"Knew it!" he laughed. "Thought you could fool me with that silly hat, eh? What are you two up to now?"
The Sprite face smiled politely. But a deep, gravelly voice inquired from behind the captain's ankles, "Shall I mangle this churl's leg, Hantis?" and a large mouth with sharp teeth closed on his calf, though the teeth didn't dig in immediately.
Mouth and teeth! he thought, startled. Tactile impressions were no part of the shape-changing process! Why, then--
"No, Pul," the Sprite said. "Let go his leg. This must be Captain Pausert…" It giggled suddenly. "Goth showed me the imitation she can do of me, Captain. It's a very good one... May I have my hat back again?"
So that was how he learned that Nartheby Sprites and grik-dogs really existed, that Goth had hastily copied the images of two old friends to produce fake shapes for the Leewit and herself when they were transported into Moander's citadel, and that Hantis and Pul were the passengers they were to smuggle past the Imperial intelligence agents on the lookout for them to the Empress Hailie…
The Venture took off on schedule. The first six hours of the trip were uneventful…
"Somebody to see you, Captain," Goth's voice announced laconically over the intercom. "I'll send 'em forward!"
"All right ... HUH!"
But the intercom had clicked off. He swung up from the control chair, came out of the room as Vezzarn and Hulik do Eldel walked into the control section from the passage. They smiled warily. The captain put his hands on his hips.
"What - are - you - two - doing - on - this - ship?" he inquired between his teeth.
"Blood in his eye!" Vezzarn muttered uneasily. He glanced at Hulik. "You do the talking!"
"May I explain, Captain?" Hulik asked.
"Yes!" said the captain.
Both she and Vezzarn, the do Eldel said, had discovered they were in a somewhat precarious situation after the Venture landed on Emris. Somebody was keeping them under surveillance.
"Oh!" the captain said. He shook his head. "Sit down, Miss do Eldel. You, too, Vezzarn. Yes, of course you were being watched. For your own protection, among other reasons--"
The disappearance of Yango and his Sheem Robot, while en route through the Chaladoor on the Venture, had not required explanation to authorities anywhere. Pirate organizations did not complain to the authorities when one of their members disappeared in attempting an act of piracy. Nevertheless the authorities of Green Galaine were informed that a man, who represented himself as the Agandar and very probably was that notorious pirate chieftain, had tried to take over the Venture and was now dead. It was valuable information. With the menace of Manaret removed, civilized worlds in the area could give primary consideration to removing the lesser but still serious menace of the Agandar's pirates. When his organization learned the Venture had landed safely on Emris and that no one answering Yango's description had come off it; they'd wanted to know what had happened.
"…so we've all been under surveillance," the captain concluded. "So was the ship until we took off. If pirate operators had started prowling around you or myself, they might have given Emris intelligence a definite lead to the organization."
Hulik shook her head. "We realized that, of course," she said. "But it wasn't only Emris intelligence who had us under surveillance. Those pirate operators have been prowling around. So far they've been a bit too clever to provide the intelligence people with leads."
"How do you know?" the captain asked.
She hesitated, said, "An attempt was made to pick me up the night after I disembarked from the ship. It was unsuccessful. But I knew then it would be only a matter of time before they'd be questioning me about Yango. I don't have as much trust as you do in the authorities, Captain Pausert. So I got together with Vezzarn who was in the same spot."
"Nobody's been bothering me," the captain said.
"Of course nobody's bothered you," said Hulik. "That's why we're here."
"What do you mean?"
"Captain, whether you're a Karres witch or not, you were suspected of being one. Now that the Agandar has disappeared while trying to take your superdrive from you, there'll be very little doubt left that you are, in fact, the kind of witch it's best not to challenge. The Venture is at present the safest place for Vezzarn and myself to be. While we're with you, the Agandar's outfit won't bother us either."
"I see," the captain said after a moment. He considered again. "Well, under the circumstances I can't blame you for stowing away on the ship. So you'll get a ride to the Empire and we'll let you off somewhere there. You'll be far enough away from the Agandar's pirates then."
"Perhaps," said the do Eldel. "However, we have what we feel is a better idea."
"What's that?"
"We're experienced agents. We've been doing some investigating. And we've concluded that the business which is taking you into the Empire is a kind that might make it very useful for you to have two experienced agents on hand. Meanwhile we could also be of general service around the ship."
"You want me to hire you on the Venture?" said the captain, surprised.
"That," Hulik acknowledged, "was our idea."
The captain told her he'd give it thought, reflectively watched the two retire from the section. "Goth?" he said, when he'd heard the compartment door close.
Goth appeared out of no-shape invisibility on the couch. "They're in a spot," the captain said. "And experience is what we're short on, at that. What do you think?"
"Ought to be all right," Goth said. "They'll go all out for you if you let 'em stay. You kind of got Vezzarn reformed." She rubbed her nose tip pensively. "And besides... "
"Besides what?"
"Had a talk with Maleen and a predictor she works with just before we left," Goth told him.
"Yes?"
"They can't figure you too far. But they got it worked out you're getting set to do something and it could get sort of risky."
"Well," said the captain helplessly, "somehow we do always seem to be doing something that turns out sort of risky."
"Uh-huh. Wouldn't worry too much, though. We come out all right... Before you start to do that, they said, you're going to get together a gang to do it with."
"A gang?"
"Whoever you need. And that was to happen pretty soon!"
The captain reflected, startled. "You mean that in some way I might have got Hulik and Vezzarn to stow away on the ship?"
"Could be," Goth nodded.
He shook his head. "Well, I just can't see… What's that?"
But he knew as he asked... A distant, heavy, droning sound, approaching with incredible rapidity. Goth licked her lips quickly. "Egger Route!" she murmured. "Wonder who…? "
The droning swelled, crashed in on them, ended abruptly.
The Leewit lay curled up on her side on the floor, eyes shut.
The captain scooped her up, was looking around for something to bundle her up in again when Goth said sharply, "She's waking up! Just hang on hard! This one won't be too bad--"
He hung on hard ... and comparatively speaking, it wasn't too bad. For about ten seconds he had the feeling of clutching a small runaway engine to him, with many pistons banging him simultaneously. There was also a great deal of noise. Then it was over.
The Leewit twisted her head around to see who was holding her.
"You!" she snarled. "What did you do?"
"It wasn't me!" the captain told her breathlessly. He put her down on her feet. "We don't--"
The communicator signaled from the inner room.
"That'll be Toll!" Goth said, and ran to switch it on.
It was Toll.
Half an hour later, the captain sat alone in the control chair again, absently knuckling his chin.
The Leewit was staying. No one had sent her deliberately along the Egger Route to the Venture this time, so the witches felt it was something he and the Leewit had done between them. Some affinity bond had been established; some purpose was being worked out. It would be best not to interfere with this until it could be clarified.
He and the Leewit were about equally dumbfounded at the idea of an affinity bond between them, though the captain did his best to conceal his surprise. The smallest witch had accepted the situation, rather grudgingly.
Well, strange things simply kept happening when one started going around with witches, he thought… Then he suddenly stiffened, sat up straight, hair bristling.
Like hearing a whiff of perfume, like seeing the tinkle of a bell … vatches came in all sizes; and this one was no giant. He could make it out now, flicking about him to left and right. A speck of blackness which seemed no bigger than his thumb. It might be as small as a vatch could get but it was a vatch!
It came to a pause above the control desk before him. A pair of tiny silver eye-slits regarded him merrily.
"Don't you start making trouble now!" the captain warned it.
"Goodness, no!" giggled the vatch. "I wouldn't think of making trouble, big dream-thing!" It swirled up and away and about the control room and was gone.
Gone where, he wondered. He couldn't rell it any more. He got out of the chair, paused undecidedly. Then from the passage leading to the passenger section came sudden sounds, a yelp of alarm from Vezzarn, a shriek of pure rage from the Leewit.
The intercom clicked on.
"Captain," Goth's voice told him, "better get down here! " She was choking with laughter.
"What's happening?" the captain asked, relaxing a little.
"Having a little trouble with a baby vatch ... oh, my! Better come handle it!" The intercom went off.
"Well," the captain muttered, heading hurriedly across the outer room towards the passage, "here we go again!"