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said. "About six or eight hundred years ago, there were religious wars and
heresies and religious schisms all over the Kharanda country. No matter how
uniform the
Kholghoor Sector may be otherwise, there are dozens and dozens of small belts
and subsectors of different religions or sects or godcults."
"That's right," Ranthar Jard agreed, brightening. "We have hagiologists who
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know all that stuff; we'll have a couple of them interrogate those slaves. I
don't know how much they can get out of themlot of peasants, won't be up on
the theological nicetiesbut a synthesis of what we get from the lot of them"
"That's an idea," Vall agreed. "About the first idea we've had, hereOh, how
about politics, too? Check on who's the king, what the stories about the royal
family are, that sort of thing."
Ranthar Jard looked at the map on the wall. "The Croutha have only gotten
halfway to Nharkan, here. Say we transpose detectives in at night on some of
these time lines we think are promising, and check up at the taxcollection
offices on a big landowner north of Jhirda named Ghromdour? That might get us
something."
"Well, I don't want you to think we're trying to get out of work, Chief's
Assistant," one of the deputies said, "but is there any real necessity for our
trying to locate the Wizard Trader time lines? If you can get them from the
Esaron Sector, it'll be the same, won't it?"
"Marv, in this business you never depend on just one lead," Ranthar Jard told
him. "And beside, when
Skordran Kirv's gang hits the base of operations in North America, there's no
guarantee that they may not have time to send off a radio warning to the crowd
at the base here in India. We have to hit both places at once."
"Well, that, too," Vall said. "But the main thing is to get these Wizard
Trader camps on the Kholghoor Sector cleaned out. How are you fixed for men
and equipment, for a big raid, Jard?"
Time Crime
Time Crime
26
Ranthar Jard shrugged. "I can get about five hundred men with conveyers,
including a couple of twohundredfooters to carry airboats," he said.
"Not enough. Skordran Kirv has one complete armored brigade, one airborne
infantry brigade, and an air cavalry regiment, with GhaldronHesthor equipment
for a simultaneous transposition," Vall said.
"Where in blazes did he get them all?" Ranthar Jard demanded.
"They're guard troops, from Service Sector and Industrial Sector. We'll get
you the same sort of a force. I only hope we don't have another Prole
insurrection while they're away"
"Well, don't think I'm trying to argue policy with you," Ranthar Jard said,
"but that could raise a dreadful stink on Home Time Line. Especially on top of
this newsbreak about the slave trade."
"We'll have to take a chance on that," Vall said. "If you're worried about
what the book says, forget it. We're throwing the book away, on this
operation. Do you realize that this thing is a threat to the whole Paratime
Civilization?"
"Of course I do," Ranthar Jard said. "I know the doctrine of Paratime Security
as well as you or anybody else.
The question is, does the public realize it?"
A buzzer sounded. Ranthar Jard pressed a switch on the intercombox in front of
him and said: "Ranthar here.
Well?"
"Visiphone call, top urgency, just came in for Chief's Assistant Verkan, from
Novilan Equivalent. Where can I
put it through, sir?"
"Here; booth seven." Ranthar Jard pointed across the room, nodding to Vall.
"In just a moment."
* * * * *
Gathon Dard and Antrath Alvtemporary local aliases, Ganadara and Atarazolasat
relaxed in their saddles, swaying to the motion of their horses. They wore the
rustbrown hooded cloaks of the northern
Jeseru people, in sober contrast to the red and yellow and blue striped robes
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and sunbonnets of the Caleras in whose company they rode. They carried short
repeating carbines in saddle scabbards, and heavy revolvers and long knives on
their belts, and each led six heavilyladen packhorses.
CoruhinIrigod, riding beside Ganadara, pointed up the trail ahead.
"From up there," he said, speaking in Acalan, the lingua franca of the North
American West Coast on that sector, "we can see across the valley to Careba.
It will be an hour, as we ride, with the packhorses. Then we will rest, and
drink wine, and feast."
Ganadara nodded. "It was the guidance of our godsand yours, CoruhinIrigodthat
we met. Such slaves as you sold at the outlanders' plantation would bring a
fine price in the North. The men are strong, and have the look of good
fieldworkers; the women are comely and wellformed. Though I fear that my wife
would little relish it did I bring home such handmaidens."
CoruhinIrigod laughed. "For your wife, I will give you one of our riding
whips." He leaned to the side, slashing at a cactus with his quirt. "We in
Careba have no trouble with our wives, about handmaidens or anything else."
Time Crime
Time Crime
27
"By Safar, if you doubt your welcome at Careba, wait till you show your
wares," another Calera said. "Rifles and revolvers like those come to our
country seldom, and then old and battered, sold or stolen many times before we
see them. Rifles that fire seven times without taking butt from shoulder!" He
invoked the name of the Great Lord Safar again.
The trail widened and leveled; they all came up abreast, with the packhorses
strung out behind, and sat looking across the valley to the adobe walls of the
town that perched on the opposite ridge. After a while, riders began
dismounting and checking and tightening saddlegirths; a couple of Caleras
helped Ganadara and Atarazola inspect their packhorses. When they remounted,
Atarazola bowed his head, lifting his left sleeve to cover his mouth, and
muttered into it at some length. The Caleras looked at him curiously, and
CoruhinIrigod inquired of Ganadara what he did.
"He prays," Ganadara said. "He thanks our gods that we have lived to see your
town, and asks that we be spared to bring many more trains of rifles and
ammunition up this trail."
The slaver nodded understandingly. The Caleras were a pious people, too, who
believed in keeping on friendly terms with the gods.
"May Safar's hand work with the hands of your gods for it," he said, making
what, to a nonCalera, would have been an extremely ribald sign.
"The gods watch over us," Atarazola said, lifting his head. "They are near us
even now; they have spoken words of comfort in my ear."'
Ganadara nodded. The gods to whom his partner prayed were a couple of paratime
policemen, crouching over a radio a mile or so down the ridge.
"My brother," he told CoruhinIrigod, "is much favored by our gods. Many people
come to him to pray for them."
"Yes. So you told me, now that I think on it." That detail had been included
in the pseudomemories he had been given under hypnosis. "I serve Safar, as do
all Caleras, but I have heard that the Jeserus' gods are good gods, dealing
honestly with their servants."
* * * * *
An hour later, under the walls of the town, CoruhinIrigod drew one of his
pistols and tired all four barrels in rapid succession into the air, shouting,
"Open! Open for CoruhinIrigod, and for the Jeseru traders, Ganadara and
Atarazola, who are with him!"
A head, blackbearded and sunbonneted, appeared between the brick merlons of
the wall above the gate, shouted down a welcome, and then turned away to bawl
orders. The gate slid aside, and, after the caravan had passed through, naked [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
