It was a quarter of an Ahn afterward when Cabot again heard sleen.
He could tell they were excited, their eagerness and agitation much increased, with the freshness of the trail.
In a moment, breaking through the greenery, he saw the lead sleen, its viperlike head to the ground.
Cabot stood up, and struck the butt of the stick on the rocks at his feet. “Up here!” he called. “Here, up here, gray friend!"
The sleen lifted its head.
Behind it was a Kur, holding its leash, who pointed eagerly toward Cabot and alerted his fellows with a bellowing roar, as of jubilation, as of triumph.
The sleen threw itself against the harness and the Kur struggled to hold it in place. In a moment the second sleen appeared. Both were more intent on the trail and its freshness than the fact that the prey was actually in view. The trail, like a trickle of scent, still obsessed them. Cabot then saw the other Kurii emerge from the trees. Two Kurii had been rather in front of the group, each with a sleen. The other six had traveled in pairs, each pair in tandem fashion behind the preceding pair. Thus Cabot realized he would indeed have been able to make only one kill, if that, as the other member of the pair would have been instantly alerted as to the attack on its fellow. Yes, thought Cabot, they were trailing a warrior. He was gratified that they had chosen in this way to show respect for his caste.
The eight Kurii were now emerged from the forest and were rather at the bottom of the small escarpment.
Six were quite large, the other two were considerably smaller, surely no more than three to five hundred pounds.
Translators were flicked on.
"Greetings,” came from a translator.
"Greetings,” responded Cabot.
"We thought to follow you further,” said one of the Kurii.
"I trust you are not disappointed,” said Cabot.
"You understand why we have come?” asked one of the Kurii.
"I think so,” said Cabot.
"You led us a strange trail,” said another.
"You could not escape through the shuttle port,” said another. “There are codes."
"So I understand,” said Cabot.
"On our return to the shuttle port, following your eccentric trail, we discovered a bait beast,” said one of the Kurii.
"A female bait beast,” said another.
"Interesting,” said Cabot.
Where men are concerned, females make the best bait beasts. The application of the “lure girl” is familiar in many locales. One of the few times a female slave is permitted to don the garments of a free woman without being slain is when she is used in such a role. Sometimes they are put on the bridges late at night, in the light of the moons, and when a marauding tarnsman makes his strike, the city's tarnsmen may take flight and close in upon him. A common stratagem is for a group of seeming maidens to be noted sporting outside a city's walls, perhaps tossing a ball about, or such, and laughing, and chatting, with one another. When foreign tarnsmen, intent on plying chain luck, descend to acquire this seemingly vulnerable trove of loveliness, they are surprised, for numerous guardsmen emerge suddenly from concealed pits and encircle them. Free women, incidentally, are almost never used in such a role. If one were she might be likely to be soon stripped and found in her own collar, that is, in her master's collar.
"We did not eat her,” said another, “as she was garmented."
"Not yet,” said another.
"How do you know she was a bait beast?” asked Cabot.
"What else could she be, here?” asked another.
"True,” said Cabot.
"But where is her hunting party?” asked one.
"Why did you not ask her?” said Cabot.
"You know little of us, human,” said one. “Such creatures are pets, at best. They are not speeched."
"I see,” said Cabot. How quick, thought Cabot, was the mind of the blonde. She would have understood Cabot was hunted. Had she not, as well as he, heard sleen? Taken as an unspeeched pet, at best, she could not be intelligibly interrogated as to his whereabouts. Too, as unspeeched, they would not fear she might inform upon them. As little might be feared on the world, Earth, from a stray dog.
The greatest danger to her, thought Cabot, would presumably be from the surviving members of the decimated hunting party, or from others who knew of it, for she, the bait girl, had not been used by Kurii to entrap humans, but by humans to entrap Kurii. Cabot had done his best, having her bound and helpless beside him in the pitlike depression, to make it clear she had not willingly betrayed her masters. To be sure, she had been used against them, willingly or not, and Kurii do not tend to be a benevolently disposed, understanding or forgiving species. If she had been used in such a fashion once, might she not be used in such a fashion again? Too, perhaps she had collaborated with humans, with intent. As she was speeched, or partly speeched, this might seem all the more possible. And certainly Arcesilaus knew she was at least to some extent speeched, as he had arranged for this, her tutoring being supplied largely by Grendel.
"We are thinking of removing her garment and eating her on the way back,” said one of the Kurii.
This remark startled Cabot, for he was unused to thinking as Kurii, to whom humans are little different from verr or tabuk.
"Perhaps she has escaped,” said Cabot.
"No,” said another. “We braceleted her hands behind her back, about a tree, and hung the key about her neck."
"In that way the meat will stay fresh,” said another.
"She is perhaps a pet,” said Cabot, “and her master would not wish her eaten."
"He would not know."
"Her master,” said Cabot, “is Lord Arcesilaus."
The Kurii looked about, one to the other.
"How would you know that?” asked one.
"She was not in his collar,” said another.
"She was not even in a collar,” said another.
"She may be a stray, who was used as a bait beast,” said another.
"She may have stolen a tunic, in order to avoid being eaten,” said another.
"Sometimes they will kill one another for a tunic,” said another.
"I have seen her on his leash,” said Cabot.
"We will be hungry, after the hunt,” said another Kur.
"I am here,” said Cabot. “What difference does it make, which human you feed upon?"
"The sleen will have you,” said another.
"They have come this far,” said another. “They have been successful in their hunt. They will want food."
The sleen, indeed, were now scratching at the earth, and had their heads raised, regarding him.
A sleen is a dangerous animal, and a hungry sleen is additionally dangerous, and one who expects to be rewarded for a successful hunt, and is not so rewarded, is extremely dangerous. Such a beast may turn upon its leash-holder. When sleen are used in hunting slaves, if the slave is to be recaptured, and not slain, the hunters usually carry meat with them, to reward the beast once the prey is in custody.
"Lord Arcesilaus will not be pleased if you eat the girl,” said Cabot. To be sure, Cabot was not certain of this, and Arcesilaus might have been, for all Cabot knew, contemplating the same act.
"He will never know,” said one of the Kurii.
"Shall we release the sleen now?” inquired one of the Kurii, of Cabot, one somewhat in advance of the others, one Cabot took to be the leader of the group.
"That decision,” said Cabot, “would seem to be yours, rather than mine."
"We expected you to run, until you could run no further,” said one of the Kurii.