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.Caprus, who hadbecome more affable, and apparently somewhat bolder, following theenthronement ofCernus, perhaps because Cernus was less often then in the House, informed methat he had made contact with an agent of Priest-Kings.The girls, even thoughIhad not yet received the documents and maps, would be rescued.His plan was a simple one, but ingenious.The plan was to arrange to have thegirls purchased by an agent of Priest-Kings on the Love Feast, which begantomorrow, an agent who would have the resources to outbid any conceivablecompetition.They would then be as naturally and neatly removed from the Houseas Elizabeth had originally been introduced into it.It was true thatElizabeth was no longer needed in the House, nor had she been for a long time;Caprus had located the important materials and was copying them; I was needed,of course, to take the documents and Caprus from the house.Elizabeth,predictably, did not care to leave without me, but she recognized the plan asa good one; if she could be independently removed from the House there wouldbe less for Caprus and me to worry about; further, she naturally wishedVirginia and Phyllis to have the opportunity they might not be likely toobtain elsewhere; further, of course, she recognized that it might well becomplex and difficult for me to attimpt to convey the documents, Caprus,herself and myself, and two others as well, from the house.All things considered, Caprus' plan seemed not only suitable, but ideal.NeitherElizabeth nor I, of course, said anything to Virginia or Phyllis.The fewerpeople who knew of the plan the better.Surely, if dept in ignorance, theirbehavior would be more natural.Let them think that they were to be sold fromthe block.It would be a fine surprise for them later to discover that theyPage 131ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlwere actually being whisked to safety and freedom.I chuckled.I was furthercheered by the thought that Caprus had informed me his work was coming alongvery well and he hoped to have the documents and maps copied by the beginningofSe'Kara;I gathered that now with Cernus spending much of his time in the CentralCylinder as Ubar, Caprus' opportunities for work had been substantiallyincreased.Se'Kara was, of course, a long wait.Still it was better thannothing.Other dates he had set similarly, I reminded myself, had not turnedout.But still I was pleased.Elizabeth, with Virginia and Phyllis, would berescued.And Caprus seemed in good humor; that perhaps was significant,betokening an end in sight for my mission.In thinking about this I realizedwhat a brave man Caprus was, and how little I had respected his courage andhis work.He had risked much, probably much more than I.I felt ashamed.Hewas only a Scribe, and yet what he had done had taken great courage, probablymore courage than that possessed by many Warriors.I found myself whistling.Things were working out.I regretted only that I hadnot yet learned who it was that had slain the Warrior from Thentis.Cernus, upon occasion, though Ubar of Ar, would return to sit table in his ownhouse, where, as he had invariably done before, he would play with Caprus,losing himself in the movements of the red and yellow pieces on the largeboard of red and yellow squares.This was the evening of Kajuralia.There was much hilarity in the hall of the House of Cernus, and, though it wasearly in the evening, Paga and full-strength Ka-la-na were flowing.Ho-Tu threw down is spoon in disgust, grinning at me wryly.His gruel had been salted to the point of being inedible; he stareddisgustedly down at the wet mash of porridge and salt."Kajuralia, Master," said Elizabeth Cardwell to Ho-Tu, smiling sweetly, as shepassed by with a pitcher of Ka-la-na.Ho-Tu seized her by the wrist."What is wrong, Master?" inquired Elizabeth innocently."If I thought it was you," growled Ho-Tu, "who dared to salt my porridge, youwould spend the night sitting on a slave goad.""I would never think of such a thing," protested Elizabeth, wide-eyed.Ho-Tu grunted.Then he grinned."Kajuralia, Little Wench," said he.Elizabeth smiled."Kajuralia, Master," said she, and turning quickly about,still smiling, went on with her work."Little pock-face," called Relius."I would be served!"Virginia Kent, with her pitcher of Ka-la-na, ran light-footedly to Relius,guard in the House of Cernus."Let Lana serve Relius wine," said another girl, a Red Silk Girl, first to theguard, leaning toward him, lips parted [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]