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."Nisbet nevertheless ran inside and staggered out with his urn, spilling terces behindhim.The women were now close at hand.Observing the wagon they emitted a great roarof wrath."Villains, halt!" cried Dame Sequorce.Neither Cugel nor Nisbet heeded hercommand.Nisbet brought his urn to the wagon and loaded it with the other goods but when hetried to climb to the seat he fell, and Cugel had to lift him aboard.Cugel kicked thewagon and gave it a great push so that it floated away into the air, but when Cugel triedto jump upon the wagon, he lost his footing and fell to the ground.There was no time for a second attempt; the women were upon him.Holding swordand pouch so that they did not impede his running, Cugel took to his heels, with thefastest of the women in pursuit.After half a mile the women gave up the chase and Cugel paused to catch his breath.Already smoke was rising from Nisbet's abode, as the mob wreaked vicarious vengeanceon Nisbet.On top of their columns the men stood up, the better to observe events.Highin the sky the wagon drifted eastward on the wind, with Nisbet peering over the side.Cugel heaved a sigh.Slinging the pouch over his shoulder, he set off to the southtoward Port Perdusz.2 FAUCELMESETTING his course by the bloated red sun, Cugel journeyed south across an aridwasteland.Small boulders cast black shadows; an occasional stand-back bush, withleaves like fleshy pink ear-lobes, thrust thorns toward Cugel as he passed.106aaTTnnssFFffooDDrrPPmmYYeeYYrrBB22.BBAAClick here to buyClick here to buywwmmwwoowwcc.AAYYBBYYBBr rThe horizons were blurred behind haze the color of watered carmine.No humanartifact could be seen, nor any living creature, except on a single occasion when, far tothe south, Cugel noted a pelgrane of impressive wingspan flying lazily from west to east.Cugel flung himself flat and lay motionless until the creature had disappeared into theeastern haze.Cugel then picked himself up, dusted off his garments and proceededsouth.The pallid soil reflected heat.Cugel paused to fan his face with his hat.In so doing hebrushed his wrist lightly across 'Spatterlight', the sky-breaker scale which Cugel nowused as a hat ornament.The contact caused an instant searing pain and a suckingsensation as if 'Spatterlight' were anxious to engulf the whole of Cugel's arm andperhaps more.Cugel looked askance at the ornament: his wrist had barely madecontact! 'Spatter-light' was not an object to be dealt with casually.Cugel gingerly replaced the hat on his head and continued south at speed, hoping tocome upon shelter before nightfall.He moved at so hasty a gait that he almostblundered over the brink of a sink-hole fifty yards wide.He stopped short with one legpoised over the abyss, with a black tarn a hundred feet below.For a few breathlessseconds Cugel tottered in a state of disequilibrium, then lurched back to safety.After catching his breath, Cugel proceeded with greater caution.The sink-hole, hesoon discovered, was not an isolated case.Over the next few miles he came upon othersof greater or less dimension and few gave warning of their presence; there was only aninstant brink and a far drop into dark water.At larger sink-holes dark blue weeping-willow trees hung over the edge, half-concealing rows of peculiar habitations.These were narrow and tall, like boxes piled oneon the other.There seemed no concern for precision and parts of the structures restedon the branches of the weeping-willows.The folk who had built the tree-towers were difficult to see among the shadows of thefoliage; Cugel glimpsed them as they darted across their queer little windows, andseveral times he thought to see them slipping into the sink-hole on slides polished fromthe native limestone [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]