The Arrows of Hercules
- Автор: Де Камп Лайон Спрэг
- Язык: английский
- Жанр: Научная фантастика
Электронная книга - «The Arrows of Hercules». Краткое содержание книги:
“Exciting and quite believable adventures.”—Classical World
“Rousing piece of fiction...pace is rapid and unrelenting.” —The Arizona Republic
Zopyros tried not to smile. "As I said, I'm of mixed descent. My great-grandfather was the satrap Bagabukhsha, or Megabyzos as Hellenes say it, the head of the Daduchid clan and one of the most powerful men of the Empire. You may have heard of his fantastic career under the Xerxes and the first Artaxerxes."
"Indeed?" said Xanthos. "That is interesting. Have you kept up with the Persian branch of the family? Such a connection might be useful if one were forced to flee to the empire, as befell the great Themistokles."
"No, sir; I don't know any of those people. If I were traveling in the realm of the Great King, I suppose I could look them up. Noble Persian families almost never die out or get killed off, because of all the wives the grandees have."
"True; but let us get back to your family."
Zopyros resumed his tale: "One time when Megabyzos was in revolt against his royal master, his son Zopyros fled to Athens. There he married Thia, the daughter of an Athenian citizen. How the Athenian permitted his daughter to wed a foreigner I don't know, but you've heard how impetuous Persians are in matters of love.
"Anyway, Zopyros soon lost his life leading Athenian troops in battle, leaving my grandmother Thia with a small child. When my father grew up, he was apprenticed to Rhatoses, an Egyptian engineer living in Athens. When Father attained an age to set up in business for himself, he removed to Taras in order to obtain citizenship, bringing my grandmother with him. In Taras he married Agatha, daughter of Bessas, son of Myron of Miletos.
"This Myron had served at the court of the Great King. There the Xerxes sent him and his friend, a Persian named Bessas, to find the headwaters of the Nile. They had an extraordinary journey, fighting an ape the size of a buffalo and meeting other strange adventures. It was on this journey that Myron conceived the idea that the earth is round, an idea many philosophers now hold. When his mission was over, he migrated west and ended his days in Taras as a respected philosopher.
"Although Myron was in his fifties when he arrived in Taras, he nevertheless married a middle-aged widow and begat a son, whom he named for his old comrade-in-arms Bessas. And Bessas' daughter Agatha is my mother. My father has often told me, with much amusement, how back in Persia there was a bitter feud between this Bessas and his friend Myron on one hand, and the Daduchids on the other. To this day, when he and my mother have an argument, he'll say: 'Now, my dear, you're not reviving that old feud between our families, are you?' "
"Your lineage is more interesting than mine," said Xanthos, "even if it is not pure Hellenic. There's one thing more. I want my grandson."
"Oh?"
"Yes. At my age a man thinks about death, and I mean to have my ghost properly served by a line of legitimate descendants. Oh, yes, I know"—he waved Zopyros to silence—"you hope to beget more children on the girl. But the Fates have their own way with such intentions, and a live descendant here and now is worth several yet unborn. Besides, I want to give the poor little bastard a proper Greek name and education.
"Korinna has told me about the Sibyl's prophecy. So we'll toss that requirement into the scale pan. Get the hoy, and you'll find me reasonable in matters of property. Otherwise, no hymns to Hymen."
Zopyros' heart sank. "I told you I'm no hero. Did Korinna also tell you I have promised to return to Taras?"
Xanthos flipped a hand. "Of course you must, if you promised. The other matters can always be settled in good time."
"I was hoping to wed her now and take her home with me."
"Why, you immoral young scoundrel! Without the customary discussion between your family and me, your father's permission, formal betrothal, and so on? Draw your chariot back to the starting line! But then, the young are always impatient in such matters. I understand, even if I can't approve."
Xanthos swallowed the last of his wine, set down his kylix, and yawned. "I must arrange for my poor brother's funeral. Glaukos, why don't you take our young friend to Kylon's?" To Zopyros he said: "That's our leading tavern. Since Kylon rents the lot from me, I have a vested interest in his trade. Everybody said he was crazy to build so big a place—seats for twenty, and you can squeeze in forty if nobody breathes deeply. It's the biggest tavern this side of Athens; and everybody, including myself, thought he'd be bankrupt in a month.
"But Kylon had a scheme. He offers free grog to sea captains who spend an evening answering questions, and telling the news of far places. So he packs 'cm in, night after night, and is coining money. Some of his girls aren't bad, either; you might pick yourself one. After keeping your paws off my daughter for the last ten-day, your yard must be as stiff as a pikestaff."
Kylon's was crowded indeed. As Glaukos and Zopyros pushed through the mass, men spoke to Glaukos, commiserating with him on the death of his uncle. Three young men clustered around, and Zopyros learned that they were the late Nestor's sons-in-law. Soon the four young Messanians put their heads together and began talking in low, solemn tones about property and inheritances.
"Look, Zopyros," said Glaukos, "I shan't drink, because it wouldn't look well with Uncle Nestor still unburied. But that's no reason why you shouldn't enjoy yourself. If you wriggle through there, I think you can get a seat on that window sill before somebody else grabs it. I'll join you later."
Zopyros started towards the window in question, but another man got there first. While he stood in perplexity looking about, a voice with a Punic accent said:
"Come here, Master Zopyros! My friend and I can squeeze apart to make a place for you."
It was Asto, the mate of the Muttumalein. As Zopyros, ignoring scowls and muttered threats from the men crowded aside to make room for him, wormed into the space they made for him on the bench, the Phoenician continued: "O Zopyros, this is Evnos the Karian, a ransomer by trade. I've carried him hither and yon about the Inner Sea on his errands of mercy. Evnos, meet Zopyros son of Megabyzos, a Tarentine engineer."
"Be in good health!" said Evnos. He was a stocky, barrel-chested man with a large wide head, a hooked nose, and a close-cut, bristly black beard. Though not handsome, he seemed friendly. "Yours must be a fascinating trade,"
Zopyros shrugged. "It's a living. Yours sounds far more exciting. How did you ever get into it?"
Evnos gave a gap-toothed smile. "In the worst possible way: namely, by being a slave myself."
"Oh?"
"That's right. I can't be bothered trying to hide the fact. I'm beyond such petty affectations. One winter we had a famine in Karia, and my parents, who were poor country folk, sold me to a slaver. You needn't look shocked. It saved my life, when all the rest of my family died of hunger. It was the only way they could assure me of one good meal a day. Necessity is a hard master."
"But then how did you come into your present occupation?"
"Well, I had three masters in the next few years. One was pretty good, but the other two were real temple-robbing bastards. Especially the last one—the Athenian."
"What was the matter with him?"
"He was the foulest-tempered man I have known, and every time he got a little drunk he took it out on his slaves. I was lucky—he only knocked out a couple of my teeth. One of my fellow slaves he blinded in one of his rages. Still, in the long run his vile temper got me my freedom."
"How so?"
"After he'd beaten one of us to a pulp, he'd feel sorry and treat us kindly for a while. It made him uncomfortable to see us around all marked up. Conscience, I suppose. So he let me work for other men and keep half my pay. In a few years I bought myself off.
"At about that time, a kinsman of my last master wanted me to go to Syracuse to redeem his son, who was held prisoner in the quarries after the defeat of the Athenian invasion. So I did. Then another such bit of business came my way, and one thing led to another. I had been moved around quite a bit during these experiences, and I'm pretty good with languages. So travel doesn't frighten me. Now I journey all over the Inner Sea, arranging for people to ransom relatives who have been captured in war, or seized by pirates, or kidnapped and sold by slavers. If such a calamity should befall you, I am the best man in the Inner Sea to rescue you."