“No”, I said, “we will not use fire.” A further consideration, of course, was that we were now in the late summer, and the dangers of fire were maximized. Arn and his men agreed.
One of the most delicate modes of enslavement, and requiring great skill, is to enter the stockade of the panther girls under the cover of darkness and then, one by one, hut by hut, following the sound of their breathing, to take them. The slightest sound may of course, alert the entire band. One locates a sleeping girl and then, swiftly, as she awakens squirming, forces a heavy wadding into her mouth, fastening it in place with strips of cloth and leather. One must then, swiftly, tie her hands behind her back and bind her ankles. One then moves, stealthily, to the next girl. If all proceeds well, each girl, in the light of dawn, looks about herself and sees that each of her comrades, too, is gagged and bound as helplessly as she herself is. In the night they have been taken slave. This procedure, however, calls for great delicacy and skill. We had decided on a simpler mode of attack, that would utilize the first light of day, taking the girls before they had fully awakened, or could realize what was happening to them.
We would use sleen nets, casting them over more than one girl at a time, tieing them together, making it impossible for them to utilize their weapons. We could then stand over them with knives, preventing them from freeing themselves. At our leisure, one by one, perhaps after having breakfast in their camp, we could then remove them from the nets and chain them.
We circled the terrain of the camp with great care.
It is most important to swiftly, silently, dispose of any sentries. But we found none in the encircling forest. We saw none within the palisade. “They are not wise,” whispered Arn, “not to have left sentries.” We crawled to the gate, and there, quietly, I studied the knot that held it, so, if necessary, I could retie it. It was not a difficult know. It was not a signature knot. Its purpose was only to hold the gate against the pushings and shoulderings of animals.
I untied the knot and, one by one, we slipped within the palisade.
We unrolled the sleen nets and loosened the knives in our sheaths.
The ground was wet and damp from the dew. The forest was cool. I could make out the shape of Arn’s head, near me, as he waited.
We heard the throaty warbling of a tiny horned gim.
Then we saw the first sparkle of the morning, the glistening of the dampness of leaves and grass.
I could now, rather well, make out the features of Arn’s face. I nodded to him, and the others. There were five huts, and ten of us. By twos, sleen nets slung between us, we moved to the huts.
I nodded to Arn.
He gave a high whistle, shrill and sudden, and we, and the others, thrust through the portals of the hut, casting the sleen nets to encompass whatever lie within.
I gave a cry of rage.
We caught nothing.
In a moment other men came to our hut. “They are gone,” said one.
“The camp is empty,” said another.
We looked at one another.
Arn was furious.
“Reconnoiter,” I told two men, “and swiftly, and well.”
The men and Arn, looked at one another, apprehensively. They had only then realized, with full awareness, that we ourselves were now penned within the stockade, which might now serve as the same trap for us as it might have served before for panther girls.
The two men swiftly went out to scan the surrounding forest.
I did not think that panther girls laid in wait outside, for we had made a careful examination of the area before we had entered the stockade. Still, I did not wish to take the chance that we might have missed them, or, even, that they might have withdrawn before our examination of the area, intending to return when we might be within the stockade. The most likely hypothesis was that they, unaware of our presence in the vicinity, had, on business of their own, left the stockade before dawn. They might have attacks, or hunts, of their own to attend to. Perhaps they had learned of the advance of the girls of Hura toward their territory and had gone out to make reconnaissance, or oppose them. Perhaps they were lying in ambush, pasangs away, for a party of Hura or Marlenus, or for other reasons, had decided to abandon their camp?
I looked about. No, there was too much left. And there was no indication of hurried flight.
I saw spears about, and bundles of arrows.
Panther girls would not have left them. They would return.
One of the two men I had sent out to reconnoiter reentered the hut. “There is no sign of panther girls,” he said.
Arn and his men breathed with relief.
“They will return,” I said.
“What shall we do now?” asked Arn.
“Do not yet roll the sleen nets,” I smiled.
He looked at us.
“Let us sit down and take council,” I suggested.
Two men posted as sentries in the forest, we sat down in one of the huts. “They will probably return before dark,” said Arn.
“Perhaps sooner,” said one of his men.