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
"A cord is coiled within the skiff. I shall hold the end of this cord and, when you are safely aboard the Sudech, shall pull the boat back to me. You are not the first to be thus whisked away, he-he! The old boat leaks a mite, wherefore you must needs ply the dipper you'll find with the oars."
Zopyros entered the cave she had indicated and confirmed her statements about the boat. When he returned to the ledge, she said:
"It grieves me that you'll not be here long enough to learn more of the secrets of magic; for my occult powers detect a rare sympathy betwixt you and myself." She fluttered her eyelids at Zopyros and giggled, so that her double chin and mountainous breasts quivered. "I could teach you other arts, too, my fair young lord! For I have seen much in my life. Said I that I was once a dancing girl?"
"Nay."
"I have danced before many great ones—the suphetes of Carthage and the Persian governor of Egypt. Was I lithe and graceful then! Although hateful age has brushed me with its bony fingers, once I was fair indeed. Really beautiful!"
"I'm sure—" began Zopyros, but she rushed on:
"Why, the governor offered half a talent for me! In those days half a talent went farther than it does today. That Persian was a lordly, manly man. Wiry, seven tricks a night might scarce abate his ardor! You resemble him in feature, dear Zopyros, but whether you'd surpass his prowess in lectual matters remains to be seen.
"Would you were here in spring, when the flowers bloom! Then is this dusty corner of New Canaan a fair land to see. Where was I? Oh, yes, a dancing girl was I ere I sought the higher wisdom and perforce forswore the pleasures of the flesh. When I danced before the king of Tyre, he said: 'By all the baals, her breasts are fairer than the moon at its full.
Saphanbaal went on and on. Zopyros, embarrassed, did not know how much to believe. At least half, he thought, was surely fiction. He started a quiet game of tic-tac-toe with Ahiram to keep the boy occupied and, he hoped, to keep the child's attention off Saphanbaal's vulgarities.
Saphanbaal kept right on, tirelessly boasting of her former beauty and of the havoc she had wrought among the men who saw her. Her garrulity, her lies, her sudden changes of subject, her irritating giggle, her coy flirtatious winks, her elephantine attempts at seduction, her trick of repeating sentences, and her self-absorption combined with her personal uncleanliness to make her one of the most repellent human beings Zopyros had ever known. On the other hand, he dared not treat her brusquely lest she betray him.
There were people, he reflected, who, deciding they did not like Saphanbaal, would simply cut her throat, board the ship, and leave her body to the vultures. But, as a Pythagorean, he could not consider such a ruthless course. Moreover, he did not know the signal that would fetch Bostar in to shore.
At last, to stop the inane flow of chatter, he suggested a game of Sacred Way with her. Saphanbaal had never played the game but seemed to learn it readily enough. Soon she suggested a small stake. Nevertheless, she made foolish moves, no matter how often Zopyros pointed them out and tried to teach her better. Finding herself losing, she loudly insisted upon larger stakes and called upon her stable of daemons to aid her.
The daemons, however, seemed to have taken the day off. The pile of shekels, drachmai, and smaller coins in front of Zopyros grew. At last she cried:
"Recreant knave! By Bes's beard, at this rate, you'll not leave me enough to eat on for the next month!" She angrily knocked the board aside, so that the die and the men flew hither and thither about the ledge. "Even though I eat no more than a bird!"
"Ea!" said Zopyros. "You need not destroy my set, just because you've been losing! As for the bird, no doubt you are right if you mean the ostrich of the African desert." He picked up the pieces and counted them. "Harken, madam; I have no wish to impoverish you. I'll return my winnings if you will give me my pick of your magical gear."
"Oh, forgive a foolish old woman! Forgive me, dear, sweet boy!" she cooed. "Those terms were just enow, specially since you've promised me the mule. Ask what you will."
"I want that metal plate you use for a moon."
"Ai! I am shent! Anything but that! The man-made heaven is one of my best stocks in trade! In the name of your Greek gods, I beg you! Deprive not a poor old witch, who holds you in warmest esteem, of her means of livelihood!"
"Well," said Zopyros, disappointed, "what else could you offer?"
She clawed in her billowy bosom and brought out the burning glass. "How about this? For a traveling man, it is ofttimes quicker than flint and steel; and certes 'tis better far than rubbing sticks together."
"Will that not leave you as badly off as the loss of the plate?"
"Nay; I have another. Here, take it!"
Zopyros, who had heard of such lenses but had never seen one, happily slipped over his head the cord from which the object hung. Then he said:
"My dear Saphanbaal, to leave Yaphê in good condition, I must needs exercise him. Come, Ahiram; we go for a muleback ride."
When a blocky black shape showed clear against the moonlit waters, Saphanbaal kindled a torch and, standing on the edge of the ledge, waved it thrice up and down. A spark appeared against the blackness of the ship, moving likewise. The ship grew larger as Captain Bostar crept in towards shore. Zopyros inched the little dugout down the rough rocks from the ledge to the water's edge.
" 'Twill be some moments ere he comes within rowing distance," said Saphanbaal. "Darling Zopyros, could you not—ah—leave me with a fond memory of your stay? ..."
"I am honored, madam," grunted Zopyros, looking up from his struggle with the boat, "but I am much too nervous now." He slid the hull into the water, hoping that he had not aggravated the leaks. Then he carried his bag down to the water, climbed to the ledge again, and said:
"Come here, Ahiram."
Zopyros picked up the child, hugged him, and swung him astride one hip, saying: "Hold tight, now!" As Ahiram grasped Zopyros around the neck, Saphanbaal muttered something about boy-loving Greeks. Ignoring her, Zopyros groped his way down to the water, clutching Ahiram with one arm and steadying himself with the other. At the boat, he lowered Ahiram into the stern, saying:
"Now sit there and, whatever you do, do not stand up!" He placed his traveling bag in the bow, so that it would serve as a back to the thwart. Then he gingerly lowered his own weight into the craft, sat. down facing aft on the thwart, put out the oars, and pushed off. Somewhere in the distance a hyena laughed.
"Ahiram!" said Zopyros. "Take that dipper." He indicated the dipper of wood and leather in front of Ahiram's feet. "Now scoop up the water in the bottom and throw it over the side—phy!—I did not say to throw it at me!"
Zopyros wiped his arm across his face, from which a dipperful of water ran down. On his second try, Ahiram got most of the water in the dipper overboard.
"That's right; keep on bailing!" said Zopyros, bending his back to the oars.
A light but strong cord, fastened to the stern of the boat, curved up to the ledge where Saphanbaal stood. As Zopyros rowed out from shore, Saphanbaal paid out the cord. The boat bounced perilously in the slight swell, and water began to come aboard—some over the gunwales, some through the leaks in the bottom.
"Bail, Ahiram, bail!" said Zopyros. Then he called across the water: "Farewell, O Saphanbaal! Many thanks for your kindness! The gods of Canaan prosper you!"
He could afford to be cordial, now, because he was out of her reach. (Unless, the horrid thought struck him, she decided to haul the boat shoreward by its cord!) He rowed faster, glancing over his shoulder at the dark shape of the merchantman. Ahiram, bailing, asked:
"Is Mother on the ship?"