Part 38 (2/2)

'You're right, you do have a problem. They sure gave you one h.e.l.l of an a.s.signment for your first time out.”

Steve let it pa.s.s. 'By my reckoning it must be what about five hundred miles from Ba-satana to the sh.o.r.es of Lake In?”

'Something like that. And from there, you got another fifteen hundred miles to Wyoming. At least.”

'I figured twelve hundred but - what the heck . . .

another three hundred more or less... ' Steve raised his eyes skywards.

After a moment's silence he eyed the boat and turned back to Side-Winder. 'How did this thing get here?”

'Through the ca.n.a.l.”

'The same one that took us to Pi-saba?”

'No. This one runs across Yama-s.h.i.+ta's domain. Used to be the border between the Yama-Ha and the Matsu-s.h.i.+ta before the families linked up.

It starts at Bu-faro on Lake In runs through Uti-ka and comes out at Taro-ya a few miles upriver from here.”

Steve's eyes followed his pointing arm, then swung back on to Side-Winder. 'Supposing I managed to get my two targets from the Heron Pool to here, what are the chances of getting a boat ride?”

'To Lake In?” The mexican pursed his lips. 'Are these guys going to be kicking and screaming?”

'No. If everything goes as planned, they're going to be in a hurry to leave. That goes for me too. Is it possible?”

'In theory, yes, but - I may not be here. But even if I was, I couldn't handle three stowaways. I was able to help you get a free ride, but you'd already managed to get on board by yourself.”

'I realise that. The thing is, there might be four of us.

Do the Iron Masters s.h.i.+p Mutes and Trackers along that waterway?”

'Yes, now and then. But you'd need papers. A travel pa.s.s and a doc.u.ment certifying you've been purchased by someone in Bu-faro. A slave-dealer would be best.”

'Shee-iit. This is more complicated than I thought.”

'It always is.”

Steve chewed it over and had the germ of an idea.

'Okay, let's a.s.sume I can get the papers we need. What do they have to say?”

Side-Winder gave him the standard wording and the name of a slave-dealer in Bu-faro. 'I don't see what use this is. You can't even speak j.a.panese, let alone write it.”

'Let me worry about that.”

'Okay, suppose you do get to Bu-faro. What are you gonna do then?”

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