Shardik (79 page)

‘He got angry, I suppose - lost his temper?’

‘There’s no telling whether he loses his temper. His violence is like an insect’s - sudden and cold, and you feel it’s natural - natural to something that’s less than human, something that waits quite still and then darts like lightning. Sh!’

They had come to the bank of a creek and here Shouter was urging the children one by one into the water. As each floundered forward, Genshed, standing up to his waist in the middle, caught him by the arm and pushed him towards the opposite bank, where Bled dragged him out. Kelderek, holding the little girl in his arms, slipped in the thick slime and would have’ fallen if Genshed had not gripped him. The boy overseers cursed and swore at the children almost
without
ceasing, but Genshed uttered neither word nor sound. When at length all were across he stretched out his hand to Bled, pulled himself out and looked round among the children, snapping his fingers. Those who had lain down struggled to their feet and after a few moments the slave-dealer set off once more into the forest.

‘When we actually saw the Vrako we were very much afraid. It was a raging torrent, half a bow-shot across and full of great rocks. I couldn’t believe Genshed meant to cross it with thirty exhausted children.’

‘But the Vrako’s impassable below Rabin,’ said Kelderek. ‘That’s common knowledge.’

‘He’d planned the crossing in Thettit. He’d sent Shouter round by Kabin, dressed as a drover’s boy, and given him money to bribe the guard at the ford; but appar
ently
they just let him through. Shouter had been told to look out for us on the bend of the river, where it turns to the east; but even so it took Genshed half a day to find him. It’s a very wild, desolate place, you see.’

‘ But what was the plan ?’

‘Genshed had bought a great length of tarred twine in Thettit and a furlong of Ortelgan rope. He cut the rope into lengths and we all had to carry them on the journey. He married the lengths together again himself - it took him a day and a half. He was very thorough. When everything was ready he shot an arrow across the river with one end of the twine fastened to it. Then he bound the rope to the twine and Shouter pulled it across and made it fast. It was as much as ever he could do, though, because of the current. They made the rope as taut as they could by twisting wooden stakes into it on either side and hammering them into the ground. What with the current and
the
weight of the rope, it wasn’t anything like taut, but that was how we crossed the Vrako.’

Kelderek said nothing, imagining the deafening sound of the torrent and the terrified, exhausted children stumbling down the bank.

‘Seven of us were drowned. The Hare was drowned - he lost his hold and went under like a stone. I never saw him come up again. When I was half-way across I felt
sure I was going to lose hold my
self.’

‘Shara?’

‘That was it I had her wrists tied together round my neck. I’d made a sort of tube from a rolled-up strip of bark and put it in her mouth, to give her a chance of breathing if her head went under water. But of course she got frightened and began to struggle and that nearly finished us both. I’ll take her back now.*

Kelderek gave him the child and Radu rocked her in his arms, humming very quietly, his mouth close to her ear. After some time he went on,

‘What I’ve learned - what I’ve learned is how strong an evil
ma
n
becomes. Genshed’s strong because he’s evil. Evil protects him, so
that he can do its work. In a few days you’ll come to see what I mean.’ He paused, and then added, ‘But
Genshed
‘s not the only one to blame for our misery.’ ‘Why-who else?’

‘The enemy; the
Ortelga
ns, who revived the slave trade.’ ‘They didn’t give Genshed a warrant.’

‘No, but what did they think would happen? If you let in dogs you let in fleas.’

Kelderek
made no reply and for a long time they continued their shuffling snail’s pace behind the children, stooping every few yards to free their dragging chains. At last Radu said, ‘You’re sure that General
Santil
‘s army’s in Kabin?’

‘Yes -
1
came from there.’

‘And you actually saw my father there?’

‘Yes, I did.’

They bent their heads to pass Bled,
standing with knees bent and sti
ck half-raised in his hand. It was not until he had overtaken them and was some way ahead that Kelderek spoke again.

‘It must be near sunset. When does he halt as a rule?’

‘Are you tired?’ asked Radu.

‘I’m still dizzy from this wound in my head, and my finger’s very painful. Genshed drove-his knife under the nail.’

‘I’ve seen him do that more than once,’ said Radu. ‘Let
me
have a look. That ought to be tied up.’ He tore a strip from his rags and bound it round
Kelderek
‘s finger. ‘We may have a chance to wash it later. I doubt he’ll go much further tonight.’

‘Have you any idea why Genshed should want to keep me?’ asked Kelderek. ‘You told me he killed your servant and that he deals only in children. Has he taken any other grown men or women that you know of?’

‘No, not one. But whatever his reason is, it will be a cunning and evil one.’

Soon after, they halted in a muddy strip of open land extending as far as the shore of the Telthearna on their right.
Kelderek
reckoned that since his capture they might have covered perhaps six miles. He guessed that Genshed must be making for Linsho, and that when he had bought his way
through
the G
ap he would turn west for Tereke
nalt, either by water or by land. If he himself could not contrive to escape before that journey was well under way, then
Melathys
would be lost to him for ever and in all probability he would never even learn her fate or that of the Tuginda.

At the order to halt, almost all the children sank down wherever they happened to be. A few fell asleep immediately. One or two crouched, talking together in whispers. None except Shara showed the least energy or spirit. She had woken and was wandering here and there, picking up bright leaves and coloured pebbles that took her fancy. When she brought these back to Radu he made
a
kind of collar of leaves, in the manner of
a
daisy-chain, and hung it round her neck.
Kelderek
, sitting beside them, was trying to make friends with the little girl - for she seemed half-afraid of him - when suddenly, looking up, he saw Genshed approaching, with Shouter and Bled behind him. The slave-dealer was carrying some kind of implement wrapped in a handful of rags. The three passed behind Kelderek and he had already turned back to Shara when he felt himself seized by
the
shoulders and thrown backwards to the ground. His arms were pulled out on either side of his body and he cried out as Genshed and Bled knelt on the muscles. Bending over him, the slave-dealer said, ‘Open your mouth or I’ll knock your teeth out’

Kelderek obeyed, gasping, and as he did so caught
a
glimpse of Shoute
r, clutching his ankles and grinning up at Genshed. The slave-dealer forced his handful of rags into
Kelderek
‘s mouth and pulled off the bandage tied round his head.

‘Right, get on with it,’ he said to Bled. ‘Turn his head this way.’

Bled twisted
Kelderek
‘s head to the left and immediately he felt the lobe of his right ear sharply pinched,
then
crushed and pierced. A spurt of excruciating pain shot down his neck and along his shoulder. His whole body convulsed, almost throwing off
the two boys. When he came to h
imself, all three had released him and were walking away.

Kelderek pulled the rags out of his mouth and put his hand to his ear. His fingers came away bloody and blood was dripping over his shoulder. The lobe was pierced through. He bent his head, breathing deeply as the worst of the pain began to subside. Looking up, he saw Radu beside him. The boy thrust aside his long, matted hair and showed him his own pierced ear.

‘I didn’t warn you,’ said Radu. ‘You’re not a child and I wasn’t sure whether he’d do it to you or not.’

Kelderek, biting on his hand, recovered himself suffici
ently
to speak.

‘ What is it - a slave-mark?’

‘It’s for si - for si — for sleeping,’ muttered a white-faced, blinking boy near by. ‘Yer, yer, ycr -
for sleeping.’ He laughed vacantl
y, closed his eyes and laid his head on his folded hands in a foolish pantomime.

‘Goin’ home s-soon,’ he said suddenly, opening his eyes again and turning to Radu.

‘All the way,’ replied Radu, in the tone of one who takes up a catch-phrase.

‘Underground,’ concluded
the
boy. ‘You hungry?’ Radu nodded and the boy returned to his listless silence.

‘At night they pass a chain
through
everyone’s ears,’ said Radu. ‘Shouter told me once that every
child who’s ever been through Genshed
‘s hands has a pierced ear.’

He got up and went to look for Shara, who had run to hide in the bushes at
the
slave-trader’s approach.

Soon after, Shouter and Bled distributed to each child a handful of dried meat and one of dried fruit. Some of the children went as far as
the
river for water, but most merely drank from the dirty holes and reed patches round about. As Kelderek and Radu, together with Shara, were making their way towards the river, Shouter came up to them, stick in hand.

‘ ‘Got to keep an eye on you,’ he said to
Kelderek
with a kind of malicious amiability. ‘Making yourself at home, are you? Enjoying yourself? That’s right.’

Kelderek
had already noti
ced that while all the children went in terror of Bled, who was obviously deranged and almost a maniac, several seemed to be on some kind of uncertain terms with Shouter, who from time to time - whether or not he was actually engaged in cruelty - assumed a certain bluffness of manner not uncommon among bullies and tyrants.

‘Can you tell me why I’m here?
‘ he asked. ‘What use am I to Genshed
?’

Shouter sniggered. ‘You’re here to be mucking sold, mate,’ he said. ‘Without your balls, I dare say.’

‘What happened to the overseer you replaced?’ asked
Kelderek
. ‘I suppose you knew him?’

‘Knew him? I killed him,’ answered Shouter.

‘Oh, did you?’

‘He was all in when
we
got back to Te
rekenalt, wasn’t he?’ said Shouter. ‘He’d gone to pieces. One day a girl from Dari scratched his mucking face to bits. He couldn
‘t stop her. That night, when Genshed was drunk, he said if any
one could fight him and kill him he could have the job. I killed him all right - strangled him i
n the middle of Ge
nshed’s yard, with about
fifty kids watching. Old Genshe
d was tickled to death. That’s how I kept
my
balls, mate, see?’

They reached the river bank and
Kelderek
, wading in to the knees, drank and washed. Yet his body remained full of pain. As he thought of his own situation and that of Melathys and the Tuginda, despair overcame him and during their return he could find no spirit for any further attempt at talk with Shouter. The boy himself also seemed to have grown pensive, for he said no more, except to order Radu to pick up Shara and carry her.

In the h
alf-light and rising mist Genshed
stood snapping his fingers to summon one boy and another. As each approached and stood in front of him the slave-dealer examined eyes, ears, hands, feet and shackles, as well as any wounds and injuries that he came upon. Although many of the children were lacerated and two or three seemed on the point of collapse, none received any treatment and Kelderek concluded that
Genshed
was merely looking over his stock and assessing their capacity to go further. The children stood motionless, heads bent and hands at their sides, anxious only to be gone as soon as possible. One boy, who trembled continually, flinching at each movement of
Genshed
, was left to stand where he was while
the
dealer looked at others immediately behind his back. Another, who could not keep quiet, but kept muttering and picking at the sores on his face and shoulders, was silenced by means of the fly-trap until
Genshed
had done with him.