Read Online Assignment - Mara Tirana by Edward S. Aarons - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Edward S. Aarons
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collapsed on the bed again.
Voices touched him from outside. He recognized the old man’s urgent rumble, the old woman’s thin reply. He listened for Lissa’s answer with an odd tension, remembering his grandmother’s language from the long-ago days in Pittsburgh.
“You are a fool, Jamak. Is he coming here?”
“Yes, Lissa, he is on the way. I spoke to him only for a moment. Then Jelenka and I took the Zara Dagh path and ran most of the way. But Medjan will be here soon.”
“Does he suspect anything?”
“You know his face. It is like black stone.”
The girl muttered: “He must know something, or he would not dare—”
“What will you do, Lissa?”
“Perhaps we should give him up,” she said.
“How can we do that now?”
“How? How?”. The girl’s voice lifted impatiently. “Would you kill us all for the American? What do we owe that man? We did not ask for him to fall on us from the sky. And he can bring the axe falling on our necks, if he is discovered here. We owe him nothing—nothing! Don’t you understand? Why should we help him? We must live and survive here. Would they help us in a reverse situation? I think not!”
The mother’s voice said gently: “Lissa, you cannot give him to Lieutenant Petar Medjan. You must not.”
“Can we hide him, then?”
The old man spoke. “In the bam, perhaps.”
“And if the barn is searched, and he is found?”
Their silence was an eloquent answer to the girl’s question. Adam stood up again, clung to the bedpost. It was easier now. He struggled into trousers, shirt, shoes. The argument went on outside, but it was quieter now, as if they were now aware that he might be listening. Only the adamant old man saved him, he thought. Yet he could find no anger or blame toward the girl. What was he to them? A foreigner. A deadly danger, dropped from the sky like a plague upon them. She was right, they owed him nothing.
He couldn’t put on his right shoe. His leg was too stiff to let him bend over. Then the door was opened hurriedly and the girl ran across the room toward him and knelt at his feet as he sat on the bed. Her red hair looked burnished in the late afternoon sunlight that came through the doorway. The wind felt cold, and smelled of the pine trees.
She spoke without looking up. “Did you hear it all?”
“Part of it,” he admitted.
“The best thing you could do for us would be to surrender to the authorities now, without waiting any more. I love my parents. This danger is too much to ask them to risk. Put out your foot, please, so I can get your shoe on.”
“I won’t surrender myself,” Adam said. “Not while there is any chance I can get out, with the instruments.” “The only chance you have is with me, do you understand?”
“Yes. And I am grateful.”
“I do not do it for gratitude. I do it because Jamak is a stubborn, foolish, and gallant old man.”
“You’re not worried about yourself?” he asked.
She raised her head. Her face was lovely, like alabaster, hut cold and hostile in her gaze. “I have a price I may have to pay, to keep you safe. Petar Medjan wants me.”
“Now, look, I don’t ask—”
“Please. Don’t be foolish or blind. He is head of the police in Viajec. And he is my only friend, in a way. He is cruel and officious, and an ugly man, although strong. But because he wants me, he has lent his influence to allowing us all to live here in reasonable peace. Now and then, I must encourage him. But he is not eternally patient. Today he comes to claim something from me.”
“You don’t have to, for me,” Adam said. “I can hide in the woods.”
“With your leg? You would die in a few hours. Or be caught, and made to talk, which would be worse. Come, lean on me. We haven’t much time to hide you.”
He tried to take a few steps alone, ignoring her offer. Somehow he was angry with her now. The next moment he felt the pain again, and his pride collapsed in a wave of dizziness. The girl
Voices touched him from outside. He recognized the old man’s urgent rumble, the old woman’s thin reply. He listened for Lissa’s answer with an odd tension, remembering his grandmother’s language from the long-ago days in Pittsburgh.
“You are a fool, Jamak. Is he coming here?”
“Yes, Lissa, he is on the way. I spoke to him only for a moment. Then Jelenka and I took the Zara Dagh path and ran most of the way. But Medjan will be here soon.”
“Does he suspect anything?”
“You know his face. It is like black stone.”
The girl muttered: “He must know something, or he would not dare—”
“What will you do, Lissa?”
“Perhaps we should give him up,” she said.
“How can we do that now?”
“How? How?”. The girl’s voice lifted impatiently. “Would you kill us all for the American? What do we owe that man? We did not ask for him to fall on us from the sky. And he can bring the axe falling on our necks, if he is discovered here. We owe him nothing—nothing! Don’t you understand? Why should we help him? We must live and survive here. Would they help us in a reverse situation? I think not!”
The mother’s voice said gently: “Lissa, you cannot give him to Lieutenant Petar Medjan. You must not.”
“Can we hide him, then?”
The old man spoke. “In the bam, perhaps.”
“And if the barn is searched, and he is found?”
Their silence was an eloquent answer to the girl’s question. Adam stood up again, clung to the bedpost. It was easier now. He struggled into trousers, shirt, shoes. The argument went on outside, but it was quieter now, as if they were now aware that he might be listening. Only the adamant old man saved him, he thought. Yet he could find no anger or blame toward the girl. What was he to them? A foreigner. A deadly danger, dropped from the sky like a plague upon them. She was right, they owed him nothing.
He couldn’t put on his right shoe. His leg was too stiff to let him bend over. Then the door was opened hurriedly and the girl ran across the room toward him and knelt at his feet as he sat on the bed. Her red hair looked burnished in the late afternoon sunlight that came through the doorway. The wind felt cold, and smelled of the pine trees.
She spoke without looking up. “Did you hear it all?”
“Part of it,” he admitted.
“The best thing you could do for us would be to surrender to the authorities now, without waiting any more. I love my parents. This danger is too much to ask them to risk. Put out your foot, please, so I can get your shoe on.”
“I won’t surrender myself,” Adam said. “Not while there is any chance I can get out, with the instruments.” “The only chance you have is with me, do you understand?”
“Yes. And I am grateful.”
“I do not do it for gratitude. I do it because Jamak is a stubborn, foolish, and gallant old man.”
“You’re not worried about yourself?” he asked.
She raised her head. Her face was lovely, like alabaster, hut cold and hostile in her gaze. “I have a price I may have to pay, to keep you safe. Petar Medjan wants me.”
“Now, look, I don’t ask—”
“Please. Don’t be foolish or blind. He is head of the police in Viajec. And he is my only friend, in a way. He is cruel and officious, and an ugly man, although strong. But because he wants me, he has lent his influence to allowing us all to live here in reasonable peace. Now and then, I must encourage him. But he is not eternally patient. Today he comes to claim something from me.”
“You don’t have to, for me,” Adam said. “I can hide in the woods.”
“With your leg? You would die in a few hours. Or be caught, and made to talk, which would be worse. Come, lean on me. We haven’t much time to hide you.”
He tried to take a few steps alone, ignoring her offer. Somehow he was angry with her now. The next moment he felt the pain again, and his pride collapsed in a wave of dizziness. The girl
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