The Quest - Smith Wilbur (читаем книги онлайн бесплатно TXT) 📗

By now Meren and Hilto had recovered from the wounds they had received at Tamafupa. They would lead the chase after the monstrous pachyderms with nose-horns. Nakonto and Imbali would follow on foot, while Taita and Fenn would stay behind as spectators. At the last moment Colonel That rode across and asked Taita, 'I would like to ride with you to watch the sport. I hope that you do not object to my presence.'

Taita was surprised. He had not expected such a friendly overture from the morose fellow. 'I would be delighted to have your company, Colonel. As you know, we are after one of those strange creatures which carries a horn upon its nose.'

By this time bands of cavalry were roving across the plain, harrying the buffalo herds with cries of excitement, riding in close to use the lance upon them. When the doughty bovines turned at bay they shot them down with volleys of arrows. Soon black carcasses were littered across the sward, and the panic-stricken herds charged willy-nilly about the plain, desperate to escape the hunters.

To avoid the confused ruck of herds and horsemen, and to discover open ground where they could hunt the pachyderm selectively, Meren crossed the little estuary and rode along the bank. The others followed him until they were out of sight of the vessels, and had the field to themselves. Ahead, they could see a number of quarry scattered across the grassland in small family groups of females and calves. However, Meren was determined to procure the horn of a patriarch, a trophy fit to present to Pharaoh.

As he led them further from the anchored ships, Taita noticed a gradual change coming over Colonel That. His reserve was softening,

and he even smiled at some of Fenn's chatter. 'Your ward is a bright young girl,' he remarked, 'but is she discreet?'

'She is a young girl, as you said, and is free of spite or malice.' That relaxed a little more, so Taita opened his Inner Eye and assessed the man's state of mind. He is under restraint, he thought. He does not want to be seen by his officers to converse freely with me. He is afraid of somebody among his men. I have no doubt it is Captain Onka, who has probably been placed here to watch and report on his superior officer. That has something to tell me, but he is fearful.

Taita reached out with his mind to Fenn, and saw her become receptive. He sent her a message in the Tenmass: 'Join Meren. Leave me alone with That.'

Immediately she turned towards him and smiled. 'Please excuse me, Magus,' she said sweetly. 'I would ride with Meren a space. He has promised to build me a bow of my own.' With her knees she pushed Whirlwind into a canter, leaving Taita alone with That.

The two men rode in silence until Taita said, 'From my conversation with Pharaoh Nefer Seti, I understood that his orders to you when you left Egypt all those years ago were to journey to the source of Mother Nile, then return to Karnak to report your findings.'

That glanced at him sharply, but did not reply.

Taita paused delicately, then went on: 'It seems strange that you have not returned to tell him of your success and to claim from him the reward you so handsomely deserve. It puzzles me to discover that we are journeying in the diametrically opposite direction to Egypt.'

That remained silent for a short while longer, then said softly, 'Pharaoh Nefer Seti is no longer my ruler. Egypt is no longer my homeland. My men and I have adopted a more beautiful, bountiful and blessed country as our own. Egypt is under a curse.'

'I would never have believed that any officer of your status could turn away from his patriotic duty,' Taita said.

'I am not the first Egyptian officer to do so. There was another, ninety years ago, who discovered this new country and never returned to Egypt.

He was sent by Queen Lostris on a similar mission, to discover the headwaters of the Nile. His name was General Lord Aquer.'

'I knew him well,' Taita interjected. 'He was a good soldier, but unpredictable.'

Although That looked at him askance, he did not query Taita's assertion. Instead he continued, 'Lord Aquer pioneered the settlement of Jarri, the Land of the Mountains of the Moon. His direct descendants

have built it into a powerful and advanced state. I am honoured to serve them.'i Taita regarded him with the Inner Eye and saw that this statement was untrue: far from being honoured by his service to this foreign government, That was a man in turmoil. 'That is where you are taking us now, is it? To this state of Jarri?'

'Those are my orders, Magus,' That agreed.

'Who is the king of this country?' Taita asked.

'We do not have one. An oligarchy of noble and wise men rules us.'

'Who chooses them?'

'They are selected for their apparent virtues.'

Again, Taita saw that That did not truly believe this. 'Are you one of the oligarchs?'

'Nay, Magus, I could never warrant that honour as I am not of noble birth. I am a recent arrival in Jarri, an incomer.'

'So Jarrian society is stratified?' Taita asked. 'Divided into nobility, commoners and slaves?'

'In broad outline, that is so. Although we are known as migrants, not commoners.'

'Do you Jarrians still worship the panoply of Egyptian gods?'

'Nay, Magus, we have but one god.'

'Who is he?'

'I do not know. Only the initiates to the religion know his name. I pray that one day I am granted that boon.' Taita saw many conflicting currents running below this assertion: there was something that That could not bring himself to say, even though he had escaped the surveillance of Onka to voice it.

'Tell me more of this land, so wondrous that it could pre-empt the loyalty of a man of your worth.' Taita was encouraging him to speak out.

'No words are adequate to the task,' That replied, 'but we will be there soon enough, and you shall judge for yourself.' He was letting the opportunity to speak openly slip away.

'Colonel That, when you rescued us from the Basmara you said something that made me believe you had been sent for that express purpose. Was I correct?'

'I have already said too much … because I hold you in such high respect and esteem. But I must ask you not to press me. I know that you have a superior and enquiring mind, but you are entering a land that has a different code of customs and laws. At this stage you are a guest, so it

will be expedient to us all if you respect the mores of your hosts.' Now That was in full retreat.

'One of which is not to pry into matters that don't concern me?'

'Precisely,' That said. It was a sober warning, and that was as much as he could bring himself to say.

'I have always held the view that expediency is a justification for tyranny, and the sop of serfs.'

'A dangerous view, Magus, which you should keep to yourself while you are in Jarri.' That closed his mouth as if it were the visor of his bronze helmet, and Taita knew that he would learn no more now, but he was not disappointed. Indeed, he was surprised to have learnt so much.

They were interrupted by the faint cries of the hunters. Far ahead, Meren had run down a quarry worthy of his arrows.

The antediluvian monster stood at bay, snorting like a fire-breathing dragon, making short but furious rushes towards its tormentors, kicking up the dust with its great hoofs, swinging its horned nose from side to side, piggy eyes bright, ears pricked forward. Its nose-horn stood tall as a man, polished by constant honing on tree trunks and termite mounds until it gleamed like a sword.

Then Taita saw Fenn, and felt acid rise in his throat. She was flirting with the beast. Serenely confident of her own horsemanship and Whirlwind's speed, she was crossing at an oblique angle in front of the beast's nose, inviting his charge. Taita kicked his heels into Windsmoke's flanks and raced to restrain her. At the same time he sent an urgent astral impulse directly to her. He felt her parry it, with the skill of an expert swordsman, then close her mind to him. His anger and concern flared hotly. 'The little she-devil!' he muttered.