Part 7 (1/2)

Once you and, the cattle are out of his sight, get around behind him as best you can, and bring him here, preferably alive. I'd like to know how he got here so soon, and so would f.a.gin, I'm sure.”

”Are you going to tell him, or the others?”

”Not yet. They'll act more natural if they don't know. Besides, there are still a couple of reports to be given, and f.a.gin never likes that to be interrupted, you know.”

”I know he usually doesn't, but this seemed a sort of special case.”

”Special or not, let's surprise him with your prisoner. Take axes, by the way; they seemed to impress those folks a lot, and maybe he'll give up more easily.”

”All right.” John and Betsey pulled up their resting legs and started casually downhill toward the herd.

None of the others appeared to notice them, and Nick did his best to imitate their att.i.tude as the two scouts disappeared from sight.

vii. ACQUISITION; INQUISITION; INSTRUCTION NEITHER Raeker nor his a.s.sistant paid any attention to the departure of John and his companion. They were much too busy operating cameras and recorders, for one reason. Easy and her companion could now watch the group on the surface indirectly, but neither of them was familiar enough with the routine activities of f.a.gin's pupils to notice anything out of the ordinary. Besides, they were paying very close attention to the geographical reports, in the somewhat unreasonable hope of being able to recognize part of the land described.

For the bathyscaphe was now high and dry. The river down which it had been carried had vanished with the coming day, and the s.h.i.+p had rolled rather uncomfortably -though, fortunately, very slowly-to the foot of a hillock which Easy had promptly named Mount Ararat. The children were having a little trouble, since they had not only had their first visual contact with natives, via the observation room of the Vindemiatrix, but also their first look at the solid surface of Tenebra-if one excepts the bottom of a lake and a river. They were covering both scenes as well as they could, one at the windows while the other was at the plate, but each was trying to keep the other filled in verbally on the other part, with confusing results. Their shouted words were coming through to Raeker and the others in the observation room, and were 102.

Acquisition; Inquisition; Instruction 103 adding their little bit to the confusion there. Raeker didn't dare cut them off, partly for reasons of their own morale and partly because it was always possible that the one at the windows would have something material to report. He hoped the recording of the native reports would be intelligible to the geologists.

Jane finished her account, was asked a question or two by Raeker on points he had not fully taken in, and then settled back to let Oliver show his map. Raeker's a.s.sistant photographed it, Raeker himself made sure that the recording tape was still feeding properly, and the two relaxed once more-or came as close to relaxation as the local confusion permitted. Raeker was almost ready to decide that he needn't stay, and to catch up on his over- due sleep.

He had not actually said anything about it, though, when the cave scout caught sight of John. Within three sec- onds after that, the biologist lost all intention of leaving.

The scout reacted practically instantaneously. He had been crouching as low in the vegetation as his anatomy permitted; now he leaped to his walking legs and started traveling. John was south and west of him, f.a.gin and the rest south and east; he headed north. Immediately Betsey rose into view in that direction, and he stopped in momentary confusion. Nick, who had never lost sight of the fellow's crest since Betsey had first pointed him out, interpreted the situation correctly even though he could not see John and Betsey. He sprang to his walking legs, interrupting Oliver unceremoniously, and began issuing orders. The others were surprised, but reacted with relatively little confusion; and within a few seconds the whole group was streaming down the hillside toward the point where the cave dweller had vanished, leaving the human observers to shout futile questions through the speakers of their robot. Seeing that words were useless, Raeker started the robot in the same direction as his pupils, and used language which made Easy raise her eyebrows as the machine 104 CLOSE TO CRITICAL.

was steadily left further and further behind. Nick and his friends disappeared over the hilltop where the scout had been hiding, and not even their shouts could be heard over Raeker's voice in the control room. It was Easy who turned his words into more constructive channels, less because she was shocked than because she was curious.

”Dr. Raeker! Did I hear one of them say that there was a cave dweller to catch? How did one get there so soon? I thought you said you'd left them behind at that river.” Her question was so exactly the one Raeker had been asking himself that he had nothing to say in reply for a moment; but at least he stopped talking, and had the grace to turn slightly red.

”That's what it sounded like to me, Easy. I don't know the way they found us any more than you do; I have always supposed this was a long way outside their home grounds, so I don't see how they could have known a short cut around the river-for that matter, I don't see how there could be such a thing; that river was over a mile wide. We'll have to wait until Nick and the others come back; maybe they'll have a prisoner we can question. I suppose that's his idea; I think he said 'catch,' not 'kill.' ”

”That's right; he did. Well, we'll be able to see them in a minute or two, when the robot gets up this hill, unless they've gone over another one in the meantime.”

It turned out that they hadn't; the human watchers had a very good view of the chase, not that it was much to see. The valley into which the cave scout had fled was almost entirely ringed with the low, rounded hills so typical of much of Tenebra; John and Betsey had managed to get to the tops of two of these before being seen, so that they had a considerable advantage on the cave dweller when it came to running. He had made one or two attempts to race out through the wide gaps between Betsey and John and between them and the main group, but had seen after only a few moments on each dash that he was being Acquisition; Inquisition; Instruction 105 headed off. When the robot came in sight he was standing near the center of the valley while f.a.gin's people closed in slowly around him. He was rather obviously getting ready for a final dash through any gap that might present itself, after his pursuers were close enough to have sacrificed their advantage of elevation. He might also be planning to fight; he was two feet taller than Nick and his friends, and had two efficient-looking short spears.

Nick seemed to have picked up a smattering of military tactics, not to mention diplomacy, however. He halted his people a good fifty yards from the big cave dweller, and spread them out into an evenly s.p.a.ced circle, With this completed to his satisfaction, he s.h.i.+fted to Swift's language.

”Do you think you can get away from us?”

”I don't know, but some of you will be sorry you tried to stop me,” was the answer.

”What good will that do you, if you are killed?” The scout seemed unable to find an answer to this; in fact, the very question seemed to startle him. The matter had seemed so obvious that he had never faced the task of putting it into words. He was still trying when Nick went on, ”You know that f.a.gin said he was willing to teach Swift whatever he wanted to know. He doesn't want fighting. If you'll put your spears down and come to talk with him, you won't be hurt.”

”If your teacher is so willing to help, why did he run away?” the other shot back. Nick had his answer ready.

”Because you had taken him away from us, and we want him to teach us too. When I came to your caves to get him, he came with me to help me get away. He carried me through the river, where I could not have gone alone. When you first attacked our village, he wanted us to talk to you instead of fighting; but you gave us no chance.” He fell silent, judging that his antagonist would need time to think. However, another question came at once.

”Will you do anything your Teacher tells you?”

J.UO CLOSE TO CRITICAL.

”Yes.” Nick didn't mention the times he had hesitated about obeying f.a.gin's commands; quite honestly, he didn't think of them at that moment.

”Then let me hear him tell you not to harm me. He is coming now. I will wait here, but I will keep my weapons, until I am sure I won't need them.”

”But you don't know his language; you won't know what he's telling us.”

”He learned a few of our words while he was with us, though he couldn't say them very well. I think I can ask him if he is going to hurt me, and I'll know if he says yes or no.” The scout fell silent and stood watching the approach of the robot, still keeping a firm grip on his spears with two hands each. He was ready to stab, not throw.

Even Raeker could see that readiness as the robot glided into the circle, and felt a little uneasy; he would be a good two seconds slow in reacting to anything that happened. Not for the first time, he wished that the Vin-demiatrix were orbiting just outside Tenebra's atmosphere, with three or four relay stations to take care of horizon troubles.

”What's happened, Nick? Is he going to fight?”

”Not if you can convince him it isn't necessary,” replied Nick. He went on to give a precis of the scout's recent statements. ”I don't quite know what to do with him myself, now that we have him,” he finished.

”I wouldn't say you really had him, yet,” was Raeker's dry rejoinder, ”but I see the problem. If we let him go, Swift will be on us in a matter of hours, or in a day or so at the outside. If we don't, we'll have to keep a continuous watch on him, which would be a nuisance, and he might get away anyway. Killing him would of course be inexcusable.”

”Even after what happened to Alice and Tom?”

”Even then, Nick. I think we're going to have to put this fellow to a use, and face the fact that Swift will know where we are. Let me think.” The robot fell silent, though Acquisition; Inquisition; Instruction 107 the men controlling it did not; plans were being proposed, discussed, and rejected at a great rate while the natives waited. Easy had not been cut off, but she offered no advice. Even the diplomats, able to hear from the communication room which they still haunted, kept quiet for once.

The cave dweller, of course had been unable to follow the conversation between Nick and the Teacher, and after the first minute or so of silence he asked for a translation. Somehow he managed to make the request in such a way that Nick felt he was repairing an omission rather than granting a favor when he provided the requested information.

”f.a.gin is deciding what is best to do. He says that we must not kill you.”

”Have him tell me that himself. I will understand him.”

”One does not interrupt the Teacher when he is thinking,” replied Nick. The cave dweller seemed impressed; at least, he said nothing more until the robot came back on the air.

”Nick.” Raeker's voice boomed into the dense atmosphere, ”I want you to translate very carefully what I have to say to this fellow. Make it word for word, as nearly as the language difference will allow; and think it over yourself, because there will be some information I haven't had time to give you yet.”

”All right, Teacher.” Everyone in the circle switched attention to the robot; but if the scout in the center realized this, he at least made no effort to take advantage of the fact. He, too, listened, as intently as though he were trying to make sense out of the human speech as well as Nick's translation. Raeker started slowly, with plenty of pauses for Nick to do his job.

”You know,” he began, ”that Swift wanted me at his place so that I could teach him and his people to make fires, and keep herds, and the other things I have already taught my own people. I was willing to do that, but Swift 1US CLOSE TO CRITICAL.

thought, from something Nick said, that my people would object, so he came fighting when it wasn't necessary.

”That's not really important, now, except for the fact that it delayed something important to Swift as well as to us. Up until now, all I've been able to give is knowledge. I was the only one of my people here, and I can never go back where I came from, so that I couldn't get more things to give.

”Now others of my people have come. They are riding in a great thing that they made; you haven't any words for it, since I never gave them to Nick's people and I don't think Swift's people have any such things. It was something we made, as you make a bucket or a spear, which is able to carry us from one place to another; for the place from which I came is so far away that no one could ever walk the distance, and is far above so that only a floater could even go in the right direction. The people who came were going to be able to come and go in this machine, so that they could bring things like better tools to all of you, taking perhaps things you were willing to give in exchange. However, the machine did not work quite properly; it was like a spear with a cracked head. It came down to where you live, but we found that it could not float back up again. My people cannot live outside it, so they aren't able to fix it. We need help from Nick's people and, if you will give it, from yours as well. If you can find this machine in which my friends are caught, and learn from me how to fix it, they will be able to go back up once more and bring things for you all; if you can't or won't, my people will die here, and there will not even be knowledge for you-for some day I will die, too, you know.

”I want you to take this message to Swift, and then, if he will let you, come back with his answer. I would like him and all his people to help hunt for the machine; and when it is found, Swift's people and Nick's can help in Acquisition; Inquisition; Instruction 109 fixing it. There won't need to be any more fighting. Will you do that?”

Nick had given this talk exactly as it came, so far as his knowledge of Swift's language permitted. The scout was silent for half a minute or so at the end. He was still holding his spears firmly, but Raeker felt that his att.i.tude with them was a trifle less aggressive. It may have been wishful thinking, of course; human beings are as p.r.o.ne to believe the things they wish were true as Drommians are to believe what occurs to them first.

Then the scout began asking questions, and Raeker's estimate of his intelligence went up several notches; he had been inclined to dismiss the fellow as a typical savage.

”Since you know what is wrong with your friends and their machine, you must be able to talk to them some way.”

”Yes, we-I can talk to them.”