Read Online The Honorable Barbarian by L. Sprague de Camp - Free Book Online
Authors: L. Sprague de Camp
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were luffing, showing that the ship was coming about. In such an emergency they might do a "bastard tack"—that is, tack without shifting the yards around the masts. Huvraka had explained to him that this would make for slower, less efficient sailing; but if they took the time to shift the yards, Kerin might be out of sight when they took up the search again.
"Are you there, Belinka?" he asked the starlit night.
"Here, Master Kerin!" The blue light twinkled on the after thwart.
"Steady on," he said, and bent his back to the oars. Although the sea was moderate, with a slight swell, Kerin found ocean rowing quite different from that on a lake or pond. He caught crabs, and the butt of an oar hit him under the chin and almost knocked him off the thwart.
"I think," said Belinka, "that you must needs take short, quick strokes, lifting the oars on high on each return stroke."
With a grunt, Kerin yielded to her advice and found the going easier if more fatiguing than the rowing he was used to. He paid no heed to direction, reasoning that his best chance of escaping the Dragonet lay in a random, unpredictable path. The main point was to get as far as possible from where he had left the ship before the moon, then in its first quarter, rose. He expected this in an hour or two. When he paused for breath, he asked:
"Belinka, how didst know about rowing?"
"I watched the sailors at the ports we stopped at."
"Clever little girl," said Kerin.
"I do but my duty, to return you intact to Adeliza."
Kerin grunted and bent to the oars again. The Dragonet was still afar. As Kerin continued rowing, he glimpsed the ship's stern light less and less and finally not at all. He supposed they were sailing back and forth in the area where he had absconded.
Kerin located the pole star, swung the boat thither, and said: "Belinka! Pray keep me headed towards that island we saw at sunset."
"Then give an extra stroke on your right oar—no, no, I meant the boat's right oar!"
Kerin chuckled. "Shame on you! A month at sea, and you haven't learned that the proper word is 'starboard.' "
"Nasty young man! And who told you how to row in the ocean?"
"Just getting even. Tell me, learned you aught about the quest whereof Janji suspects me?"
"Yea, I did; but I have not had a chance to tell you. It seems they have a navigating device in Kuromon—some sort of iron pin, impaled on a piece of cork to make it float. They treat the pin by some means that, when it floats, causes it to veer to point north and south of its own accord, without a spell or the help of a familiar. Since it works without supervision, Janji and her guild fear it will put them out of business."
"And she suspects me of seeking this device?"
"Aye. She thinks that, on your return, you will offer the secret to the Sophi for money."
"A thing I hadn't thought of; but it's an idea. How came you by this knowledge?"
She giggled. "I offered the bir my all if he would disclose the tale, and he did. Then I refused what you call my 'favors.' Enraged, he chased me out of the captain's cabin!" A tinkly laugh sounded from the stern. "Master Kerin, if you pull not harder on your left oar—your left, not the boat's—we shall go in circles till dawn."
The half moon crept above the horizon. Kerin strained his eyes. He thought he glimpsed the peaks of the Dragonet 'ssails—a pair of little black triangles, like saw teeth, showing betimes above the curve of the earth—but he could not be sure. In any case, the ship must be too far for its people to sight him.
When Kerin tired of rowing, he shipped the oars and rested while bailing bilgewater. He dug his money belt out of his bag, put it on, and asked: "Belinka, about you and the amorous bir: Do you sprites—ah—I mean, is it the same as with us? That is—ah . . ."
She laughed. "We Second Planers' habits and customs are too complicated to explain, Master Kerin, our boat hath drifted until it points away from our goal. You had better start
"Are you there, Belinka?" he asked the starlit night.
"Here, Master Kerin!" The blue light twinkled on the after thwart.
"Steady on," he said, and bent his back to the oars. Although the sea was moderate, with a slight swell, Kerin found ocean rowing quite different from that on a lake or pond. He caught crabs, and the butt of an oar hit him under the chin and almost knocked him off the thwart.
"I think," said Belinka, "that you must needs take short, quick strokes, lifting the oars on high on each return stroke."
With a grunt, Kerin yielded to her advice and found the going easier if more fatiguing than the rowing he was used to. He paid no heed to direction, reasoning that his best chance of escaping the Dragonet lay in a random, unpredictable path. The main point was to get as far as possible from where he had left the ship before the moon, then in its first quarter, rose. He expected this in an hour or two. When he paused for breath, he asked:
"Belinka, how didst know about rowing?"
"I watched the sailors at the ports we stopped at."
"Clever little girl," said Kerin.
"I do but my duty, to return you intact to Adeliza."
Kerin grunted and bent to the oars again. The Dragonet was still afar. As Kerin continued rowing, he glimpsed the ship's stern light less and less and finally not at all. He supposed they were sailing back and forth in the area where he had absconded.
Kerin located the pole star, swung the boat thither, and said: "Belinka! Pray keep me headed towards that island we saw at sunset."
"Then give an extra stroke on your right oar—no, no, I meant the boat's right oar!"
Kerin chuckled. "Shame on you! A month at sea, and you haven't learned that the proper word is 'starboard.' "
"Nasty young man! And who told you how to row in the ocean?"
"Just getting even. Tell me, learned you aught about the quest whereof Janji suspects me?"
"Yea, I did; but I have not had a chance to tell you. It seems they have a navigating device in Kuromon—some sort of iron pin, impaled on a piece of cork to make it float. They treat the pin by some means that, when it floats, causes it to veer to point north and south of its own accord, without a spell or the help of a familiar. Since it works without supervision, Janji and her guild fear it will put them out of business."
"And she suspects me of seeking this device?"
"Aye. She thinks that, on your return, you will offer the secret to the Sophi for money."
"A thing I hadn't thought of; but it's an idea. How came you by this knowledge?"
She giggled. "I offered the bir my all if he would disclose the tale, and he did. Then I refused what you call my 'favors.' Enraged, he chased me out of the captain's cabin!" A tinkly laugh sounded from the stern. "Master Kerin, if you pull not harder on your left oar—your left, not the boat's—we shall go in circles till dawn."
The half moon crept above the horizon. Kerin strained his eyes. He thought he glimpsed the peaks of the Dragonet 'ssails—a pair of little black triangles, like saw teeth, showing betimes above the curve of the earth—but he could not be sure. In any case, the ship must be too far for its people to sight him.
When Kerin tired of rowing, he shipped the oars and rested while bailing bilgewater. He dug his money belt out of his bag, put it on, and asked: "Belinka, about you and the amorous bir: Do you sprites—ah—I mean, is it the same as with us? That is—ah . . ."
She laughed. "We Second Planers' habits and customs are too complicated to explain, Master Kerin, our boat hath drifted until it points away from our goal. You had better start
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