«That’s different!» roared El Tigre, aware that he was losing his audience. «Listen to me! While we’re arguing trivialities the True Humans are massing to attack!»
«Attack?»
«Yes, attack! And what better time than the Tortuga Festival, when our women are drunk and copulating and unable to fight!» Now he had their attention again. He continued in tones of quiet menace. «In the delta the True Humans are constructing sailcars. But this is not the usual spate of building we see before the Festival, when the Cantons and the Companies compete to supply their captains with the biggest and swiftest cars. That’s happening as well, of course. The tortuga loading yard is buzzing with True Humans and their apish carpenters. It’s no secret.
«But deep in the mangroves of the delta they’re building a different type of car — lighter and carrying more sail than anything we’ve ever seen. The first of this new breed has already been tested. My spy tells me it flew down the rails like the wind itself. He said he’d never seen such speed — and mark this, my friends. He said the car was virtually soundless. It flitted past him like a white ghost. It was a moonlit night, and he got a good look at the captain and crew. The captain was Tonio. The name of the car is Rayo — the Thunderbolt!»
Now Arrojo spoke excitedly. «Let’s send the grupos in! I can raise three — that’s fourteen women — for this kind of fight. It’s a time for cooperation!»
«It’s too late tonight,” said Diferir. «The grupos are scattered all over the place. Anyway, a thing like this needs careful planning. We must define our objectives: what, after all, are we trying to achieve?»
«I may be stupid,” said Torpe, a lolling felino, slow of speech, whose mouth tended to gape like a yawning llama and who was, in fact, stupid, «but surely El Tigre made it plain that our objective is the destruction of this Rayo .»
«But I’m not stupid.» The voice came from the doorway and El Tigre groaned. It was Dozo, who’d been unable to follow through with his grand exit and who’d hovered about outside, listening. «And I need to know a bit more. What exactly is the threat in this Rayo, El Tigre? Why do you say the humans are massing to attack? Surely the Rayo — if it exists — is just one more fast car. If it’s faster than the others, this means Captain Tonio will reach the southern markets before the other cars, and will get the best prices for his tortugas, and earn a bonus. And since he’s employed by Rangua Canton, the Lord will profit too. It’s an affair of True Humans. Why should we care?»
«Because Rayo can travel faster than a man on galloping horseback,” said El Tigre quietly. «Just think about that for a moment, Dozo.»
And Dozo said, «Oh.»
The others, standing and sitting around in the darkened hut, chewed this over. Nobody spoke. In a short while, even Torpe had worked out the significance of the True Humans’ technological advance.…
«So now,” said El Tigre heavily, rubbing it in, «a car full of soldiers can be transported anywhere on the coast before warning of its approach can be given. We would know nothing until the car appeared and unloaded. All our work — the scouting system we’ve built up over the years — will be useless.»
«But the Signalmen …?»
«They’ve never been on our side. Don’t kid yourself.»
«But we are not at war,” said Diferir mildly.
«We’ve always been at war. Ever since the great Mordecai created the first Specialist, we’ve been at war with the True Humans.»
«This is quite a moment in history,” said Dozo in calm tones. «Do you realize, it’s probably thousands of years since humans have been able to travel faster than a galloping horse? I’d hate to think that war was the only purpose of this step forward. Perhaps we should make sure of our facts before we do anything foolish. If True Humans had wanted to attack us, they’d have found ways of doing it before now. Sometimes I think you’re blinded by your hatred, El Tigre.»
«Make sure of our facts,” echoed Diferir the cautious.
«There are better ways of finding things out than talking to crocodiles,” said Manoso. «This Captain Tonio, for instance. He passes by most days. While I’m sure he would tell us nothing, he often has his son with him in the car. Now a young boy, gullible, engaged in conversation on the long pull up to the Town, well.… Need I say more?»
«True Humans are frightened of felinos,” Ligero objected. «We’re too big for them.»
«Who said anything about men?» Manoso chuckled. «I had in mind a young girl from the camp — beautiful, sexual.… True Humans are not scared of solitary women.»
«So long as there was no suggestion of a grupo.» Now Ligero laughed. «Even I am scared of grupos.»
«A solitary girl, in innocent conversation with Captain Tonio’s boy Raoul.…» Manoso’s insinuating tones whispered through the hut, firing their imaginations. «A girl about his own age, pretty, friendly.…»
«Who are you suggesting, Manoso?» asked El Tigre in ominous tones.
«I’m sure you’ll think of someone, El Tigre.»
The meeting degenerated into idle chatter. El Tigre stood silent and sombre. Nothing had changed. He doubted that the felinos would ever take concerted action against the True Humans. Feline males are solitary and independent, and that factor alone meant that the True Humans would always stay on top. And yet the felinos had what ought to be the deciding weapon, in the grupos. Nobody fights so bravely, so skilfully, so cohesively as a grupo of felinas. Yet if a weapon cannot be coordinated and properly deployed, its value is limited.…
El Tigre’s dream
The True Humans came like locusts, pouring out of an endless succession of fast sailcars and swarming into the camp, consuming everything and leaving only the bones of vampiro tents behind like corn stubble. The grupos fought to the death while the big males roared orders from strategic points until, themselves beset by enemies, they seized their ironwood swords and laid about them. But the True Humans came on, irresistible, superior, well-organized. The grupos fought in little knots of snarling fury and went under, one by one. The males were beaten back to the bachelor quarters and in the end, acknowledging defeat, melted away into the bush.…
El Tigre stirred in his sleep.
.… Yes, there had been talk of a raid, but it had been a small thing; just a few drunken True Humans stumbling down from Town, seventeen years ago. Chuckling, whispering, out for mischief, nothing more. The felina dwelling they chose was a vampiro tent right on the edge of camp. Inside was the newest mother and her four infants, all asleep. In time they would have been a matriarchal grupo to be reckoned with. Apart from one sickly baby they were unusually big children and the mother had been unusual too — with beauty, grace, swiftness and courage which had set her apart and destined her for mating with the finest man in camp.…
El Tigre, rolling over, uttered a small cry.
She’d taken three True Humans with her. Their bodies lay disembowelled, almost dismembered, nearby. Serena had paid for their lives. She was only marked on breast and thigh, but she had paid heavily, because after the remaining True Humans had had their fun they’d taken her sword — a fine thing of stone‑chiselled iron-wood — and they’d driven it up her, killing her that way.
El Tigre awakened to a nightmare vision and spent a moment staring around the interior of his dwelling, reorienting himself in the first glow of daylight, telling himself that the horror had been a long time ago.
Now he arose and dressed, and walked out into the morning. People were stirring, turning the sun-ovens to catch the first rays. An aroma of broiled tumpmeat lay on the breeze. El Tigre, his stomach rebelling, strode towards the sailway track. Here was a scene of activity and in the shouts of felinos and the rattling of harness he hoped to lose the night’s memories.