He looked down, from the lofty saddle. He smote his thigh, and laughed. I urgedmy kaiila to his side.
Below us, half concealed in the tall grass, on their backs, lay the two fellowsI recognized as the brothers, Max and Kyle Hobart. They were stripped and theirhands were thonged behind their backs. They could not rise to their feet. Eachwore a crude, single-position, greenwood leg-spreader.
"It is a present to me, from my friends, the Dust Legs," laughed Grunt, "theleaders of those who followed us."
"A thoughtful present," I said. "Now they are yours."
"And a rich joke it is, too," laughed Grunt. "See?"
"Yes," I said. Max and Kyle Hobart wore leg-spreaders. These are commonlyreserved by the red savages for their white female slaves. They woresingle-position leg-spreaders. One ankle, by thongs threaded through a piercedend, is fastened tightly to one end of the sturdy spreader. The other ankle isthen pulled to a corresponding position at the other end of the pole where, bymeans of another thong passed through another hole, drilled at that point in thespreader, it is fastened securely in place. More sophisticated spreaders haveseveral positions. In the simplest case a series of holes is drilled in the poleand the girl's ankles are merely fastened on the pole at whatever separation themaster desires. In more sophisticated devices, two, or even three, poles orboards are used, which can slide apart, and are fastened at given points by pegsor thongs. In this latter sort of device the girl's ankles, fastened at the farends of the pole or board, need not be untied and retied. One may then, inaccordance with one's moods, and at one's convenience, regulate the distancebetween them.
These spreaders may be used in a variety of ways, of course. Sometimes they areused for the wrists, the pole or board then usually behind the girl's back. Too,they may be used in concert with other devices. In the lodges of WarriorSocieties, for example, as a portion of the amusements accompanying a feast, agirl may be richly used in one, her hands tied behind the back of her neck, inthe draw cords, looped once or twice about her neck, of the sack drawn over herhead. In this way she fears all the men of the society for she does not know whoit was who was the most cruel to her. Too, she regards all the men of thesociety with mixed feelings of sensual uneasiness, for she does not know whichone among them it was who made her yield most ecstatically, most abjectly, as aslave. This is thought good by the men for the camaraderie of the society. To besure, eventually she is usually awarded to one or another of the societymembers. This will usually be either to he who was most cruel to her or to hewho made her yield most abjectly, most rapturously. She will learn which it iswhen she, in the privacy of his ownlodge, after her labors, is ordered to his furs. Not unoften, incidentally, itturns out that these two fellows are the same that he who most cruelly andeffectively dominated her as a master is also he to whom she yielded mostabjectly as a slave.
"Please," said the fellow called Max Hobart.
"Please," said he called Kyle Hobart.
"You are stripped," said Grunt.
"They took our clothing," said Max Hobart.
"You wear leg-spreaders," laughed Grunt.
"They put us in them!" said Kyle Hobart.
"As though you might be women," said Grunt.
"Yes," said Max Hobart, squirming. He tried to rise. He could not, of course, doso.
"Thus do the Dust Legs demean you," said Grunt, "treating you as no more thanwomen. ' "Please," moaned Max Hobart.
"Please," begged Kyle Hobart. "We are helpless!"
Grunt, moving the reins of the kaiila, pulled the beast's head away. I followedhim. The kaiila in the area of the perimeter, those ridden by white men, aregenerally controlled by a headstall, bit and reins, in short, by a bridle, notby a nose rope, as is cultural in the Tahari. Different areas on Gor givewitness to the heritage of differing traditions. The bridle used by the redsavages, incidentally, usually differs from that used by the white men. The mostcommon form is a strap, or braided leather tie, placed below the tongue andbehind the which two reins, or a teeth, tied about the lower jaw, from singledouble rein, a single loop, comes back over the beast's neck. The jaw tie,serving as both bit and headstall, is usually formed of the same material as thereins, one long length of material being used for the entire bridle.
"Wait!" begged Max Hobart. "Wait!"
"Do not go! ' begged Kyle Hobart.
"We will die, if left here!" cried out Max Hobart. "We have been tied by redsavages! We cannot free ourselves!
Grunt stopped his kaiila. "Exposure on the prairie, to die of thirst, or hunger,or of the predations of animals, is what they deserve," be said.
I shrugged. The decision in this matter seemed to me his.
"Please!" cried out Max Hobart, plaintively.
"Yet, perhaps I could spare them this horror, ' mused Grunt. "It wouldinconvenience me little to do so."
"I do not suppose the Dust Legs would object," I said.
"They left them in my keeping," said Grunt.
"That is true," I said. "What are you going to do?"
"Cut their throats," said Grunt.
"I see," I said.
He brought his kaiila back to where the two men lay bound in the grass. Ifollowed him. He tossed me the reins of his beast and, drawing his knife from abeaded sheath, slipped from the saddle to the ground. In an instant he crouchedbeside Max Hobart and, holding the fellow's hair in his left hand, had his bladeacross his throat.
"No!" whispered Max Hobart, hoarsely. "No! Don't kill me! Please, do not killme!"
"Have mercy on us!" begged Kyle Hobart.
Grunt looked up at me.
"In this way, of course," said Grunt, "I get nothing from them."
"A poor bargain from the point of view of a merchant," I observed.
"Do you think they might have some worth?" asked Grunt.
"Perhaps to someone," I said.
"They seem two stalwart, handsome lads," said Grunt. "I might, from someone, beable to get something for them."
"That seems to be possible," I said.
Max Hobart lay back in the grass, gasping, the knife removed from his throat.
Grunt, from his saddlebags, removed two collars. He joined them, by means ofsnap locks, with a length of chain. He then put them on the necks of Max andKyle Hobart" Slave collars! ' gasped Max Hobart.
"Yes," said Grunt. Grant looked up at me. "Their wrists are adequately thongedfor now," he said. "Later, in the camp, we shall provide them with propermanacles."
I nodded.
"Are you going to make us slaves?" asked Max Hobart.
"For the time you may account yourselves mere prisoners," said Grunt.".'It iswhen you are purchased that you will be truly slaves."
"Do not put us in your coffle," begged Max.
"You will be put at the end of the coffle," said Grunt.
"You would chain us behind slave girls?" asked Max.
"You will surely admit that you are the least desirable of the elements in thecoffle. Accordingly, you will be chained in the position of "last girls."
Max moaned, lying in the grass.
"I assure you," said Grunt, "our friends, the red savages, both men and women,will find that quite amusing."
"Please," begged Max.
"But do not fear," said Grunt, "you will not be expected to bear burdens."
Max regarded him, miserably.
"It is the women who are the pack beasts, who will bear the burdens," saidGrunt.
Max nodded, numbly.
"You will discover that there are some advantages to bringing up the rear of thecoffle," said Grunt. "You may then, for example, observe the women before you,bearing their burdens. You are not, however, to so much as touch them, eventhough they are slaves. Do you understand?"
"We understand," said Max, miserably.
"Yes," said Kyle.
Grunt looked about and found some shreds of shirts, which, cut to pieces, layabout in the grass. He tied some of these pieces together and bound them aboutthe hips of the Hobarts. They regarded their new garments, decided for them byGrunt, with dismay.