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
To the right of the temple of Poseidon, the land dipped beneath the sea to form the East Passage, deep enough only for small craft and crossed by a wooden bridge. Beyond the East Passage spread the suburb, in its turn protected by a brick wall. The ship angled to port, towards the deeper North Passage.
Down came the sail. Under oars, the ship forged through the North Passage into the Little Sea, the finest harbor in southern Italy. The Atalanta tied up at the wharf along the inner side of the island acropolis.
When Zopyros stepped ashore, the shadows of late afternoon were lengthening. Since it was a long walk to his home, he allowed himself the luxury of hiring a porter to carry his bag of belongings. He strode ahead, using his spear as a walking stick and dodging other pedestrians. Many of these were slaves or free workers bearing heavy burdens, some so bulky that Zopyros had to flatten himself against the wall to let them pass. The city smells of sweat, produce, cookery, and decaying waste matter filled his nostrils.
The streets of the old city, too narrow and crooked for wheeled traffic, formed a chaotic tangle. They were paved with a rough surface of lime and pebbles; but in many places this had disintegrated, leaving stretches of mud into which garbage and ordure had been trodden. The brick walls of one-story houses, which crowded in from either side, were practically blank, save for massive wooden doors and an occasional high, small, barred window. The walls of the more prosperous houses had been whitewashed; the others remained in their natural mud-brick buff.
A few months before, Zopyros and his father had presented the Assembly with a proposal for rebuilding the city in accordance with a master plan, such as the great Hippodamos had made for Peiraieus, Thourioi, and Rhodes. The rebuilt streets would gradually have become wide and straight, crossing at right angles as in some ancient cities of the East. A unanimous roar of protest from the property owners of Taras, however, had instantly squelched this ambitious plan.
The streets grew a little wider and straighter after Zopyros crossed the bridge to the suburb. At last he came to the familiar door of his home. He knocked and called: "Pai!"
Soon he was smothered in his family's embraces. Zopyros' father who, although gray and not so tall, strongly resembled his son, shouted towards the kitchen:
"Fetch some wine!"
"Did you catch cold?" asked his mother Agatha. "Tell us your adventures!" begged his brother Perseus, a smaller edition of Zopyros, not yet bearded.
His sister Thia, a buck-toothed, gangly girl of twelve, said: "What about this beautiful widow whom Archytas says you went off with?"
"One at a time, dear ones!" cried Zopyros. Presently they were all seated about him in the courtyard, listening to his account of his journey after he had separated from the Archon's party. When he told of his arrival in Messana and his reception by Korinna's family, his father said:
"I suppose, son, that your relations with this young lady were— and are—motivated by simple friendship?"
Zopyros blushed, choked, and stammered. "N-not exactly. As a m-matter of fact I should like to marry her."
"So my passionless logician has at last allowed himself to be swayed by sentiment? Your mother and I have thought that it was time we started looking for a wife for you, son. I'm sure we can find a more suitable match here in Taras. Besides, from what you tell me, this girl has had a somewhat—ah—colorful history." He held up a hand as Zopyros started to protest. "I know, you'll tell me it wasn't her fault. But marriage is a business proposition, and one must look at it from all angles. It has hazards enough without needlessly adding to them, as by wedding a wench from another city, with whom one's own city may someday be at war. Besides, think how hard it would be for Xanthos and me to make the financial agreements, shuttling between two cities!" Megabyzos tossed his head back in the negative. "No, I can't see this marriage as good for the family. I won't rule it out for the present, but I certainly cannot approve."
Agatha added: "You can trust us to seek your best interests, Zopyros darling."
Zopyros was silent for a moment, biting his lips. Then he spoke: "Another thing, Father. The Dionysios offers high pay to engineers and skilled craftsmen who come to Syracuse to work on his projects. I've been urged to go there—"
"Zopyros! I wouldn't think of such a thing. We have more contracts than we can handle now, and—"
"But it would be good for the firm, to have an entree to the most powerful man in Great Hellas—"
"You've only just got home," said Agatha, "and already you're talking about going away again!"
"I know what you have in mind!" said Megabyzos. "You want to be near that girl—"
"But, dear ones!" cried Zopyros. "It's an opportunity; and Perseus is old enough to help—"
"Nonsense!" said Megabyzos loudly. "He hasn't even begun his apprenticeship—"
They were still arguing, shouting and gesticulating, when a furious rapping cut off the dispute. The porter admitted Archytas, sweating and disheveled, with a small bag in his hand.
"Zopyros!" he said in a hushed voice. "They're after us! Get ready to flee the town. Right away!"
Zopyros frowned in puzzlement. "Are you crazy? Who is after us?"
"Kteson the demagogue and his gang! They'll get you, too, because you're vice-president."
"What in the name of the Dog are you talking about?"
"This started when I ran for the Council. The election is in a ten-day. When it looked as if I should win Kteson's seat, Kteson brought a charge of treason against me."
"I never thought the people would take that silly charge seriously," said Megabyzos.
"They did, though!" said Archytas. "Kteson told the Assembly our poor little Pythagorean Society was plotting to set up oligarchic rule and stop everybody from eating beans. The next step, he said, would be to make the Tarentines live on barley porridge. So today he pushed through an indictment against both of us, as president and vice-president of the club; and his bravos are out on the streets now, looking for us."
"Oi!" cried Zopyros, and all his family burst into exclamations.
"What's the quickest way to get out of town?" said Archytas.
Zopyros: "Captain Phaiax's Atalanta sails for Syracuse tomorrow, if he can complete his loading. And, luckily, I haven't yet unpacked my gear. We'll hide in his cargo overnight. Father, it looks as though some god meant us to try our luck with Dionysios, willy-nilly."
Megabyzos sighed. "Who can fight against Fate? I shall miss you, son. And how shall I ever catch up on my work?"
Zopyros took the shield out of his duffel bag. "Mother," he said, "is there a clean shirt that I might have? Thia, can you get us something to eat on the way? A loaf, a cheese, and a sack of dried peas would do ..."
Wearing the hoods of their cloaks pulled down over their faces, Zopyros and Archytas hurried towards the waterfront on the northern side of the suburb. They had almost reached the shore when a voice cried:
"Ea! You two!"
Zopyros hurried on as if he had not heard. There came a sound of running steps. A man brushed past them, turning to peer under the hoods.
"Aren't you Zopyros and Archytas, the Pythagoreans?" said the man. "Yes, I'm sure you're Archytas! I've seen you making speeches in the market place. In the name of the Assembly, I arrest—"
"And who in Milkarth's name are you?" roared Zopyros in a thick Punic accent. "I'm Elibaal of Sidon, and this is my first mate. Out of the way, you greasy, boy-loving Greek!"
"You don't fool me! You don't fool me!" cried the man, capering in his excitement. "In the name—"