Part 26 (1/2)
”Call me Tiberias,” answered the man, and his teeth clicked in an involuntary spasm ”I have come to tell you how to trap Conan”
”A traitor, eh?” ruold,” s ”Give soold and I will show you how to defeat the king!” His eyes glazed widely, his outstretched, upturned hands were spread like quivering claws
Aed his shoulders in distaste But no tool was too base for his use
”If you speak the truth you shall have old than you can carry,” he said ”If you are a liar and a spy I will have you crucified head-down Bring hi”
In the tent of Valerius, the baron pointed to the s about him
”He says he knoay to aid us on the morrow We will need aid, if Xaltotun's plan is no 227
better than it has proved so far Speak on, dog”
The e convulsions Words ca rush: ”Conan camps at the head of the Valley of Lions It is shaped like a fan, with steep hills on either side If you attack hiht up the valley You cannot clin to accept h the hills and show hi Conan from behind But if it is to be done at all, we o miles to the west, then miles to the north, then turn eastward and so come into the Valley of Lions froging his chin In these chaotic ti to sell their souls for a few gold pieces
”If you lead me astray you will die,” said Valerius ”You are aware of that, are you not?”
The man shi+vered, but his wide eyes did not waver
”If I betray you, slay me!”
”Conan will not dare divide his force,” mused Amalric ”He will need all his men to repel our attack He cannot spare any to lay ambushes in the hills Besides, this fellos his hide depends on his leading you as he pro like him sacrifice himself? Nonsense!
No, Valerius, I believe the reater thief than hed Valerius ”Very well I will follow the dog How many h,” answered Amalric ”A surprize attack on their rear will throw theh I shall expect your attack about noon”
”You will knohen I strike,” answered Valerius
As Aratification that Xaltotun was still in his tent, to judge froht air from time to tile of bridles in the outer darkness, he srimly Valerius had about served his purpose The baron knew that Conan was like a wounded lion that rends and tears even in his death-throes When Valerius struck froht ipe his rival out of existence before he himself succumbed So much the better Amalric felt he could well dispense with Valerius, 228
once he had paved the way for a Nemedian victory
The five thousand horsemen who accoades for the ht theythe ard trend of the great black ainst the stars ahead of them Valerius rode at their head, and beside hiripped by a man-at-arms who rode on the other side of him Others kept close behind with draords
”Play us false and you die instantly,” Valerius pointed out ”I do not know every sheep-path in these hills, but I know enough about the general configuration of the country to know the directions we must take to come in behind the Valley of Lions See that you do not lead us astray”
The man ducked his head and his teeth chattered as he volubly assured his captor of his loyalty, staring up stupidly at the banner that floated over hi the extremities of the hills that locked the Valley of Lions, they side to the west An hour's ride and they turned north, forging through wild and rugged hills, following dim trails and tortuous paths Sunrise found theuide turned eastward and led thes
Valerius nodded, judging their position by various peaks thrusting up above the others He had kept his bearings in a general way, and he knew they were still headed in the right direction
But noithout warning, a gray fleecythe slopes, spreading out through the valleys It blotted out the sun; the world becaray void in which visibility was liroping er see the peaks that had served hiuide-posts
He olden serpent drooped in the windless air
Presently Tiberias seemed himself confused; he halted, stared about uncertainly
”Are you lost, dog?” demanded Valerius harshly
”Listen!”
Soan, the rhythmic rumble of a drum
”Conan's drum!” exclaih to hear the drum,” said Valerius, ”why do we not hear the shouts and the clang of ares and the winds play strange tricks,” answered Tiberias, his teeth chattering with the ague that is frequently the lot of eons ”Listen!”
Faintly to their ears ca down in the valley!” cried Tiberias ”The druhts Let us hasten!”
He rode straight on toward the sound of the distant druround at last
Valerius followed, cursing the fog Then it occurred to him that it wouldHe would be at the Cimmerian's back before the noonday sun dispelled the mists
Just now he could not tell what lay on either hand, whether cliffs, thickets or gorges The dru louder as they advanced, but they heard no more of the battle
Valerius had no idea tohat point of the coray rock walls looh the s through a narrow defile But the guide showed no sign of nervousness, and Valerius hove a sigh of relief when the walls widened out and becah the defile; if an ambush had been planned, it would have been ain The dru louder, and Valerius could not deter Now it seemed ahead of hilared about hi on his war- horse isps ofon his ar lines of steel-clad riders faded away and away like phanto?” he dehostly druhtened in his saddle, turned his head and faced Valerius, and the s is thinning, Valerius,” he said in a new voice, pointing a bony finger ”Look!”
The dru away First the crests of cliffs caray clouds, tall and spectral Lower and lower crawled theValerius started up in his stirrups with a cry that the horsemen echoed behind him On all sides of them 230
the cliffs towered They were not in a wide, open valley as he had supposed They were in a blind gorge walled by sheer cliffs hundreds of feet high The only entrance or exit was that narrow defile through which they had ridden
”Dog!” Valerius struck Tiberias full in the mouth with his clenched mailed hand ”What devil's trick is this?”
Tiberias spat out a hter
”A trick that shall rid the world of a beast! Look, dog!”
Again Valerius cried out, more in fury than in fear