little help.»
«Nonsense! He told me about it often — how his tump went loco, and he prepared to die with it according to custom, how the tump began to swim, and suddenly it all became clear to him. And later he designed the tump pens and supervised the building of them — he was a famous man by then, all down the coast.»
«He told you all that? Nothing more?»
«Isn’t that enough?»
She came very close and his head swam with her loveliness, her unbearable sexuality. She put her hands on his shoulders and the fullness of her breasts touched his chest. By the time her strange eyes had looked into his for a moment he was in no condition to deny anything.
«Nothing more?» she asked sweetly.
«Well, there was.…» And suddenly his eyes widened, and the spell was broken. «You’re Karina! You must be! He was always talking about you — even when he was dying.»
«It is I,” she said composedly.
And then her composure left her because, quite unexpectedly, he took over. He was already standing close, so all he had to do was slip his arms around her, crush her body against his, and kiss her with an intensity that no other lover had even approached.
«That’s from Haleka,” he said by way of an excuse, grinning.
«Haleka would never have.…»
«Well, maybe he wasn’t so bright after all.»
«I’m glad you admitted it.»
«I do, lovely Karina. But ask yourself this — who does the old Pegman sing about?»
And he was right, of course. On that happentrack, nobody sang of Karina. As so often happens, the truth of the matter had been forgotten in a very short time but the legend grew fast and strong in the fertile tumpfields and the Women’s Villages; and since it was a tumpier legend it had a tumpier hero. Nobody wanted to hear about a mere felina who happened to be around at the time. Haleka’s protestations were seen as the becoming modesty of a great man and when, millennia later, the vast body of human lore had been distilled into the Song of Earth, the little legend of Haleka had its place on this happentrack which Starquin rejected.
«Some men shoot the antelope while others use the knife.
«Haleka loved the animals and gave his creatures life.»
But there was no mention of Karina.
And the Incarceration of Starquin lasted forever.
The bend at Torres
«I can’t understand what’s got into you,” said Teressa. «He was only an old tumpier. Liven up, Karina. This is the Festival, and we’re at Torres. Nobody knows us!» And she struck an outrageously seductive pose as a young True Human walked past, arm in arm with his girl. He colored and looked away, and Teressa’s laughter followed him up the hill. «Wouldn’t he just like to have,” she said.
The Festival at Torres was similar to that at Rangua; a large gathering of vampiro tents and other temporary structures on the north slope of a hill, attended by a colorful throng of humans of all species. At the base of the hill was the bend in the sailway tracks, and the felinos with their teams of shrugleggers. Then came the stalls and the pitchers of ale and the mating tents, the minstrels and their songs. The Pegman was there, his ramshackle sailcar drawn onto a siding. He cavorted about the camp, swinging his mallet and singing peg‑driving songs.
The first sailcar arrived in mid-afternoon.
The sails were sighted and a great shout went up. Then followed a scene which would be repeated down a thousand kilometers of coast over the next few days — the felinos began to jockey for position.
This was different from the careful, polite and almost mathematical calculation of the felinos at Rangua. Few of the Torres felinos had made prior arrangements with the captains; it was every man for himself. Added to which the cars would be arriving over a period of time, so the felinos who secured the first tows could conceivably get back down the hill in time for another.
They jostled and pushed; and the shrugleggers, as though understanding the implications, shouldered one another roughly aside. Grupos began to gather on the outskirts, awaiting a sign from their men.
«What fun!» said Teressa. «I wish we did this kind of thing at Rangua!»
In fact, over the years the grupos had been only rarely involved because it was tacitly agreed that the resultant free-for-all would delay the sailcars unduly. So it was usually man against man. After a while, the big felinos began to aim powerful blows at one another.
Captain Herrero came sailing in.
Two teams were in advantageous positions and their felinos traded punches while the shrugleggers spread out to prevent interference. Herrero watched from the deck as Urubu rolled to a stop. «You!» he shouted, pointing to the tallest of the combatants. Unfortunately the shout coincided with a decisive kick and his selection fell writhing to the ground.
«Me!» shouted the other, and fastened his team to the towbar. The shrugleggers leaned into the harness and Urubu began to glide up the hill. Lower down, fighting broke out afresh as another sail was sighted.
The El Tigre grupo hung about the guiderails, watching with open‑mouthed excitement.
All except Karina. «Don’t you find all this a bit degrading?» she asked Runa. «Fighting for tokens thrown to us by True Humans?»
«She’s in a bad temper,” Teressa explained, «Just because she had to leave her precious lumpier friend.»
«Yes, she’s beginning to sound like father,” added Runa.
«Well, at least El Tigre wouldn’t stoop to fighting with his own people for the chance to serve a True Human,” said Karina hotly.
«No, because nobody would fight with him, not if they valued their life.»
«Shut up, you three,” said Saba. «There are more cars coming.»
For a while the felinos were too busy to fight as the cars arrived one after another, some switching tracks to slip ahead of opponents. Ripe tortugas began to make their appearance as Torres’ only merchant bought a small quantity. They were quickly cracked open and handed round. Then the sailcars were gone.
«Let’s go and see what’s happening up the hill,” said Karina, and ran towards the vampiros. As she peeped inside the first, hoping to catch someone in the act of mating, shock hit her like a physical blow.
The handmaiden sat in there.
«Go back to the trackside, Karina.»
«Why?»
«It is necessary for the Purpose.»
«Oh.…» This time, it was no big thing. «All right,” she said. She ran back and met her sisters on the way. «There’s still another car to come,” she called to them.
«Rayo,”observed Teressa, adding maliciously, «and Karina’s boyfriend.»
«How many times do I have to tell you I can’t stand the sight of Raoul?»
«Why do you ride with him on Captain Tonio’s old sailcar, then? And who was following him in the jungle not so long ago, and got caught?»
Karina flung herself at Teressa who met her with a short jab to the ribs. The usual battle was developing when Saba gave a shout.
«Rayo’scoming!»
Karina and Teressa paused to watch, still locked together, neither one wanting to surrender her imagined advantage.
«She’s moving fast,” Karina said.
«Of course, you would think Rayo is the best car.»