Behind us, further down the workway, too, men were shouting with pride, many lifting their shovels.
"Look!" said Ayari.
I could see the craft now. It was a shallow-drafted, dismasted dhow. It was being drawn by dozens of men, wading in the marsh, pulling on ropes. They wore slave collars. They were chained together, in groups of eight or ten, by the neck. Askaris, some wading, some in canoes, flanked them. The askaris were jubilant, resplendent in their skins and feathers, with their golden necklaces and armlets, their narrow, tufted shields and short-handled stabbing spears. On the foredeck of the dhow there was mounted a log drum. On this, methodically, an askari drummer, with two long sticks, was heating out, again and again, the message of victory. Many askaris, too, rode the dhow, mostly officers, judging from the arrangements of their gold and feathers, for it is by these things, serving as insignia, that their rankings to those who could read them, as I could not, were made clear. Behind the dhow, some wading and others in canoes, came more than a thousand askaris. In place of the mast on the dhow, mounted in the mast socket, was a «T» frame with a small crossbar mounted on the vertical beam. On this «T» frame a man was chained. His arms were placed over and behind the horizontal bar of the frame, his hands chained together, the chain running before his body, holding him to the frame. His feet had been positioned on the small crossbar. His ankles were also chained, a loop of chain holding them close to the vertical beam. He was a large man, with tattooing. He had apparently been wounded and, surely, had been much beaten. I thought that he might be dead but, as the dhow came closer, I saw him, possibly revived by the shouting and noise, raise his head. He then straightened his body and, as he could, stood proudly, head high, surveying us, on the frame.
The askaris pointed their spears at him, and turned to us, and shouted.
There was no mistaking the name they cried, "Kisu!" they cried. "Kisu! Kisu!"
"It is Kisu," said Ayari.
17
Msaliti Has Formed A Plan
The white slave girls, nude, toweled my body.
"Away," said Msaliti, sharply. They fled away, their bare feet pattering on the woven mats of my quarters, within that gigantic compound that constituted the palace of Bila Huruma.
"These robes," said Msaliti, indicating robes spread upon the couch, "will be found suitable for an ambassador of Teletus." He then indicated a small chest at the couch's foot. "Those gifts, too," he said, "will appear seemly from one interested in negotiating a commercial treaty with one of the stature of Bila Huruma."
I slipped on a tunic.
"Why could you not apprehend Shaba at the banks?" I asked.
"He never cashed the notes," said Msaliti.
I looked at him.
"He feared to do so?" I asked.
"We were tricked," said Msaliti. "He signed the notes over to Bila Huruma, and it was agents of the Ubar himself, who cashed them."
"Twenty thousand tarns of gold," I said.
"The money," said Msaliti, in fury, "is being invested in the formation of a fleet of a hundred ships, fully fitted and supplied, and crewed by fifty men each. These ships are being specifically built to be sectioned and rejoinable, to make possible their portage about difficult areas. Our money, that which we paid for the ring, is being used to outfit an expedition for the exploration of the Ua!"
"That is a venture," I said, "surely of interest to both a geographer, such as Shaba, and a Ubar, such as Bila Huruma."
"I thought he wanted the gold for himself!" said Msaliti.
"Gold is perhaps of less interest to him than glory," I said.
"He will not get away with it," said Msaliti. "We will recover the ring."
"It will take time to prepare such ships," I said.
"The work commenced, months ago," said Msaliti.
"Surely this could not have been unknown to you," I said. "The work was done in the shipyards of Ianda," he said. "I had heard rumors of such a project but did not understand the nature of the ships or that this ubarate was involved. But now the ships are already moving upstream on the Nyoka."
"It seems," I said, "that Bila Huruma does not take you into his full confidence."
"He is a secretive man," said Msaliti.
"Perhaps it is fortunate for him that he does not fully trust you."
"Surely the hand of Shaba may be seen in this," said Msaliti.
"Doubtless," I said.
"Of those in these lands," said Msaliti, "only you and I, and Shaba, know of the ring."
"I gather that you now know the whereabouts of Shaba," I said.
"He is here, the bold rascal," said Msaliti, "in this very palace, living openly, protected by Bila Huruma."
"He is a courageous fellow," I said.
"He thinks he has little to fear," said Msaliti.
"What is your plan?" I asked.
"Bila Huruma, this very morning," said he, "holds court. You, in the guise of an ambassador of Teletus, will bring forward gifts for his viewing. I will do the speaking. You need do little or nothing. Almost no one present will be able to understand Gorean. I will explain that the details of your proposal for a commercial treaty will be discussed with the appropriate wazir, and presented later for approval."
"In short," I said, "it will appear little more than an official greetings exchanged between governments."
"That would be appropriate at this stage of negotiation," said Msaliti.
"Very well," I said. "But what do you have further in mind?"
"Shaba, as one close to Bila Huruma, will be present in the court," he said. "You will attack Shaba and slay him. I will then have you placed under arrest by askaris. I will obtain the ring from the body of Shaba, and you, later, by arrangement, will be permitted to escape. I will pay you a hundred tarns of gold and I myself will then return the ring to the beasts."
"Bila Huruma will not connect my attack with you in any way?" I asked.
"Presumably not," said Msaliti. "I must remain in the clear, you understand."
"Of course," I said. "Why do you not hire just any assassin to do this thing?" I asked.
"You are a fellow agent of Kurii," he said. "You seem an ideal choice."
"Of course," I said.
"I think I may trust you," he said.
"Why is that?" I asked.
"You have had a taste of the canal," he said.
"If I am not fully cooperative," I said, "you will return me to the rogues' chain?"
"I have that power," he said.
"Permit me to don the robes of an ambassador of Teletus," I said.
"Certainly," said he.
18
What Occurred When Court Was Held In The Palace Of Grass; I Meet Bila Huruma; A New Plan Must Be Formed
"Do you have the dagger?" whispered Msaliti to me.
"Surely," I said, "in the sleeve sheath."
He then left my side. There were more than two hundred individuals in the great court, both men and women, of high station, and certain commoners with causes to plead. Too, there were guards, and chieftains, and envoys. The robes were generally of animal skin, some marvelously marked. There was much gold and silver jewelry. Anklets and wristlets of feathers were common. The hair of the men and women was worn in a variety of fashions. Too, there were ornate headdresses in evidence, usually of skins and feathers. In the lips of some of the men were brass plugs. Facial tattooing, in various designs, was common. The opulence and color of the court of Bila Huruma was quite impressive. I was sure that it would have shamed the display and pageantry of many Ubars in the north. There were various racial types represented in the court, almost all black. I was the only white present. There were some brown fellows from Bazi, though, and one of the attending physicians was oriental. Even among very similar black types there was variety in hair style and tattooing, and dress, which I took as evidence of cultural or tribal difference. One of the difficulties in the ubarate of Bila Huruma was this sort of racial and tribal heterogeneity. Fortunately most of these people, generally all from the Ushindi region, spoke closely related dialects. This heterogeneity was surely a challenge to the ubarate of Bila Huruma and that his government was as stable as it was said as much, I think, for the intelligence of his governance as for the ruthlessness of his policies and the indomitability of his will.