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Authors: Gordon R. Dickson
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Mage."
"Don't tell me!"
"Don't⦠?" Smrgol stared.
"I was being sarcastic. Go on, go on," said Carolinus. "What's happened now?"
"Why, just that that young inchworm of a Bryagh's run off with our george."
"WHAT?" cried Jim.
The flowers and grass lay down as if in a hurricane. Carolinus tottered, and Smrgol winced.
"My boy," he said, reproachfully. "How many times must I tell you not to shout? I said Bryagh's taken the george."
"WHERE?" Jim yelped.
"Gorbash!" said Smrgol severely. "If you can't talk about this in a polite tone, we won't include you in the discussions after this. I don't know why you get so excited whenever we mention this george."
"Listenâ" said Jim. "It's time you found out something about me. This george, as you call her, is the woman Iâ"
His vocal cords seemed to become paralyzed suddenly. He was unable to say another word.
"âand to be sure," Carolinus interrupted quickly, shoving into the gap caused by Jim's sudden and unexpected silence, "this is a matter of concern to all of us. As I was telling Gorbash, the situation is bad enough already without our making it worse. Eh, Gorbash?"
He bent a penetrating eye on Jim.
"We want to be careful and not make it any worse than it is already, don't we? We don't want to disturb the already disturbed fabric of things any more than it already is. Otherwise, I might not be able to be of any help."
Jim found his vocal cords suddenly free to operate again.
"Oh? Oh⦠yes," he said, a trifle hoarsely. "And to be sure," repeated Carolinus, smoothly, "Gorbash has asked the right question. Where has Bryagh taken this so-called george?"
"Nobody knows," Smrgol answered. "I thought maybe you could find out for us, Mage."
"Certainly. Fifteen pounds of gold, please."
"Fifteen pounds?" The old dragon visibly staggered. "But, Mage, I thought you'd want to help us. I thought you'dâI don't have fifteen pounds of gold. I lived up my hoard a long time ago."
Shakily, he turned to Jim.
"Come, Gorbash, it's no use. We'll have to give up our hope of finding the georgeâ"
"No!" cried Jim. "Listen, Carolinus! I'll pay you. I'll get the fifteen pounds somewhereâ!"
"Boy, are you sick or what?" Smrgol was aghast. "That's only his asking price. Don't be in such a sulphurous hurry!"
He turned back to the magician.
"I might be able to scrape together a couple of pounds, maybe, Mage," he said.
They dickered like fishwives for several minutes while Jim sat quivering with impatience; and finally closed on a price of four pounds of gold, one pound of silver and a large flawed emerald.
"Done!" said Carolinus.
He produced a small vial from his robes and walked across to the pool at the base of the fountain, where he filled the vial about half full. Then he came back and searched among the soft grass around the edge of one flower bed until he found a small, sandy, open spot between the soft green blades. He bent over and the two dragons craned their necks down on either side of him to watch.
"Quiet now," Carolinus warned. "I'm going to try a watchbeetleâand they're easily alarmed. Don't breathe."
Jim held his breath. Carolinus tilted the vial in his hand and a drop fell on the little sandy open spot with a single glass-chime musical note. Tink! Jim could see the bright sand darken as the moisture sank into it.
For a second nothing happened; then the wet sand cracked, opened, and a fine spray of lighter-colored, drier sand from underneath spouted into the air. A small amount of this under sand grew about a depression that sank and became a widening hole, like the entrance to an anthill. An occasional flicker of small black insect limbs could be seen, rapidly at work. After a second the work ceased, there was a moment of silence, and then an odd-looking black beetle popped halfway out of the hole and paused, facing up to them. Its forelimbs waved in the air and a little, squeaky voice like a cracked phonograph record repeating itself
"Don't tell me!"
"Don't⦠?" Smrgol stared.
"I was being sarcastic. Go on, go on," said Carolinus. "What's happened now?"
"Why, just that that young inchworm of a Bryagh's run off with our george."
"WHAT?" cried Jim.
The flowers and grass lay down as if in a hurricane. Carolinus tottered, and Smrgol winced.
"My boy," he said, reproachfully. "How many times must I tell you not to shout? I said Bryagh's taken the george."
"WHERE?" Jim yelped.
"Gorbash!" said Smrgol severely. "If you can't talk about this in a polite tone, we won't include you in the discussions after this. I don't know why you get so excited whenever we mention this george."
"Listenâ" said Jim. "It's time you found out something about me. This george, as you call her, is the woman Iâ"
His vocal cords seemed to become paralyzed suddenly. He was unable to say another word.
"âand to be sure," Carolinus interrupted quickly, shoving into the gap caused by Jim's sudden and unexpected silence, "this is a matter of concern to all of us. As I was telling Gorbash, the situation is bad enough already without our making it worse. Eh, Gorbash?"
He bent a penetrating eye on Jim.
"We want to be careful and not make it any worse than it is already, don't we? We don't want to disturb the already disturbed fabric of things any more than it already is. Otherwise, I might not be able to be of any help."
Jim found his vocal cords suddenly free to operate again.
"Oh? Oh⦠yes," he said, a trifle hoarsely. "And to be sure," repeated Carolinus, smoothly, "Gorbash has asked the right question. Where has Bryagh taken this so-called george?"
"Nobody knows," Smrgol answered. "I thought maybe you could find out for us, Mage."
"Certainly. Fifteen pounds of gold, please."
"Fifteen pounds?" The old dragon visibly staggered. "But, Mage, I thought you'd want to help us. I thought you'dâI don't have fifteen pounds of gold. I lived up my hoard a long time ago."
Shakily, he turned to Jim.
"Come, Gorbash, it's no use. We'll have to give up our hope of finding the georgeâ"
"No!" cried Jim. "Listen, Carolinus! I'll pay you. I'll get the fifteen pounds somewhereâ!"
"Boy, are you sick or what?" Smrgol was aghast. "That's only his asking price. Don't be in such a sulphurous hurry!"
He turned back to the magician.
"I might be able to scrape together a couple of pounds, maybe, Mage," he said.
They dickered like fishwives for several minutes while Jim sat quivering with impatience; and finally closed on a price of four pounds of gold, one pound of silver and a large flawed emerald.
"Done!" said Carolinus.
He produced a small vial from his robes and walked across to the pool at the base of the fountain, where he filled the vial about half full. Then he came back and searched among the soft grass around the edge of one flower bed until he found a small, sandy, open spot between the soft green blades. He bent over and the two dragons craned their necks down on either side of him to watch.
"Quiet now," Carolinus warned. "I'm going to try a watchbeetleâand they're easily alarmed. Don't breathe."
Jim held his breath. Carolinus tilted the vial in his hand and a drop fell on the little sandy open spot with a single glass-chime musical note. Tink! Jim could see the bright sand darken as the moisture sank into it.
For a second nothing happened; then the wet sand cracked, opened, and a fine spray of lighter-colored, drier sand from underneath spouted into the air. A small amount of this under sand grew about a depression that sank and became a widening hole, like the entrance to an anthill. An occasional flicker of small black insect limbs could be seen, rapidly at work. After a second the work ceased, there was a moment of silence, and then an odd-looking black beetle popped halfway out of the hole and paused, facing up to them. Its forelimbs waved in the air and a little, squeaky voice like a cracked phonograph record repeating itself
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