[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

Cumberland's properties."
He paused, half-smiling at Jim.
"You were about to ask me why?"
"As a matter of fact," said Jim, "I wasn't going to ask. But I'd like to
know."
"I shall tell you," said Chandos. "I know, without needing to see them, that
most of Sir Bertram's men have never drawn weapons except to fight naked serfs
and tenants, miners, and such. I have no great fault to find with anyone who
lacks experience with the weapons of war. Indeed, very often these will die
valiantly, particularly if defendingtheir own home, family, and Lord. Some,
indeed, will be much quicker and more eager into battle than a man who has
been through at least one before no experienced common soldier goes readily
into conflict when he does not know whether he will win or die."
He paused, looking at Jim as if for a response. Jim nodded. This was
something he could agree with.
"With those of gentle blood likeourselves  " Chandos went on, "of course, it
is different. Still, when there is a real necessity for a common soldier to
fight, he may often behave in quite praiseworthy fashion, fighting with
everything he has, and all the experience he may have gained before that
moment. So those with experience are best. It is these, therefore, with whom I
have made up my troop. If there is no way to avoid being killed unless they
kill, they will go out intending to be the victor. More than that, the skills
they have built from their previous fights are valuable. Lastly, they will not
turn and run unless the day is clearly lost."
He paused, looking, Jim felt uncomfortably, at him.
"Nor is this really true of the common sort, alone," he went on. "You, Sir
James, may well have seen this yourself. There are, God knows and present
companyexcepted for we both know of each other's deeds there are cowards and
traitors among even those who call themselves gentlemen. Even King Arthur had
such sitting at his Round Table in the end, you will remember, it was Sir
Percival who shamed them all by living as a knight indeed should, and for that
God vouchsafed him a vision of the Holy Grail. But, I fear I wander from the
subject."
"Not at all, Sir John," said Jim. "We have the evening yet to talk."
"Perhaps not," said Sir John. "It might be wise to find sleep early, against
a rising before daybreak tomorrow. It is my belief we have no choice in what
Page 65
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
we shall do. We must strike their camp with all our force just at daybreak,
before they are ready for battle, and take what advantage we can from surprise
against their possibly greater numbers."
"Can we get in position to do that, among all these trees and with loose
branches and other things on the ground, without letting them know we're
coming?" asked Jim. "Particularly since it'll still be dark under the
trees also, won't they have some people on watch?"
"They will have watchers," said Chandos. "But I have men who are good at
finding such in the dark, cutting their throats silently, and so keeping them
from sounding the alarm. My men's work will not be fool-proof, of course. They
may miss a watcher, or one slain may be able to call out before he dies, so
that the camp will be alarmed. In fact, it is more likely than not that
something will cause our surprise to be less than it should be. It is the way
things almost always go in clashes of arms you may plan all you want, but
chance will upset your plans."
"If that does happen," said Jim, "then, what do we do?"
"Merely what we have set out to do in any case," said Chandos. "The alarm
being given may well mean that those who are real warriors in the camp will at
least be weaponed and on their feet when we come in though not necessarily in
armor or ahorseback. They are indeed not so likely, any of them, to be in
armor unless they are overseeing the watchers. Though there are some who can
successfully sleep in their armor it is not impossible, and I would look at
someone like your friend Brian as one who might do that. But in any case,
whether the camp is alarmed or not, we must carry on and make the best use of
whatever advantages surprise has given us after all."
Jim nodded.
"You're right, of course," he said. "There wouldn't be any other option."
"I am overjoyed to hear it," said Chandos. He picked up his mazer and emptied
its last wine down his throat. "Now, perhaps we should seek slumber before our
early rising."
"I should mention,"said Jim, hastily, "I'm obliged by the magic rules under
which I live to sleep on a special pallet on the floor "
"Of course," said Sir John. "I honor your obligation to duty. The table
hardly seems worth disturbing, in any case."
Once more he lifted his voice without bothering to turn his head toward the
door.
"Dagget!"
Immediately there was the sound of the door opening, followed by the
immediate answer.
"Yes, Sir John?"
"Branches for a mattress and some horse-blankets to make me a bed!I will
sleep, as will Sir James, on the floor; and we will leave the table as it is
for possible use in the morning."
"Yes, Sir John." The door closed.
Page 66
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
Sir John, in keeping with the rest of his debonair appearance, did not snore
as he slept. Jim, who had been accused of snoring on certain occasions, looked
across the darkness at where the knight lay on his blankets above a pile of
springy birch branches, with a certain amount of annoyance at not being so
quick to fall asleep, himself.
He continued to lie awake as the hours passed, the fire burned lower, and the
room darkened. He found himself puzzling again over what Carolinus told him.
In his time in this world, Jim felt, he had been unduly targeted by the Dark
Powers. Could this be another of those occasions?
As far as Jim understood, the Dark Powers seemed to be a sort of malignant
force which, by taking a hand in human affairs, hoped to drive the race either
into a condition of stasis in which no further progress of any kind could be
made or into a chaotic state of bloody anarchy and death.
Sometimes they worked through unNatural creatures, such as the Ogre, the
Harpies, and the Worm he had encountered at theLoathlyTower . Sometimes their
tools were twisted human beings, like Malvinne, the rogue Magician. They had
even tried to use Granfer, the oldest and biggest squid in all the seas. There
was no telling what tools they might use&
Finally, when it seemed the whole night must have gone by, still thinking
about this as he lay on his pallet, Jim slipped into some much-wanted sleep.
He was not sure just how the dream started, but he was very sure of the part
he remembered afterward, in which he and Angie, hand in hand, were running
down some sort of corridor, or narrow way, in which there was no place to take
shelter; and a tornado was coming. Suddenly, the floor rocked beneath them,
and the walls closed in, and fell. He and Angie found themselves being crushed
under a killing weight of debris in total darkness.
They could not move. They could not breathe. The last thing he remembered was
Angie's hand, fingertips groping, reaching out and touching his; and their
fingers twining together, just before what was left of life in them both was
extinguished.
He woke with a jerk, choking. The hut was full of smoke, thick with smoke. He
had an overwhelming desire to cough, but the smoke had filled his lungs and he
did not seem to have the air. He struggled to his feet, staggered blindly in
the direction of where the door should be groped along some wall until he
found the door, and half-fell into the outside, continuing in a sort of [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]