Part 25 (2/2)
”Yes.” Sam studied the surface. ”They'll come up to breathe somewhere far from here, where we won't be around to disturb them. We could track them, of course, but they wouldn't take kindly to that.” He smiled. ”What the old one-Lumpjaw-said about not fighting with man is very true. In fatal incidents between the great whales and men on Cachalot, the fault has always rested with the persistent stupidities of the people involved. We won't make those kind of mistakes.”
”What about letting Wenkoseemansa and Latehoht follow them?” Merced ran a hand idly along the rail.
”To what end?” Sam asked. ”You heard their leader. They know nothing about what caused the de- struction of the towns.”
”Or they're not saying.”
”That's possible,” he conceded. ”But you're still not taking into account their ma.s.sive indifference toward mankind. That's genuine. They really don't care one whit what we do or what happens to us as long as we leave them alone.”
Merced persisted. ”Holding back information wouldn't contradict their policy of ignoring us. At the
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110 CACHALOT.
same time it would pa.s.sively encourage whatever still unknown force is conveniently ridding their ocean of humanity.”
The big man considered that, then leaned over the side. ”She-Who-Rises-Above-The-World!” A head ap- peared, dim in the starlight near the bow. It floated back to linger below them.
”Tell me. Beautiful Swimmer, what did you think of the old catodon's comments?”
”Forr all that wwe arre rrelated, theyy arre a con- ceitted rrace,” she announced readily. ”Likke wwe nott theirr companyy orr theirr philosophyyy.”
”Wwe like nott theirr thoughts,” Wenkoseemansa added from nearby. ”Theirr grreaterr intelligencce has brred in themm a grreat contemptuoussness. Yea, forr all thhat theyy mayy bee the smarrtest of the Ceta- cea.”
”Ayye, though theyy mayy bee the smarrtest of us allll,” his mate agreed. ”b.u.t.t thhat does nott makke themm wise.” ___
”No,” Sam agreed, ”that does not make them wise.
Annoying, yes. But I want you to be more specific about what they said.”
”Theyy arre sharrpp and yyet vague, talkatiwe yet coyyy. Annd neverr as prroperrly poetic as wwe,”
Latehoht said.
”Maybe they don't fight, but they snipe,” Merced whispered to Rachael. ”Certain vices seem to go with expanded intelligence.”
”Shush,” Cora admonished him, trying to concen- trate on the orca's words.
”Wwe beliewe,” Latehoht went on, after consult- ing with her mate, ”thhat the Olid Onne was telling the trruth. Wwe listened carreful and close, to worrd and inflection. Wwe slid inn and ammong themm, ammong even the garrulous young, beforre wwe camme to rejoin you. Beforre we lefft the podddd.”
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”Thhey murrmurred of manny things,” Wenkosee- mansa added. ”Of grreat shoals of voula fishh, of battles withh the great mallost inn the depths. Of calwings and matings and arrguments ammong the philosophher bulls. b.u.t.t newerr did we hearr talk- ings of mann orr his worrkks. Not of the towwns destroyyed, not of the people killed and missing. Not of thhose still actiwe, fishhing orr gatherring orr mminning. Theirr callous indifference is as hhonest as it iss monumentally foolishhh.”
”Thhat iss all we werre able to learrnnnn,” Late- hoht finished. ”Whhat noww, frriend Sammmmm?”
”To the Rorqual Station, and the reefs by which it kept company. But slowly. Our s.h.i.+p will follow your path, but we must have some sleep.”
”Ahhhmis- erated sadly. ”Sso little aliwe timme, so muchh of it spent in the brreathing deathh. We'll go and eat, we twwo, and watchh forr youuu.” She and Wenkosee- mansa turned as one, vanished supplely beneath the starlit surface.
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