Part 17 (2/2)

11

Swords of the South

Dawn that rose over the distant hills shone on the sails of a small craft that dropped down the river which curves to within a reat shi+ning serpent

This boat differed fro the broad Khorotas--fisher and slender, with a high, curving prow, and was black as ebony, hite skulls painted along the gunwales Amidshi+ps rose a save the ominously painted boat a wide berth; for it was obviously one of those 'pilgrim boats' that carried a lifeless follower of Asura on his last e southward to where, far beyond the Poitanian mountains, a river flowed at last into the blue ocean In that cabin undoubtedly lay the corpse of the departed worshi+pper All loomy craft; and the most fanatical votary of Mitra would not dare touch or interfere with their soes

Where the ultiia; so beyond the horizon; others said it was in the glamorous and mysterious land of Vendhya where the dead came home at last But none knew certainly They only knew that when a follower of Asura died, the corpse went southward down the great river, in a black boat rowed by a giant slave, and neither boat nor corpse nor slave was ever seen again; unless, indeed, certain dark tales were true, and it was always the same slave who rowed the boats southward

The e and brown as the others, though closer scrutiny ht have revealed the fact that the hue was the result of carefully applied pigments He was clad in leather loin-cloth and sandals, and he handled the long sweep and oars with unusual skill and power But none approached the grim boat closely, for it ell known that the followers of Asura were accursed, and that these pilgri their boats wide and muttered an incantation as the dark craft slid past, and they never dreaht of their king and the Countess Albiona

It was a strange journey, in that black, slireat river for nearly two hundredthe Poitanian lided past During the day Albiona lay patiently in the little cabin, as quietly as the corpse she pretended to be Only late at night, after the pleasure boats with their fair occupants lounging on silken cushi+ons in the flare of torches held by slaves had left the river, before dawn brought the hurrying fisherboats, did the girl venture out

Then she held the long sweep, cunningly bound in place by ropes to aid her, while Conan snatched a few hours of sleep But the king needed little rest The fire of his desire drove hirinding test Without halt or pause they drove southward

So down the river they fled, through nights when the flowing current ht, leaving winter behind theht, above which throbbed and pulsed the reflection of the roves So at last the blue mountains of Poitain rose above thereat river, swerving froh thecataract

Conan scanned the shoreline closely, and finally swung the long sweep and headed inshore at a point where a neck of land jutted into the water, and fir trees grew in a curiously syely shaped rock

'How these boats ride those falls we hear roaring ahead of us is runted 'Hadrathus said they did--but here's where we halt He said afor us with horses, but I don't see anyone Hoord of our co could have preceded us I don't knoay'

He drove inshore and bound the prow to an arching root in the low bank, and then, plunging into the water, washed the brown paint fro, and in his natural color Fro-mail which Hadrathus had procured for hiarments suitable for mountain travel And when Conan was fully armed, and turned to look toward the shore, he started and his hand went to his sword For on the shore, under the trees, stood a black-cloaked figure holding the reins of a white palfrey and a bay war-horse

'Who are you?' de

The other bowed low

'A follower of Asura A command came I obeyed'

'How, ”caain

'I have coh the hold'

'I don't need a guide,' answered Conan 'I know these hills well I thank you for the horses, but the countess and I will attract less attention alone than if ere accompanied by an acolyte of Asura'

Thethe reins into Conan's hands, stepped into the boat Casting off, he floated down the swift current, toward the distant roar of the unseen rapids With a baffled shake of his head, Conan lifted the countess into the palfrey's saddle, and then mounted the war-horse and reined toward the summits that castellated the sky