Hylas leaned closer to her. "I think it is because he is so big," he said softly, almost whispering. "He is a giant among men and the world was made for men, not giants. No matter where he goes, people cannot help but stare at him. Often, he must bend down and walk sideways to enter through a doorway. I have seen him sit down in a chair, only to have the chair break beneath his weight and send him crashing to the floor. Then he must pick himself up and as he does so, no one looks and no one laughs, for who would dare to laugh at Hercules? Still, I have seen his face burning with shame because he knows that they have seen. He knows that they will doubtless laugh after we have gone. You have heard his voice when he is roused to anger, how it rings out like thunder? Yet, at other times, his voice is soft and low and he falters in his speech. I think it is because he is afraid to loose that godlike voice. I think that he does not wish to seem too proud."
"And so you become his voice," said Andre. "It is because I have been with him so long, I know what he would say even as he thinks it. I know what is in his heart. You see, we are somewhat alike, but not in any way that you might notice. He is only half a god who must live in a world of lesser men and I am only half a boy who must live in a world where only little children can look up to me. Each of us, in his own way, does not belong with others, so we belong to one another."
Andre reached out and touched his cheek. "You may be small, Hylas, but in some ways you stand above most men."
He stared at her, puzzled. "In what ways, my lady?"
"You see things more clearly than most men do and you understand them better. It is the rarest of all gifts. Perhaps that is why the gods have made you small. So you would not be envied."
"I had never thought of that," said Hylas. "Can it be true?"
"The greatest gifts are those that are not easily discerned," said Andre. "Those who have them are often not aware of them and if they are, they do not hold them up for all to see."
"You must be very wise, my lady."
Andre shook her head. "No, Hylas, I am not wise. But I have been to many places and I have witnessed many things. And I once had a little brother who was very much like you."
"What became of him?"
Andre sat silent for a moment. "He was killed."
"I am very sorry."
She nodded. "So am I, Hylas. You would have liked him. And he would have liked you."
"If I remind you of him, I am glad," said Hylas.
"Thank you," Andre said. "I think I will rest now and have some sleep. Wake me if I am needed."
"I will, my lady. If you need me, you have but to call. I wish you pleasant dreams."
They rowed slowly as they approached the end of the Bosporous. Between them and the Euxine Sea, rocks protruded from the water like jagged teeth, some small, some large enough to form small islands. They had taken down the sail and Mopsus stood in the prow, taking soundings with a weighted rope and watching for rocks that were submerged. Even the smallest of them could easily tear the bottom out of the ship and the larger ones had jagged edges extending out just below the water.
"Slowly," Argus cautioned the rowers from his position at the tiller. "Slowly, now."
Mopsus kept calling out the depths, so that Argus could steer away from unseen hazards. The ship slid between the rocks as if cautiously picking its way through an obstacle course. They could hear waves crashing against the two giant rock formations at the far end of the stone forest, two towering spires between which they would have to pass.
"We are almost through," Mopsus shouted from the prow. "Once we pass between those two mountains of rock, we shall be clear and in the open sea once more."
"Remain alert!" Argus shouted from the aft end of the ship. "They may be wider at the base, below the surface. We must not scrape against them!"
"Or be crushed between them, either," Steiger said, wryly.
"Don't even joke about it," said Delaney as they rowed together. "Let's not tempt the gods, okay?"
"A storm is coming," Jason called out.
"But the sky is clear," said Orpheus.
"I heard thunder."
"You heard the waves crashing on the rocks," said Theseus.
"No, something else. Thunder, from far away."
"I heard it, too," said Idmon. "And I feel that it is very close."
The ship started to pass slowly between the giant rocks. No one could help staring up at the walls towering above them.
"There!" said Jason. "Listen!"
This time, there was no mistaking the sound, a deep, far off rumbling which grew in volume as the Argo slid between the rocks. Small stones started to rain down on the ship from above, then, ahead of them, larger pieces of rock fell into the water, some quite close to the ship, sending up sprays which soaked them all.
"They're moving!" Mopsus shouted hoarsely. Unmistakably, the walls of rock to either side of them were shifting, moving inwards, closer to the ship. "We'll be crushed!" Idmon shouted. "Damn it, you had to say it, didn't you?" Delaney said, giving Steiger a venomous look.
"Row!" shouted Argus, leaning on the tiller. "Put your backs into it! Row for your lives!''
He shouted out a fast cadence as the Argonauts pulled for all they were worth. Rock debris fell all around them, some pieces striking the ship and holing the deck in places. One large piece fell directly in their path, striking the figurehead and jarring it loose, sending a shudder through the entire ship. The figurehead fell into the water and another rock fell near it, the water displaced by its mass pushing the figurehead toward the shuddering, moving wall of rock. The outstretched arm of the figurehead struck against the rock.
The rock suddenly started to move the other way, settling deeper in the water, sliding back away from the ship.
"Look!" shouted Jason. "The goddess pushes back the rock!"
"Pull! screamed Argus. "Pull 'til your backs break! Pull! Pull!"
The ship shot forward, clearing the rocks and entering the open water of the Euxine Sea. Behind them, the thundering, grinding noises stopped and the rocks settled in the water, lower than before, no longer moving. For a few moments, smaller pieces continued to drop into the channel between them, then all was still again.
"The goddess saved us," Jason said. "Did you see? She pushed back the rock so we could pass through unharmed!"
"An earthquake," Steiger told Delaney. "An earthquake, that's all it was."
"Sure," Delaney said. "Probably volcanic action. The bottom shifted, the rock crumbled at the base and it was just a coincidence that it settled backwards just as the figurehead drifted against it."
"Yeah, that's what it was," said Steiger.
"Right, that's what must have happened."
They looked at each other.
"Don't even think it," Steiger said.
"Think what?"
"Nothing. Never mind. Shut up and row."
8
On their third day of sailing on the Euxine Sea, the winds began to strengthen and, noting the appearance of the sky, Delaney feared the worst. Jason wouldn't hear of going in toward shore and seeking a protected bay when strong winds were prevailing. All he could think of was Colchis lying ahead of them and he was determined to take advantage of the blow. He insisted that there would be plenty of time to head toward shore if the weather took a turn for the worse. Nothing Delaney or Steiger could say would dissuade him. Argus lent his weight to their argument, but Jason wouldn't listen.
"If we ran for shore each time the sky grew a little gray," he said, "we would never reach our destination. We have fought fierce battles and emerged victorious. We have survived the Clashing Rocks. The gods watch over us. Are we to shake with fear at the merest threat of rain? "
"What's coming is a great deal more than just a little rain," Delaney said. "You've never seen a real storm at sea."