‘I begin to,’ I said, wondering. ‘They’ve never heard of industry out here – of mass-production –’
Jyp gestured airily. ‘Oh, heard, sure. But industry’s big; it binds folk together, ties ’em down. And you need a whole chain of industries to make your modern weapons, or ships, or anything else. Men don’t settle too long out here, or sooner or later the Core’ll suck them in once again. So who refines the gas for your fast boats? Who turns out the plugs and cams and piston-rings? Or trues the steam-cylinders, even? Not many places’ll run to more’n a shipyard or two – and the workers come and go. There’s no call for more; we don’t miss it. Out here a man can live and sail and fight any way takes his fancy, all the ways we’ve ever done –’
‘Up until the Industrial Revolution,’ said Clare thoughtfully, rolling her head around. ‘Like a barrier …’
‘The what?’ Jyp looked at her dubiously. ‘Not one of those Wobbly types, are you, lady? Skip it. Me, I’m glad they went and gave you the vote, but –’
I interrupted hastily. ‘What she means is, out here you can’t ever go the way the Core has. And a lot of people there do think it was a mistake. Not me! Though I’ll admit you seem to live better than I’d have expected without progress – in medicine, for one thing …’
Jyp forgot himself, started to shrug and winced heavily. ‘Ah, we’re short on progress all right; but we’ve got other advantages …’
Clare lifted her head from my knee, and grinned. ‘You mean disadvantages, don’t you?’
‘Lady, I mean what I say. You’ve only seen the rough side of it, so far. We’ve other things going for us. Other forces, other wisdom.’
‘Magic?’
‘A word. It covers one hell of a lot of things. Like something that’ll knit up my arm for me in a few hours when we get back aboard Defiance – and it can’t be too soon. How much further now?’
‘A few miles – maybe four. Mostly downhill. We’ve skirted the ridge, we’ll come onto the beach from further around the bay.’
‘A few miles!’ he echoed, and glanced quickly up at the sun, and the hillside behind us. ‘You’ll be dragging me by my boots, then.’
‘You’ll manage,’ I told him firmly. ‘Saving your lousy neck got me into this. You don’t think I’m going to waste it all now?’
I didn’t say anything about it, not while Clare was within earshot; but it was then, remembering those first mad moments on the misty wharf, that something else began to worry me. All through the march back it nagged at me, and more than once I caught Clare looking at me, evidently wondering why I’d gone so silent and preoccupied. But I wanted to wait till I could get Jyp alone, and my chance didn’t come for hours. We were clambering down the last slope then, pushing nervously between thickets of cutlass-bladed aloes. What little sky we could see between the trees was reddening fast; but at least we knew we’d make it in time, when the men in front hailed and pointed excitedly. A faint streak of light was showing at the bottom of the slope, the distant beach shining through the forest’s fringe. You could feel the immediate relief, the infectious lightening of everyone’s mood, even the wounded; all except Mall and Jyp. She was grim, silent, vigilant, snapping the head off anyone who spoke to her. He had fallen uncharacteristically silent, moody even, so jumpy he started at every odd noise; and in that twilit forest there were plenty.
‘Well,’ I ventured sympathetically, helping him sit up after a really bad fall, ‘you’re having a rough time, but at least we’re not dragging you yet –’
‘Rough!’ he agreed, tight-lipped, cradling his arm. ‘Ah hell, could’ve been a whole lot worse.’ He looked back upslope, listened a moment, then shook his head. ‘Should’ve been, when you think about it.’
‘Glutton for punishment, aren’t you?’
‘Hell, no! We got off lightly, that’s all. Maybe too lightly. How many Wolves did they sic on us last night – a hundred and fifty? No more. Okay, that leaves more’n half the shipload unaccounted for – where were they when the lights went out?’
I began helping him get up. ‘That’s what’s spooking you? They must have been covering the trail, surely. Lying in wait. They didn’t expect us to take to the tall timber – I didn’t, I can tell you! With any luck they’re still blundering about up there now –’
‘Aye, with any luck!’ Mall called up sourly from below. ‘But a’nightfall things may change. Enough lingering; it stays for no man!’
‘He can’t stand!’ I told her angrily, but Jyp brushed me aside and staggered up.
‘She’s right! Me, I’ll not feel safe till I set my feet fair on old Defiance’s planks again!’
That brought back my own troubles. ‘Yes – and what then?’
‘Then?’ The thought cheered him. ‘Home ‘n beauty, and a great weight off your mind – mostly in gold!’
‘God knows, you’ve all earned it! But what about me?’
He glanced at me, considered a joky answer, and visibly changed his mind. ‘Okay, what about you?’
‘You’ve said Clare … won’t really remember any of this. But me? What about me? Am I just going to forget it all?’
Jyp stumbled past me down the muddy slope, into the heavy-scented tangles of hibiscus ahead. ‘Depends,’ he flung back over his shoulder. He caught a branch with his good arm and began picking his unsteady way down.
‘What on?’ I repeated the question as I skidded after him. ‘Jyp, I want to know! It matters, damn it!’
‘Steve –’ he grated between his teeth, ‘it’s not so simple – if I could tell you – I would – okay?’
Our boots skidded and slipped, bruising the bright hibiscus blossoms, and they bled glossy black sap onto the earth. I didn’t ask any more.
Among the trees down below I saw the leading sailors break into a run, and Mall do nothing to hold them back, only stop and wave us impatiently on. Clare came skipping back to help, and a long low ray of sunset set a flush on her bare limbs and jewels of fire in her hair. With the other stragglers we came stumbling down into long grass, hissing in the soft wind. Through the last curtain of trees I saw the grey-blue champaign of the ocean, and the sun’s rim blazing its furious last against the stifling clouds.
The sea shimmered a moment the colour of fresh blood; the light dimmed. We emerged into the first rosy flush of island twilight. There lay the ships, a mile or so away in the sheltered arm of the bay. Faint windrows riffled across the calm water, like smoke across a mirror. And there on the shore were the boats, luring even the wounded to hurry on, forgetting their pain, eager to get free of even the shadow of that forest. The fit hands held back to help them with nervy patience, casting black looks up at the treeline as the uneven column straggled along the beach. We weren’t under the cover of the Defiance’s guns yet, and twitched like kittens at every rustle. Orders were passed down the line in hoarse whispers. Pistols were clicked to half-cock, swords drawn; every bird that fluttered up risked a dozen deaths, though fortunately nobody was actually fool enough to fire. When we came near enough we waved frantically at the ship – we didn’t dare hail them aloud – and got a laconic reply. It seemed like the first tangible link between us and safety, however weak – the thread that pulls over the lifeline. We all felt our spirits lift and leap like the boats, coming alive under our hands as we ran them down into the light surf.