Shardik (54 page)

-
a few huts, a well and a tumbledown shelter for cattle? No,
he
could see nothing of the kind. It was bad luck to have reached the road at such an hour and to have struck so lonely a stretch. Bad luck - or was it
the
cunning of Shardik to have kept away from the road until he sensed
that
he could cross it unseen? Already he was some distance beyond it and climbing the opposite slope. Soon
he
would be across the ridge and out of sight. Yet still
Kelderek
lingered, hobbling and peering one way and the other in his disappointment and frustration. Long after he had realized that, even if someone were now to appear in the distance, he could not hope both to speak
with
him and to recover the trail of
the
bear, he still remained upon the road, as though there were some part of his mind that knew well that never again would he set eyes upon this great artifact of the empire which he had conquered and ruled. At last, with a long, sighing groan, like one who, having looked for help in vain, cannot tell what will now befall, he set off for the point where Shardik had disappeared over the crest.

An hour later, having limped painfully to
the
top of yet another ridg
e, nearly two miles to the north-we
st, he
stood looking down upon a startl
ingly different land. This was no lonely plain of sparse herbage, but a great, natural enclosure, tended and frequented. Far off, round hillocks marked its further edge and between himself and these lay a rich, green vale several miles across. This, he realized, was
nothing
less than a single, enormous meadow or grazing-ground upon which, distant one from another, three or four herds were already at pasture in the sunrise. He could make out two villages, while on
the
horizon traces of smoke suggested others that drew their substance from
this
verdurous place.

Not far below him, in a low-lying dip,
the
ground was broken
-
riven, indeed - in a most curious manner, so that he stared at it in wonder, as a man might stare at a sheer cliff or chain of waterfalls, or again, perhaps, at some rock to which chance and
the
weather of centuries have given an uncanny likeness - a crouching beast, say, or a skull. It was as
though
, ages gone, a giant had scored and scratched the surface of the plain with a pronged fork. Three clefts or ravines, roughly parallel and of almost equal length, lay side by side within the space of half a mile. So abrupt and narrow were these strange gorges that in each, the branches of the trees extending from either steep slope almost touched one another and closed
the
opening. Thus roofed over, the depths of
the
ravines could not be perceived. The sun, shining from behind the ridge on which he was standing, intensified the shadows which, he supposed, must lie perpetually within those almost subterranean groves. All about their edges the grass grew taller and no path seemed to approach them from any direction. As he stood gazing, the breeze stiffened for a moment, the cloud shadows on the plain rippled in long undulations and in the ravines
the
leaves of the topmost branches, barely rising above the surrounding grass, shook all together and were still.

At this, Kelderek felt a quick tremor of dread, a gain-giving of some menace which he could not define. It was as though something - some spirit inhabiting these places - had awakened, observed him and quickened at what it perceived. Yet there was nothing to be seen - except, indeed, the arched bulk of Shardik making his way towards the nearest of the three clefts. Slowly he trampled through the long grass and paused on the verge, turning his head from side to side and looking down. Then, as smoothly as an otter vanishing over the lip of a river bank, he disappeared into the concealment of the chasm.

He would sleep now, thought Kelderek; it was a day and a night since his escape, and even Shardik could not wander from
Bekla
to the mountains of Gelt without rest. No doubt if the plain had offered the least cover or refuge he would have stopped before. To Shardik, a creature of hills and forests, the plain must seem an evil place indeed
, and his new liberty as comfortl
ess as the captivity from which he had escaped. The ravines were clearly lonely, perhaps even avoided by the herdsmen, for no doubt they were dangerous to
cattle
and like enough their very strangeness made them objects of superstitious dread. The tangled twilight, smelling neither of beast nor man, would seem to Shardik a welcome seclusion. Indeed, he might well be reluctant to leave it, provided he were not forced to seek food.

The more
Kelderek
pondered, the more it seemed to him that the ravine offered an excellent chance of recapturing Shardik before he reached the mountains. His weary spirits rose as he began to plan what was best to be done. This time he must at all costs convince the local people of his good faith. He would promise them substantial rewards - whatever they asked, in effect: freedom from market-tolls, from the slave quotas, from military service - always provided that they could keep Shardik in the ravine until he was recaptured. It might not prove unduly difficult. A few goats, a few cows — water might already be there. A messenger could reach Bekla before sunset and helpers should be able to arrive before evening of the following day. Sheldra must be told to bring with her the necessary drugs.

If only he himself were not so much exhausted! He, too, would have to sleep if he were not to collapse. Should he simply lie down here and trust that Shardik would still be in the ravine when he woke? But
the
message to
Bekla
must be sent before he slept. He would have to make his way to one of the villages; but first he must find some herdsman and persuade him to keep watch on the ravine until he returned.

Suddenly he caught the sound of voices a
little
way off and turned quickly. Two men, who had evid
ently
come up the slope before he had heard
them
, were walking slowly away from him along the ridge. It seemed strange that they should apparently not have seen him or, if they had, that they should not have spoken to him. He called out and hastened towards them. One was a youth of about seventeen, the other a tall, elderly man of solemn and authoritative appearance, wrapped in a blue cloak and carrying a staff as tall as himself. He certainly did not look like a peasant and Kelderek, as he stopped before him, felt that his luck had turned at last, to have met someone able both to understand what he needed and see that he got it.

‘Sir,’ said
Kelderek
, ‘I beg you not to judge me by appearances. The truth is, I am worn out by wandering for a day and a night on the plain and I am in great need of your help. Will you sit down with me — for I don’t think I can stand any longer — and let me tell you how I come to be here?’

The old man laid his hand on
Kelderek
‘s shoulder.

‘First tell me,’ he said gravely, pointing with his staff to the ravines below, ‘if you know it, the name of those places below us.’

‘I don’t know. I was never here before in my life. Why do you ask me?’

‘Let us sit down. I am sorry for you, but now that you are here you need wander no more.’

Kelderek, so much dazed with fatigue that he could no longer weigh his words, began by saying that he was the king of Bekla. The old man showed neither surprise nor disbelief, only nodding his head and never averting his eyes, which expressed a kind of severe, detached pity, like that of an executioner, or a priest at the sacrificial altar. So disturbing was this look that after a little
Kelderek
turned his own eyes away and spoke gazing out over
the
green vale and the strange
ravines. He said nothing of Elleroth
and Mollo, or of
the northward march of Santil-ke-Erke
tlis, but told only of the collapse of the roof of the hall, of the escape of Shardik and of how he himself had followed him, losing his companions in the mist and sending back a chance-found messenger with orders to his soldiers to follow and find him. He told of his journey over the plain and, pointing down the hill, of how Shardik - whose recapture was all-important - had taken cover in the cleft below, where no doubt he was now sleeping.

‘And be sure of
this
, si
r,’ he ended, meeti
ng the unwavering eyes once more and forcing himself to return their gaze. ‘Any harm done to Lord Shardik or myself would be most terribly revenged, once discovered - as discovered it would certainly be. But the help of your people - for I take you to be a man of some standing here - in restoring Lord Shardik to
Bekla
- that will be acknowledged with the greatest generosity. When that task is done, you may name any reasonable reward and we will grant it.’

The old man remained silent. To
Kelderek
, puzzled, it seemed that altho
ugh he had heard him with attenti
on, he was nevertheless unconcerned either with the dread of revenge or the hope of reward. A quick glance at the youth showed only that he was waiting to do whatever his master might require.

The old man rose and helped
Kelderek
to his feet.

‘And now you need sleep,’ he said, speaking kindly but firmly, as a parent might speak to a child after hearing his little tale of the day’s adventures. ‘I will go with you -‘

Impatience came upon Kelderek, together with perplexity that such sl
ight importance should apparentl
y have been attached to his words.

‘I need food,’ he said, ‘and a messenger must be sent to Bekla. The road is not far away - a man can reach Bekla by nightfall, though I assure you that long before that he will be bound to meet with some of my soldiers on the road!’

With no further word the old man motioned to the youth, who stood up, opened his scrip and put it into Kelderek’s hands. It contained black bread, goat’s cheese and half a dozen dried tendrionas - no doubt the end of the winter’s store.
Kelderek
, determined to retain his dignity, nodded his thanks and laid it on the ground beside him.

‘The message -‘ he began again. Still the old man said nothing and from behind his shoulder the youth replied, ‘I will carry your message, sir. I will go at once.’

While Kelderek was making him repeat two or
three
times both the message and his instructions, the old man stood leaning on his staff and looking at the ground. His air was one less of abstraction than of a detached, self-contained patience, like that of some lord or baron who, during a journey, waits while his servant goes to as
k the way or question an inn-keepe
r. When
Kelderek
paid the youth, emphasizing how much more he would receive, first when he delivered the message and secondly when he had brought the soldiers back, he did not look at
the
money, expressed his thanks only with a bow and then at once set off in the direction of the road. Kelderek, suspicious, sat watching until he had gone a long way. At last he turned back to the old man, who had not moved.

‘Sir,’ he said, ‘thank you for your help. I assure you I shall not forget it. As you say, I need sleep, but I must not go far from Lord Shardik, for if by chance he should wander again, it will be my sacred duty to follow him. Have you a man who can watch beside me and rouse me if need should be?’

‘We will go down to that eastern cleft,’ replied the old man. ‘There you can find a shady place and I will send someone to watch while you sleep.’

Pressing one hand over his aching eyes,
Kelderek
made a last attempt to break through the other’s grave reserve. ‘My soldiers - great rewards - your people will bless you - I trust you, sir -‘ he lost
the
thread of his thought and faltered in
Ortelga
n ‘lucky I came here -‘

‘God sent you. It is for us to do His will,’ replied the old man. This,
Kelderek
supposed, must be some idiomatic reply to the thanks of a guest or traveller. He picked up the scrip and took his companion’s offered arm. In silence they went down the slope, among the small domes of the ant-hills, the grassy tussocks and coneys’ holes, until at length they came to the tall grass surrounding the ravines. Here, without a word, the old man stopped, bowed and was already striding away before Kelderek had grasped that he was going.

‘We shall meet again?’ he called, but the other gave no sign that he had heard. Kelderek shrugged his shoulders, picked up the scrip and sat down to eat.

The bread was hard and
the
juice long gone from the fruit. When he had eaten all there was, he felt thirsty. There was no water -unless, indeed, there might be a pool or spring in one of the ravines: but he was too tired to go and search all three. He decided to look into the nearest - it seemed unlikely that Shardik would be alert or attack him - and if he could neither see nor hear water he would simply do without until he had slept.