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The Ilanths trooped from the common-room. With sidelong glances toward the
priestesses and leers at the girl, they crossed the compound, brought forth
their leap-horses and began to pare the horny growths which gathered on the
gray-green hides.
The priestesses ended their discussion with the mountainman and went to walk
out on the steppe, back and forth in front of the outcrops, the girl lagging a
few steps behind, to the exasperation of the priestesses. The Ilanths looked
after, muttering to themselves.
Traz came out to sit by Reith. He pointed across the steppe. "Green Chasch are
near: a large party."
Reith could see nothing. "How do you know?"
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"I smell the smoke of their fires."
"I smell nothing," said Reith.
Traz shrugged. "It is a party of three or four hundred."
"Mmmf. How do you know that?"
"By the strength of the wind, the smell of the smoke. A small group makes less
smoke than a large group. This is the smoke of about three hundred Green
Chasch."
Reith threw up his hands in defeat.
The Ilanths, mounting their leap-horses, bounded off into the outcrops, where
they halted. Anacho, standing by, gave a dry laugh. "They go to plague the
priestesses."
Reith jumped to his feet, went out to watch. The Ilanths waited till the
priestesses strode by, then bounded forth. The priestesses sprang back in
alarm; the Ilanths, cawing and hooting, snatched up the girl, threw her over a
saddle and carried her off toward the hills. The priestesses stared aghast;
then, screaming hoarsely, they all ran back to the compound. Seizing upon
Baojian the caravan-master, they pointed trembling fingers. "The yellow beasts
have stolen the maid of Cath!"
"Just for a bit of sport," said Baojian soothingly. "They'll bring her back
when they're through with her."
"Useless for our purposes! When we have journeyed so far and borne so much! It
is utter tragedy! I
am a Grand Mother of the Fasm Seminary! And you will not even help!"
The caravan-master spat into the dirt. "I help no one. I maintain order in the
caravan. I steer my wagons, I have time for nothing else."
"Vile man! Are these not your underlings? Control them!"
"I control only my caravan. The event occurred upon the steppe."
"Oh, what shall we do? We are bereft! There will be no Rite of Clarification!"
Reith found himself in the saddle of a leap-horse, bounding across the steppe.
He had been activated by an impulse far below the level of his conscious mind;
even while the leap-horse took him on prodigious bounds across the steppe he
marveled at the reflexes which had sent him springing away from the
caravan-master and up onto the leaphorse. "What's done is done," he consoled
himself, with somewhat bitter satisfaction; it seemed that the plight of a
beautiful slave-girl had taken precedence over his own woes.
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The Ilanths had not ridden far; up a little valley to a small flat sandy area
under a beetling boulder. The girl stood bewildered and cowering against the
stone; the Ranths had only just finished tying their leaphorses when Reith
arrived. "What do you want?" asked one without friendliness. "Away with you;
we are about to test the quality of this Cath girl."
Another one gave a coarse laugh. "She will need instruction for the Female
Mysteries!"
Reith displayed his gun. "I'll kill any or all of you, with pleasure." He
motioned to the girl.
"Come."
She looked wildly around the landscape, as if not knowing in which direction
to run.
The Ilanths stood silently, black mustaches a droop. The girl slowly clambered
up on the horse in front of Reith; he turned it about and rode off down the
valley. She looked at him with an unreadable expression, started to speak,
then became silent. Behind, the Ilanths mounted their own horses and bounded
off past, yipping, hooting, cursing.
The priestesses stood by the entry to the compound, gazing across the steppe.
Reith halted the horse and considered the four black-clad shapes, who at once
began to make peremptory signals.
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The girl spoke frantically: "How much did they pay you?"
"Nothing," said Reith. "I came of my own accord."
"Take me home," begged the girl. "Take me to Cath! My father will pay you far
more-whatever you ask of him!"
Reith pointed to a moving black line at the horizon. "I suspect those are
Green Chasch. We'd best go back to the inn."
"The women will take me! They will put me in the cage!" The girl's voice
quavered; her composure-
or perhaps it was apathy-began to disintegrate. "They hate me, they want to do
their worst!" She pointed. "They come now! Let me go!"
"Alone? Out on the steppe?"
"I prefer it!"
"I won't let them take you," said Reith. He rode slowly toward the
caravansary. The priestesses stood waiting at the passage between the rock
juts. "Oh noble man!" called the Grand Mother. "You have done a fine deed! She
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