The Bones of Zora

IX - THE STAR CHAMBER

The mahout astride the bishtar's neck blew a flourish on a shrill little trumpet and whacked his beast with a goad. The links between the cars clanked, and the car in which Reith, Alicia, and Marot were traveling jerked into motion. The train clicked over switch points and out the yard on the single-track line. Flanges groaned, axles screeched, and the wooden frames of the little cars creaked like ships at sea. Ahead, the passengers could hear the muffled thud of the bishtar's six elephantine legs.

The background noise compelled the Terrans, clad in their worn, patched khakis and sharing their car with six Krishnans of assorted ages, to raise their voices. Eventually they fell silent, fatigued by the sheer effort of shouting.

The train rattled and rolled, at a steady fifteen kilometers a Krishnan hour (longer than its Terran equivalent) through the farming country of northern mainland Qirib. As the hours passed, the country grew increasingly rugged and rocky, and the farms more scattered and less prosperous.

"Hey, what's up?" said Reith, awakened from a catnap. The train had ground to a halt in hilly country, covered only by open stands of scrubby trees and bushes. "There's no siding here, for a southbound train to pass ..."

As Reith thrust his head out the window, Alicia, looking out the other side, cried: "Who are those people? It looks like a holdup!"

So suddenly did the marauders appear that they might have sprung from the earth. Reith saw one emerge from behind a boulder; others must have lurked behind ground cover until the train stopped and then risen at a signal. Then a yelling mass swarmed towards the train from both sides. They seemed well armed, with an occasional flash of chain mail beneath their nondescript garments and ragged mantles.

"Get our swords, Aristide!" yelled Reith.

As the paleontologist rose to reach for the weapons in the overhead rack, Reith heard intruders burst into the next car aft. One shouted in a Chilihagho accent:

"Keep your seats! Be calm! Ye shall not be hurt! We do but seek certain aliens amongst you."

"Must be Lazdai's boys," growled Reith. "Forget the swords, Aristide. They're still wired into their scabbards, anyway."

"What can I do to help?" said Alicia.

"Pull something over your hair and pretend you don't know us," Reith hissed.

"But I can't desert—"

"You must! You can't do us any good if they nab you, too!"

"My fossil!" cried Marot. "They will destroy it! How can I hide it?" He hauled the bag out from beneath his seat. "Alicia, my dear, pretend that it is a baby, and you are nursing it!"

"But how—" began Alicia, who had tied a scarf over her betraying blond hair. Marot placed the sack in her lap and untied the draw string at the top, whispering: "Please! I beg you!"

"Heaviest damned baby ..." muttered Alicia, unbuttoning her shirt. She thrust a breast into the opening in the bag and sat gently rocking the sack and crooning to it as armed Krishnans burst into the car from both ends.

"Ha!" cried their leader. "These twain bid fair to answer the description. Zanzir, where's that warrant ..."

Reith stared, with more imperturbability than he felt, at the bared swords pointed at his chest.

"Here we have it!" said the leader. " 'A Terran hight Fergus Reit', of good height, with hair the color of copper. A Terran hight Aristide Maghou, of similar stature but stouter build, having black hair flecked with gray, and wearing eyeglasses. Masters Reit' and Maghou, I hereby arrest you in the name of the Dasht of Chilihagh! Come along! Resist not, or 'twill be the worse for you. Now where is that accursed bag of stones we were commanded to find? Look about, men!"

Several Krishnans searched the car, poking at the luggage in the overhead racks and peering under the seats. None paid attention to the bogus baby in Alicia's lap. One said: " 'Tis not here, sir."

"Oh, Hishkak!" growled the leader. "We were straitly commanded to work with all possible dispatch. We cannot linger to take apart the cars, seeking some fribbling bag of stones. Come along, ye twain!"

"What—what—" protested Marot as he was hauled out into the center aisle.

"All shall transpire at Jeshang. Bring them forth!"

The two were hustled out of the car. The raiders assembled, leading ayas; Reith thought there must be over a hundred of them. A glance back at the train showed that, beyond the stopping point, the track had been torn up.

"Here's your mount, Master Reit'!" said a Krishnan. "Ye ride, I trow? Lest ye get any storybook ideas, we'll make sure ye don't try a bolt. Hold still!"

They tied a noose around Reith's neck and another around his right wrist. "Now mount!"

Encumbered by the ropes, Reith mounted awkwardly. With a mounted Krishnan holding a rope on either side, any attempt at flight would be futile. His captors had but to pull up and haul on the ropes, and he would be plucked from the saddle and slammed down with bone-breaking force on the rocky earth.

A Krishnan blew a whistle, and the raiders sorted themselves out into a mounted column. At another blast, the troop set out at a trot to westward. Marot, also roped, rode behind Reith. Rising in his stirrups, Reith had a last glimpse of Alicia, with a scarf on her head, gazing after him. As the cavalcade broke into a canter, she fluttered her fingers in a discreet farewell.

All day they rode and far into the night, not even stopping to eat. Reith surmised that their captors wanted to get out of Qirib as quickly as possible. They pushed the animals hard, cantering, then walking them for a space to breathe them, then cantering again. Avoiding towns and traveled roads, they meandered through wild country, sometimes following a game trail or a long-disused road. They must, thought Reith, have planned this foray carefully so as not to provide Qirib with an excuse for war.

Roqir set. The endless ride continued, although the troop now moved at a walk. Every few hundred meters, they passed a lighted lantern set in the ground to show the returning raiders the way.

Ready to fall off his mount with fatigue, Reith guessed it was near midnight and that they had crossed the border, when the troop emerged into cultivated country, found a good road, and speeded up to a trot. Reith found the aya's trot hard, because the saddle, mounted over the middle pair of legs, transmitted a pitiless jar up through the rider's spine.

A group of houses, washed in the light of two of Krishna's three moons, appeared on either side of the road ahead. Most were dark, but a few windows shone yellow with the glow of candles or lamps. A few minutes later, the ayas' hooves thundered on the timbers of the floating bridge across the Zigros. The riders crossed, two by two, and entered Qantesr on the southern bank.

The troop halted while their commander conferred with a hooded figure. Then the riders guarding Reith and Marot commanded: "Dismount, Terrans! And come this way; ye shall bunk in the schoolhouse."

Reith had only a vague perception of events, so tired was he. When he and Marot were helped down from their mounts, they stood in an apelike slouch, unable to straighten their cramped legs and backs save slowly, a centimeter at a time. Later, when a Krishnan approached them with a plate of food, he found both men already asleep on the schoolhouse floor.

Next morning a Krishnan who entered the schoolhouse with two bowls of hot stew found the Terrans gingerly doing knee bends and groaning over each stiff muscle. The Krishnan said: "What do ye, aliens? Prayers and obeisance to some Terran god?"

"Yes," said Reith with a wry grin. "We are paying our respects to Hercules, the god of muscles. Let's have that food!

I could eat an aya, bones, hide, and all. How much farther to Jeshang?"

"An early start and a brisk all-day ride should fetch us to the Great Temple by this even."

Reith and Marot groaned again, this time in unison.

Roqir had not quite set when Reith and Marot were delivered to the Great Temple of Bákh. Dazed with fatigue, they were hauled from their mounts and hustled through the vast front door of the marble edifice. Inside, they were led through endless halls and passages, where the flames of copper torcheres were reflected from gilded ornaments and picture frames and shone on mural paintings showing scenes from the Book of Bákh.

At some point, the ragamuffin appearance of their captors gave way to the chain mail and smart black-and-white uniforms of the Temple guards. These led the prisoners to a corridor, somewhere in the rear of the huge building, lined on both sides by rows of barred cells. An officer unlocked a door with a metallic clank; the hinges squealed, and Reith and Marot were thrust inside.

The cell had two small, barred windows, high up, through which the prisoners could see a patch of green-tinged evening sky. Mattresses, three stools, a small table, and a washstand provided the cell's spartan comforts.

As Reith and Marot entered, an Earthman, brooding on one of the stools with his back to the door, rose and faced them. Like Reith, this man was of good height and lean build. The light of the setting sun revealed that he had once been disguised as a Krishnan, but that the disguise had begun to wear off. One of his antennae was missing; one of the false points on his ears was partly broken away; and his skin showed the Krishnan olive-green tinge only in patches. Moreover, the man's jaw was shadowed by a ten-days' growth of heavy black beard, which so changed his appearance that it took Reith a few seconds to recognize Warren Foltz.

As Foltz perceived Reith beneath his coating of dirt and dust, he bounded to his feet, snarling: "You!"

Although a minute earlier, Reith was so fatigued that he thought he could not even swat a fly, he sprang at Foltz like a madman. With bestial growls, the two men closed, punching, kicking, gouging, and clawing for each other's throats. Foltz jammed an elbow into Reith's eye; Reith in turn sank his teeth into Foltz's groping arm as they clinched, fell, and rolled on the rough wooden floor. Reith seized Foltz's throat; while Foltz, making strangled sounds, clawed at Reith's crotch.

"Stop!" shouted Marot, trying in vain to pull the furious fighters apart. The cell door flew open, and a squad of Temple guards rushed in. Seizing the limbs of each combatant, they managed to drag the two maddened Earthmen loose.

At length the combatants stood in opposite corners, breathing hard and bleeding from many cuts and scratches, while a pair of guards held each by the arms. Reith's right eye was bloodshot and half closed, while Foltz's bitten arm showed the pattern of Reith's teeth, each tooth mark seeping blood.

The leader of the detail scowled at his guards. "What ninny commanded that these twain be clapped up together? 'Tis known that there's bad blood betwixt them." He turned to Marot. "What's all this with you Ertsuma? If this be how learned Earthmen behave, Bákh deliver us from real Terran ruffians!"

"Sir," said Marot, "you must keep my fiery colleagues well apart, lest they kill each other."

"What ails them?"

"They hate each other, because of rivalry over an Earth-woman."

"Ohé! I begin to understand," said the officer. He spoke to the other guards: "Put the new arrivals in Number Nine, and move furnishings in from the other cells." His lips curled in the Krishnan version of a sardonic smile. "With such mutual hatred, they'll make a lively spectacle at the hearing."

"What hearing is this?" said Marot. "We do not yet know why we have been brought here."

"Why, the hearing wherefor ye've been fetched hither, to answer charges laid against you by Master Foltus."

"When will it be?"

"On the morrow, Bákh willing."

Marot said: "We are exhausted after a strenuous, two-day ride. Could we not have a day of rest and restore our forces?"

"I'll pass word of your request to my superior; but count not upon any easement. The High Priestess wishes to conclude the matter with dispatch."

Reith slept a one-handed Krishnan clock around and woke stiff and sore but alert. He did a few calisthenics to stretch his aching muscles, wincing at the pain from his bruises, then plunged into a hearty breakfast. Marot studied him appraisingly, saying:

"Fergus, you have the most beautiful oeuil poché—I think you call it the blue eye?"

"Black eye. This safari of ours will go down in history as the black-and-blue paleontological expedition. I've never had so many bruises as I've collected in the past moon." Reith frowned somberly. "A couple of years ago, if you'd told me I'd try to kill another man with my bare hands over a woman, I'd have said you were out of your calabash. But something took hold of me ..."

"Then, my friend, perhaps you can understand what it is that makes the little Alicia do irrational, contraproductive things."

"You've got a point," said Reith. "But knowing that I have such weaknesses doesn't make her any easier to live with."

The captain of the temple guard, who had conducted them to their cell the night before, entered the cell with brisk authority. "God den, Terrans! Yestereve ye besought the lieutenant to have today's hearing put off, to give you time to recover from your ride. The High Priestess hath given her consent, holding it unjust that one adversary be in the pink of perfection whilst t'other gasps for life. Thus the hearing will take place at this hour on the morrow. May the best Terran win!"

The captain seemed not unfriendly. Reith suspected that the guards would await the outcome of the trial before deciding which prisoners they might mistreat with impunity and which they had better be kind to, lest an exonorated prisoner retaliate against them. Reith said:

"Would it be possible, Captain, for us to bathe and shave? We are unsuitably groomed for such a public event."

He ran his bruised fingers through the coppery stubble that sprouted over his jaw. Krishnans thought Terran whiskers repulsive, having but a few scattered hairs on their own chins. Therefore Earth men on Krishna were careful to appear cleanshaven, even when, as happened every few decades, beards were fashionable on Earth. The officer replied:

"A bath ye may have, belike; but what's this shaving?"

"Scraping the face with a razor." Reith scratched his cheek. "What is a razor?"

"A very sharp knife, used by Terrans to remove facial hair."

"Nay, we've no such object. I can lend you a pair of tweezers, wherewith to pluck out the offending strands."

Reith sighed. "Not practical with a beard as thick as mine. But the baths will be appreciated."

Cleaned up, Reith and Marot spent the morning discussing the questions they might be asked and the replies they thought they should give. They agreed that, if permitted, Marot should field questions of a religious or philosophical nature, while Reith handled those having to do with Terran activities on Krishna. They shot questions at each other to hone their wits and criticized each other's answers. When Reith began to yawn and let his attention stray, Marot said:

"This may be a bore, my friend, but it is better than being boiled like a lobster."

When the midday meal was brought, Marot asked the jailer: "Would you please inquire of the captain whether we might have a copy of the Book of Bákh? We need spiritual enlightenment."

Shortly afterward, the captain appeared with a copy of the Book of Bákh under his arm. "Such piety merits praise, O Terrans," he said, handing over the book. "Methinks ye'll fare well at the hearing."

Reith and Marot spent the afternoon listening to each other drone through the first chapter of the Book of Bákh, over and over, until they had it memorized.

An enormous golden star adorned the door of the hearing room. The captain of the Temple guard pulled open the door, saying: "Go on in. Ye shall sit to the right, over yonder, where your defender now sits."

The hearing room was spacious, but there was no provision for spectators. Opposite the entrance stood three thronelike chairs, with high backs gilded and elaborately carved. In the largest of these sat Kharob bad-Kavir, Dasht of Chilihagh. On his right huddled an aged, bony Krishnan woman, who Reith surmised was the High Priestess Lazdai. The Krishnan on the left of the Dasht, another ancient wearing spectacles, Reith did not recognize. In a low voice, he asked the captain:

"Who is that in the throne on our right?"

"Chief Justicer Hargao," murmured the captain.

As Reith's glance swept the chamber, he saw Warren Foltz sitting across the room beside an aggressive-looking Krishnan. Eight armed guards were disposed around the room.

Reith and Marot took their seats in the two chairs assigned to them and nodded to the youthful Krishnan who was to act as their defender. The captain faced the tribunal, brought his right fist smartly against his left shoulder in salute, and announced: "Your Altitude, Captain Zurian of the Temple guard begs leave to report that preparations for the hearing in the matter of the three bone-hunting Ertsuma are now complete."

"My Altitude thanks you," said the Dasht. "Let the inquiry proceed. Sir Chief Justicer, state the case."

The aged male Krishnan spoke in a creaky voice: "On the fourteenth day of the third month, in the twenty-fifth year of Dasht Kharob bad-Kavir, we are assembled to investigate certain disturbances that have taken place within the Dashtate of Chilihagh during the past moon, in order to decide whether the persons involved, to wit: three aliens from the alleged world called Terra, have committed an offense against the laws of Chilihagh; and, if so, whether they should be tried under the civil law; or dismissed without further proceedings; or expelled as undesirable aliens; or, in the event that they prove suspect of an offense against the True Religion of the Dashtate, they should be remanded to the ecclesiastical authorities for further proceedings under the statutes governing such matters. Sir Prosecutor, proceed."

The Krishnan seated beside Foltz rose, bowed to the tribunal, and turned to face Foltz. He said: "Ertsu, identify yourself."

His voice still husky from the effects of Reith's strangling fingers, Foltz spoke: "I am Doctor of Philosophy Warren William Foltz, a native of the city of St. Louis, the nation the _ United States of America, the planet Terra."

"Explain, in a few words, how you came to be in Chilihagh."

Foltz: "I was a student of the evolution of life on my native planet. I came to this world supposing that life here had followed a similar course from lowly, invisibly small aquatic creatures to various larger forms, including the intelligent species—"

The prosecutor cut him off. "You will have a chance to explain your change of philosophy later." He turned to Reith, saying: "Ertsu with the fiery hair, identify yourself."

"My name is Fergus MacDonald Reith, a native of the city of Philadelphia, in the United States of America, on the planet Terra."

"How came you to be in Chilihagh?"

"I was hired as a guide by Doctor Aristide Marot, here beside me, to take him to the Zorian region of Chilihagh, where he intended to pursue his scientific researches."

Similar questioning established that Marot was a native of Lyons, France; and that, being an authority on the evolution of Terran life, he had come to ascertain what parallels with and divergences from Terran evolution had taken place on Krishna.

The prosecutor turned back to Foltz, saying: "Doctor Foltus, narrate the events that led to your being brought to Jeshang under guard."

Foltz shot a nasty little smile across the room. "As I have stated elsewhere, I arrived in your world assuming that evolution here had followed a course much like that on my own planet. In Jeshang, however, I read the Book of Bákh and learned that, contrary to the course of events on Terra, here Bákh created all species at once, at the time he established human life; and that all these created species have persevered with only minor changes down to the present."

"State how you came to be involved with these other Terrans," said the prosecutor.

"I knew the work of Doctor Marot on Terra and had met him at scientific meetings. I also knew of his plan to travel to this world to pursue similar investigations. Before I saw the light of Bákh, I knew of no objections to my colleague's plans. When, however, the Truth of Bákh was made manifest to me, I perceived that, for the sake of the True Faith, I must forestall Doctor Marot's well-intentioned activities. Knowing him to be dogmatically committed to the false hypothesis of evolution— false on this world, that is—and surmising that he would seek evidence to support his fallacy in the geological beds of the Zorian formation, I arrived ahead of him.

"As I foresaw, Doctor Marot unearthed a fossil by means of which he meant, with specious arguments, to foist upon the enlightened people of Chilihagh his wrongful theory. I therefore seized the opportunity to destroy the fossil. In the course of this action, I was compelled to have my servants forcibly restrain Masters Reith and Marot, who were understandably distressed at the loss of what they in their delusion deemed evidence of their belief. I took care to apply no more force than was necessary and would have released them unharmed, had not the unfortunate conflict with the escort of Father Behorj taken place."

"How came that conflict to pass?"

"As I have explained, it arose as a result of a mistake. In a heavy rainstorm, my men took the men of Father Behorj's escort for a gang of brigands and shot crossbow bolts at them. I have expressed my profound regrets for this blunder, which occurred without my authority while I was occupied with destroying the fossil."

"It is a serious matter natheless," said the prosecutor. "Five men slain, one of Behorj's escort and four of yours, not to mention numerous wounds."

"Any penalty I must suffer in consequence of this blunder, I will gladly submit to," said Foltz, looking martyred.

"One moment!" The Krishnan seated next to Marot rose.

Dasht Kharob said: "You may speak, Sir Defender."

The defender turned to Foltz. "Doctor Foltus, you have stated that you destroyed this fossil. Yet when the men of Father Behorj's party escorted you back to the site of the excavation, you are reported as having said: 'It is gone! The zefta must have come back and carried off the fragments!' So tell us, pray, in what form, if any, this object still exists?"

Foltz shrugged. "My statements were true. I left the rock slab broken into a score of pieces. When I was brought back thither, they were not to be seen. What befell the specimen thereafter, I do not know."

The defender continued: "We have the statements of Father Duriz, that his men examined the cargo of the riverboat Morkerád without finding this suppositious bag of stones. We also have the statement of Captain Manyao, who led the raid into Qirib, that his men diligently searched the car wherein these Terrans rode, likewise in vain. Doctor Maghou, can you enlighten us as to the present whereabouts and condition of this evidence?"

Marot gave an expressive French shrug. "I never set eyes upon my specimen after the attack by Foltz's followers."

"Then how account you for its vanishment from the site of your researches?"

Marot paused. "That country is full of little bumps and hollows, all looking much alike. It is easy to mistake one's location. Moreover, it was raining, and light was poor because of the dense clouds. I suggest that Doctor Foltz erred in showing you what he believed to be the site of my work. An error of a few paces would suffice."

The prosecutor addressed the High Priestess: "Your Holiness, if you think it worth the while, we can send another party to scrutinize the banks of the River Zora more closely, in hope of finding these fragments."

"We'll decide anon," said Lazdai. "Having seen how these artful rogues can slip through our fingers, I'd not assume they did not have some ingenious sleight to get their bones past our folk."

The defender turned towards Foltz. "Is it not true, Doctor Foltus, that there was also a personal conflict betwixt you and Master Reef?"

"There was, but this had nothing to do with the question of evolution and the True Faith."

"What, then, was the cause of this conflict, wherein, we "are informed, you attacked Master Reef with a sword and would have slain him but for the intervention of his comrade?"

"I had a secretary, an Earth woman, whom Reith hired away from me by a promise of higher pay. A very able person, she had been keeping my records and managing my crew, and her abrupt departure left me in a difficult predicament. I went to Marot's camp to protest this high-handed action and was attacked by Reith with a pick. When I defended myself with my sword, Marot treacherously assailed me from behind with his hammer."

"Liar!" said Reith loudly.

"Order in the court!" snapped the Dasht. "You shall have your say, Master Reef."

The defender persisted: "Is it not true, Master Foltus, that you and Master Reef were rivals for the personal affections of this secretary, whose name was ..." (He consulted a sheet of notes.) " ... Ah-lee-shah Dah-eek-man?"

"It is untrue so far as I am concerned," said Foltz. "My relations with the lady were purely professional, as employer to assistant. Whether Reith entertained more personal sentiments, I do not know."

Marot whispered: "Fergus, when your turn comes, make much of the triangle among you, Foltz, and Alicia. Tell the story of your marriage."

"Why?"

"It will shake his tale of having opposed us from lofty religious motives."

Reith scowled. "Look, Aristide, I can't get up in court and accuse her of fornication! It wouldn't be decent."

"It might be better than being boiled."

"No matter what fool things she's done, I can't drag her name in the mud!"

"Oho, who now has the quaint old-fashioned ideas! Statistics show that over ninety-six per cent of all women—"

"I don't care what the statistics say; it's a matter of principle—"

"But, my friend," continued Marot in a stage whisper, "we must be realistic! She is a realist, and I am sure that she would be the first to confess her various faux pas to save you ... tell you! You be the discreet, reticent one. But when my turn comes, I bare all, describing the little Alicia's affairs so as to present you in a favorable light. If she learns of this, you can blame me."

Reith grunted. "Order in the court!" said the Dasht.

While Reith and Marot had been carrying on their whispered conversation, the defender had been asking Foltz peripheral questions, fishing for leads and getting either noncommittal answers or protestations of ignorance. At last the defender said: "I have no more questions for the present. Proceed, Sir Prosecutor."

The prosecutor faced Reith. "Master Reef, describe your duties under your contract with Doctor Maghou."

"I promised to guide him, protect him from the vicissitudes of travel, act as translator, and purchase equipment and hire labor on his behalf."

"Had you any concern with the theoretical, philosophical, or religious aspects of his search for petrified bones?"

"None whatever, sir."

"What was your understanding of the difference between Doctors Maghou and Foltus?"

"As presented to me, it concerned a highly technical point in the theory of the evolution of life on this world."

"What point was that?"

"Something about whether all land vertebrates were descended from one line of water-dwelling ancestors or two."

"What is your opinion on this subject?"

"I have none, sir. The question is far beyond my competence."

"Were it fair to say that you favor the idea of the evolution of life on this world?"

"It was the only theory I had heard of, until I became acquainted with the religion of Balch."

"To what belief do you now adhere?"

"To none. I am a tour guide, not a scientist, and I see no need for me to decide such profound philosophical questions."

The prosecutor paused, then said: "Master Reef, what is your version of the quarrel betwixt you and Doctor Foltus over Mistress Dyckman?"

"She is Doctor Dyckman," said Reith. "I knew her before this expedition. The night after Marot's and my visit to Foltz's camp, Foltz gave Alicia Dyckman a severe beating. She fled his camp and, knowing me from aforetime, sought refuge with me. Foltz invaded our camp the following day and tried to take her back by force; so we fought him off."

"Why did Foltz beat this Earthwoman?"

"She told me that he beat her in a jealous rage, because she and I seemed too friendly to please him."

The prosecutor looked around the hearing room. "We should have the Earthwoman here to straighten out this discrepancy. Why was she not taken from the train when these others were arrested?"

The High Priestess spoke, in a surprisingly deep voice: "The warrant named only those two. No evidence hath been adduced involving this Earthwoman in the question of the Truth of Bákh."

"Still," said the prosecutor, "her presence could greatly expedite this case. Doth Your Holiness know where she may now be found?"

"Nay. If she was on the train with these Ertsuma, I ween she hath returned to Jazmurian."

"Whence it were impracticable to fetch her," muttered the prosecutor, "the Qiribuma doubtless being sufficiently stirred up by our pursuit and capture of these two." He turned. "Doctor Foltus! Did you beat this Earthwoman?"

"No. I never laid a hand on her. We had high words when she announced she was leaving, and she rushed out of the tent in a passion. In so doing, she tripped on a tent rope and fell, sustaining bruises. These furnished her with a pretext for saying I had struck her."

Reith controlled his anger with difficulty. The defender spoke: "Master Reef! During your intercourse with Doctor Foltus, did he give any sign of conversion from evolutionism to the Truth of Bákh?"

"No, sir."

"Were such matters discussed during your visit to his camp?"

"Yes, indeed."

"What opinion did Foltus then express?"

"He stood up for his version of the evolution of all life on this world. This was essentially the same as Marot's, differing only in the detail I mentioned before."

"Did Foltus endeavor at any time to convert you and Maghou to the Truth of Bákh?"

"No."

"So his conversion could have been feigned, to get him out of trouble with the state religion and you into it?"

"I object!" said the prosecutor. "The question calls for inference by the witness about matters whereof he hath no personal knowledge."

"Objection sustained," said the Chief Justicer.

The prosecutor took his turn. "Doctor Maghou, what is your present stand on the question of evolution versus the Truth of Bákh?"

"I hold them equally true," said Marot blandly.

"How can that be? The Book of Bákh clearly states that Balch created the universe in three days; so how could life on this world have formed gradually over millions of years, as I understand your evolutionary theory contemplates?"

"It is a question of which words of your holy book are to be taken literally and which figuratively."

"Explain yourself, pray."

"Gladly. I have some slight acquaintance with the Book of Bákh. I find that it displays many parallels with the sacred book of the Terran religion that I was reared in, called Christianity. For example, all Terrans but the most primitive and ignorant realize that Terra is of spherical shape; yet many passages in this sacred book, called the Bible, imply that it is flat. It speaks of 'the four corners of the Earth.' It tells of men building a tower by which they hoped to invade heaven, as if the universe were a box, with the Earth as the floor and the heavens the lid. They tell of a prophet's seeing all the kingdoms of the Earth from a high mountain.

"The explanation of our theologians is that, while the book was written under divine guidance, it was expressed in terms intelligible to those to whom it was addressed. At the time this book took shape, most Terrans believed the Earth to be flat.

"Permit me to add that Terran theologians have learned to be wary of disputing scientific facts. Half a millennium ago, a scientist named Galileo asserted that Terra traveled around our sun, and not the sun around the planet, as was then the official belief. The most powerful of the Christian churches forced him to deny this belief and kept him confined to his house for the rest of his life. It transpired that Galileo was right and the official belief wrong; but it took this Church two centuries to admit its error. Christianity has never quite recovered from its loss of prestige in the matter of Galileo."

"Doctor Maghou," said the defender, "can ye shed light upon the contradiction betwixt the other two Ertsuma in the matter of Doctor Dyckman?"

"Of a certainty!" said Marot. "I saw the bruises on the poor woman when she arrived at our camp. I assure you, they were not the result of tripping over a tent rope. Although I did not witness the beating, there is every indication that it took place.

"The fact is that Doctor Dyckman was Master Reith's former wife, and they still retain a mutual affection. I shall not be surprised if they eventually re-marry. So, naturally, she took refuge with him when Foltz mistreated her."

"Why had he beaten her?"

"Because, in return for his employment of her services, he compelled her to accept him as a lover. When she and Reith met at Foltz's camp, he observed their tender regards and concluded that they were still in love. So in a jealous rage he beat her."

"How is she Reef's 'former wife'?"

"She obtained a divorce under the laws of Novorecife, after a number of quarrels."

The High Priestess boomed: "Doctor Maghou!"

"Yes, Madam?"

"Was Master Reef, during his marriage to this Earthwoman, a chronic drunkard?"

"I am sure not. I have known him well on my expedition and found him a careful, abstemious drinker."

"Was he an inveterate gambler?" Lazdai persisted. "No."

"A wastrel?"

"No."

"A fornicator?"

"I have heard nothing to indicate it."

"Had he beaten her?"

"I am sure not."

"Was he an addict of the ramandu or other narcotic?"

"I am sure not."

"Was he involved in crime or corruption?"

"I believe not."

"Is he forever ill-natured and quarrelsome?"

"But no! I can assert from my own knowledge that he is not."

"Was he sexually perverted or deficient?"

"I have no reason to think so."

"In other words, would you term him a man of good moral character, well qualified to act the role of spouse?"

"Of a certainty, yes!"

"But, although he was innocent of the vices and faults that, amongst folk of civilized moral standards, would be deemed sufficient reason to dissolve a marriage, his wife divorces him because of some petty quarrels. This confirms my opinion, that you Ertsuma are as immoral, casually changing mates every few years on flimsy pretexts, as the promiscuous Balhibuma. They, at least, are not hypocritical about it. They have abolished marriage and refer to their nonce mates by the term jagain, meaning simply 'he or she with whom I am currently futtering;. Now, perhaps, you can understand why we in Chilihagh regard Terran influence as malignant. Excuse the digression. Sir Prosecutor, and proceed."

The questioning ground on, going over the same ground in an endeavor to clear up the contradictions between the stories of Foltz on one hand and of Reith and Marot on the other. Foltz insisted that he had tried to warn his colleagues of the dangers of subverting the Truth of Bákh and even attempted to convert the other Terrans to that faith; they denied that he had said anything of the sort. Marot repeated the arguments he had already given the priest Behorj for a figurative understanding of the Book of Bákh: that, being omnipotent, Bákh could make the 'days' of his creation any length he chose.

The defender and the prosecutor held a whispered conference; then the defender produced a sheaf of papers. "I have here," he said, "the deposition of Ghirch bad-Gargan, a shaihan-herd. To save time, the prosecutor and I have agreed to stipulate that this Ghirch was in the employ of Sainian bad-Jeb, owner of the Zora ranch; that this Ghirch was commanded to stay at Doctor Foltus's camp to observe the proceedings and to assist Foltus in the event of difficulties. He accompanied Foltus on the latter's first visit to Maghou's camp. I shall now read the rest of the deposition:

" 'Question: After the visiting Terrans had finished their dinner and departed, what next befell?'

" 'Answer: I heard a disturbance from Foltus's tent, as if he and the Terran female were quarreling.'

" 'Question: What action did ye take in regard to this disturbance?'

" 'Answer: None, sir. They often quarreled, so I thought no more of the matter and went to bed.'

" 'Question: Did this Terran female, clept Alicia, regularly sleep in Foltus's tent?'

" 'Answer: I believe that was her usual habit.'

" 'Question: Did she and Foltus engage in carnal intercourse?'

" 'Answer: How in Hishkak should I know, sir? They never did it where I could see them, and I know not what strange customs the Ertsuma follow.' "

The defender asked Marot: "Doctor, amongst Terrans, when a male and a female occupy the same chamber overnight, do they normally engage in carnal intercourse?"

Marot shrugged. "Sometimes. It depends on many factors: whether they are permitted by law, custom, or religion; the degree of affection between them; their physical and mental condition; and so on."

The defender resumed reading: " 'Question: Did this Alicia flee Foltus's camp during the night?'

" 'Answer: I suppose she did. I did not see her about the following morning.'

" 'Question: When did you see her next?'

" 'Answer: Never, sir.'

" 'Question: What befell the next morning?'

" 'Answer: I was at breakfast when Foltus came storming out of his tent with his face scratched. He demanded that I leave my victuals to saddle up two ayas forthwith and ride with him to the other bone-diggers' camp. Well, I was not much pleased; it upsets my stomach when I am snatched away in the midst of a repast. I mind me of the time of the great stampede, when in the middle of dinner—'

" 'Question: Yea, yea, Goodman Ghirch; but let us return to your visit to the other camp.'

" 'Answer: Aye, sir; begging your pardon. We were halfway to the other camp, and Foltus had been cursing under his breath. Then he pulled to a halt, shouting: "Bákh damn them all to Hishkah!" When I asked what betid, he said he had forgotten to lead a third aya with us, needed to carry another person back to our own camp. He would have turned back, but I told him that my own aya could carry double. She is a big, strong beast, with a white blaze—'

" 'Question: Stick to the course, pray.'

" 'Answer: Oh, aye, sir. We arrived at the other camp, and Foltus lighted down from his beast and began shouting at Reef, who shouted back. I know not what they said, since they spake some off-world gibberish. The next I knew, they were fighting. Foltus with his sword and Reef with a pick.'

" 'Question: Which attacked the other? Which struck the first blow?'

" 'Answer: I could not say, sir. Meseemed both were set upon doing the other to death.'

" 'Question: What was the upshot?'

" 'Answer: Doctor Maghou, yonder, ran up behind Foltus and knocked him senseless with a strange kind of hammer.'

" 'Question: What then?'

" 'Answer: My orders being to succor Foltus in difficulties, I roped his body to his saddle and led the aya back to our camp. By the time we reached it, Foltus had begun to recover.'

" 'Question: What befell next at the Foltus camp?'

" 'Answer: I know not, sir. When we reached the camp, I found another of Squire Sainian's men with a message, that I should leave the camp and join the roundup, since one of the herders had been hurt.'

" 'Question: Thank you, Goodman Ghirch.'

"As ye have heard," said the defender, "Ghirch's account corroborates that of Reef and Maghou. Doctor Foltus!"

"Yes?"

"What have ye to say to this testimony?"

"That it is a pack of lies," said Foltz. "My colleagues across the room must have suborned Ghirch with money or promises of more lucrative employment."

Asked the same question, Reith and Marot said that Ghirch's testimony was quite correct as far as it went. "The next deposition!" said the prosecutor.

This was an interview with the camp worker Doukh. It settled nothing, because Doukh, obviously frightened, answered "Aye" to every question, even if this answer contradicted a previous one.

"Have you any more depositions?" asked the Dasht.

"Nay, my lord," said the prosecutor. "We endeavored to obtain statements from Foltus's servants about such matters as the relations betwixt him and his secretary, and his alleged beating of her. But those men have all gone into hiding."

Kharob asked: "How could they, when they were brought to Jeshang along of Doctor Foltus?"

"The five brought hither were enlarged by order of Her Holiness, as having nought of interest to say. There were two or three others; but they, too, have disappeared."

The Dasht glared at the High Priestess, who glared back. She said: "Bákh told me that nought was to be gained by holding them."

After further haggling over technicalities, the prosecutor said: "I have no more questions, my lords."

"And ye, Sir Defender?"

"None more, Your Altitude."

"Very well. The Terrans shall be given refreshment whilst my colleagues and I withdraw to consider our verdict."

A Krishnan hour later, when all had returned to the hearing room, the Dasht said:

"The Chief Justicer will announce the verdict. Rise, Ertsuma!"

The old lawyer adjusted his eyeglasses and spoke from a sheet of notes: "Whereas the Terran clept Warren Foltus hath been involved in a combat causing the deaths of five of His Altitude's subjects and the wounding of divers others, he hath rendered himself liable to punishment. In view, however, of his sincere conversion to the Truth of Bákh and his help in bringing to book the other two Ertsuma, it hath been decided to limit his penalty to summary expulsion from the Dashtate.

"Whereas Masters Reef and Maghou have been shown to be stubborn and fanatical adherents of the false theory of evolution, they shall be released to the custody of the religious authorities, for such disposal as seems best suited to promote the Truth of Bákh

"Which," said the High Priestess with a crooked smile, "shall be the regular penalty for contumacious heresy, as soon as I can sign the papers. Orders have already gone out, and the Cauldron of Repentance will be ready on the morrow. Take them away!"

In the late afternoon, Reith and Marot were returned to their cell. Their depression was not lightened by the sardonic grin that Foltz flashed at them in the corridor. For hours they sat, stirring betimes to mutter an occasional comment:

"Aristide, wouldn't it have been better to pretend wholehearted conversion? Foltz got away with it."

"I do not think so. It would perhaps have cast doubt on his sincerity; but while that might have put him into the kettle, it would not deliver us."

Reith held his head in his hands. "Remember my saying we'd be safe once we were on the train? How stupid can anyone be?"

"Do not blame yourself, my friend. If the mouse has six holes from which to issue, not even the most gifted cat can foresee which one will be employed. Should we perhaps have fought the Bákhites when they attacked the train, instead of tamely yielding?"

"I thought of that; but I figured the odds were hopeless. I have no illusion that I can cut my way through a hundred foes and escape—and on foot at that."

They scarcely touched their dinners. Darkness had fallen, and a Temple guard was lighting the lamps in the corridor outside, when the cell door was unlocked and two figures came in. The first was a tall person in a hooded cloak; the second, a burly Krishnan carrying a broad-bladed, two-handed sword.

Reith pulled himself together. 'To whom do we owe the honor of this visit?"

The hooded figure cast off the cloak and stood revealed as Dasht Kharob bad-Kavir. "Good even, gentlemen."

"Good even to Your Altitude. What now?" .

The Dasht said: "Know that I did not concur with this afternoon's voting. To me, your stories were more plausible than those of Doctor Foltus, especially with the corroboration of the shaihan-hand. I would have merely exiled you along with Foltus, but I was outvoted. Her Holiness is taken with Foltus, who hath beguiled her with flatteries and obsequious blandishments. She would have let him off scot-free; but I insisted on my right to expel him.

"She holds that to cast doubt upon the literal veracity of a single syllable of the Book of Bákh puts the whole edifice at hazard. Therefore she demands your bodies, to serve as an example to other temerarious Terrans, who might come hither to spread subversive ideas."

"If you're the Dasht," said Reith, "haven't you the power to pardon us, or at least commute the sentence?"

"Not in matters of ecclesiastical jurisdiction, and the extent of that jurisdiction is what the High Priestess saith it be. You know not our local politics."

"Why did the Chief Justicer take her side?"

"He fears an accusation of heresy, should he display unwonted independence of mind. Since you'll not survive to tattle, I can be frank. Lazdai and I have been opposed in many things; but such is her hold on the people that I dare not come out openly against her, lest a mob, incited by her minions, string me up in the main square. I can trust but few, such as Jám here." He nodded at the swordsman. "He's here, first to make sure you try not something desperate, like seizing me as hostage; and second to effect the favor I offer, an you accept."

"And that is?"

"In lieu of the official penalty, Jam will give you a quick quietus. All you need do is assent, kneel down, and bow your heads—and kchunk! 'tis all over in a trice. Lazdai will be passing wroth, but I can ride out that storm."

Reith said: "May we have a few minutes to consider this unseductive choice, Your Altitude?"

"Certes." The Dasht and his headsman stepped out of the cell.

"I think we had better accept," murmured Marot. "I have no more fear of death than most; but boiling—pouah!"

"I say no," said Reith. "While there's life there's hope; but if we let this guy slice off our heads now, that's the end of it. If a rescue party arrived—and I'm sure Alicia will do her damnedest to launch one—they'd find nobody to rescue."

Marot made a helpless gesture. "Do what you think best."

They called the Dasht back in. Reith said: "Much as we appreciate your offer, Your Altitude, we must decline. We trust Bákh to work a miracle to save us."

Kharob sighed. "I have done what I could to ease your pains. I must own, Doctor Maghou, that I was vastly impressed by your argument about figurative interpretation of the sacred book. If I were more sure of my power ... But what will be, will be."

Roqir rose in a clear sky as Reith and Marot, hands manacled, were hustled out to a courtyard behind the Great Temple of Bákh. A wood fire crackled under the Cauldron of Repentance, and gentle plumes of vapor ascended from Lazdai's Kettle towards the greenish sky. Reith paid little heed to the droning of the priests who chanted prayers.

In the midst of these preparations, Marot said: "Your miracle had better occur soon, Fergus. I do not think these preliminaries will continue much longer."

"I can't wave a wand and summon spirits from the vasty deep," snapped Reith. "If I could, we wouldn't be here— what's that?"

Beyond the courtyard, a disturbance arose, the noise of which grew swiftly. There was shouting and a clash of metal on metal.

Into the courtyard burst a swarm of mounted newcomers, with the brazen cuirasses and the scarlet tunics and breeches of the Balhibo cavalry. There were hundreds of them; some had wounds bandaged. In their midst rode one of different aspect, a slender, blond, disheveled Earthwoman in worn khakis.

"Fergus!" she screamed, leaping down from her aya. She flung her arms around Reith, who could not return her embrace until he had hoisted the chain of his manacles over her head.

"I got them to turn out the whole Jazmurian garrison squadron," she panted. "They were furious at the raid, and I stirred them up even more. We had to knock a few heads at the border. Oh, Fergus darling!"

The lovers clung to each other as two Krishnans confronted each other: the tall Dasht and the stout female officer commanding the squadron. Kharob bad-Kavir spoke: "Madam, what is the meaning of this violation of the sovran territory of Chilihagh? I protest this warlike incursion! Who are you?"

"Major Kaldashi, commanding the Second Cavalry Squadron at Jazmurian. It is I who protest the violation of the territory of the Republic of Balhib by a band of marauders from Chilihagh, who carried off two Terran travelers from the Jazmurian-to-Majbur train. There they are!" She pointed to Reith and Marot. "We have no fell designs on your sovranty, my lord. We wish merely the two Terrans unharmed and shall depart forthwith—albeit, had we arrived to find them executed, there might have been more serious consequences."

The Dasht replied: "I yield to superior force. I shall issue commands that you be not hindered or molested on your way out of the Dashtate. I shall send an officer with you to assure compliance with this order."

With the shadow of a Krishnan smile, the Dasht walked off while the major approached Reith and Marot and questioned them about their experience. Soon Dasht Kharob reappeared with the captain of the Temple guard, saying: "Captain Zurian, unlock those gyves!"

As the manacles were removed, Reith said: "Thanks, Your Altitude. I said Bákh would pass a miracle. Where's Foltz?"

"He would have tarried to enjoy your execution, but I sent him on his way with an escort. Whilst I am officially outraged by Major Kaldashi's incursion, I shall turn it to account. I have commanded the arrest of High Priestess Lazdai and her priestly council, for having, on their own responsibility, committed a warlike act against a friendly neighboring nation. The civil government shall at last reassert itself against the usurpations of the Bákhites!"

"Will Your Altitude then restore religious freedom?" asked Alicia.

"Aye. We mortals have enough to do to settle quarrels amongst ourselves, let alone disputes amongst the gods."

At last Reith and Marot were mounted on spare ayas, and the squadron clattered out of Jeshang. Riding beside Marot, Reith said: "At least, I hope this ride won't be at the breakneck pace of the last one."

"I hope so also. It should be shorter, since we came here by a roundabout route." Marot nodded towards Alicia, riding ahead beside the major. "What about her?"

Reith sighed. "If she wants to marry me again, I'd be a swine to refuse her, after she saved my life. But I dread to think what life with her will be like. I've been through all that, enough for two lifetimes."

"At its worst," said Marot, "it will be less painful than the Cauldron of Repentance."

"True, but that would have been over in a few minutes. The other may last for more than a century!"