Learoyd was still struggling with the men he had knocked to the floor, trying to keep them from drawing their knives, when Finn yelled out in Pushtu,"Stopor I’ll kill the holy one!"
He had wrestled Martin’s laser away from him and held the soldier before him, weapon to his head. The tribesmen stopped fighting.
"I was right," said Finn. "Theythink you’re some kind of sacred demigod. That’s how you’ve been keeping them in line, isn’t it""
Mulvaney had knocked one of the tribesmen sense-less, and when Finn yelled, he had another hoisted high above his head. He stood, holding the man aloft.
"Put that man down, Mulvaney, — Finn said.
"Right you are, sir!"
He dropped the tribesman over the side. His scream sent the others cowering back.
"Well, you did say to put 1m down, sir," said Mulvaney.
"There’s no way you’re going to get out of here," said Martin. "Using me as a hostage might work with these superstitious Ghazis, but my men will never fall for it. They’ll shoot us both."
"Then we’ll go together, won’t we"" said Finn. -Learoyd, Ortheris, Andre, get their weapons. And shut that door."
Moments later they had the Ghazis tied up and gagged with strips torn from a couple of their robes. The other robes were saved for use as disguises.
"Allright," said Finn, covering Martin. "We’re going out of here the same way you came in. I’ll be right behind you."
Martin shook his head. "I’m not going anywhere."
Mulvaney came up behind him and twisted his arm up behind his back. Martin gasped with pain. "You’ll do as the lieutenant says, mate, or I’ll break yer bloody arm and then I’ll start on somethin’ else. "
With Mulvaney keeping a firm grasp on Martin’s arm, they moved out into the corridor. "Which way"" Mulvaney said.
"Goto hell," said Martin.
Mulvaney forced his arm up higher, and Martin cried out.
— Enough of that," said Finn."Iremember the way. We go left."
Frog-marching Martin before them, they headed toward the main chamber. When they reached the corridor that led to it, Delaney had them stop.
"You three go on," he said.
"Whatdo you mean, go on"" Learoyd said. "What aboutyou""
"We’ll follow you. It’ll attract less attention if we don’t go out as a large group. Whatever happens, don’t turn back. You understand" That’s an order."
"Right. Miss Cross, you come with us. Mulvaney’ll stay behind and follow with the lieutenant."
"No. You go ahead. I’m staying with Finn."
"Don’t let’s argue about it," said Learoyd. "Come on, now, we haven’t got much time."
"I said I’m staying. I can take care of myself, Chris. Now go. Hurry."
Learoyd shook his head. "I swear, you’re the most stubborn woman I ever laid eyes on, but you can handle yourself in a pinch, I’ll grant you that. For God’s sake, be careful. Off now, lads."
Finn let them get a good start, then he forced Martin up against the wall. "All right, where’d you put our warp discs""
Martin smiled."Whydon’t you guess""
"Okay, we’ll take a little walk and look for them."
Martin grinned. "Suit yourselves."
Keeping him in front of them, they headed back toward the room where they had spoken with the twin Priest. They passed a number of tribesmen on their way, but Martin didn’t try anything, and they kept their heads down to keep from being recognized.
"So far, so good," said Andre.
"So far it’s too easy," Finn said.
"You complaining""
"No, but where are all the soldiers we saw before""
"I don’t much care, to tell you the truth," said Andre. "Long as they’re not here."
They reached the room they were seeking and shoved Martin inside ahead of them. There was no one there. Finn pushed Martin into a chair and gave Andre the laser to cover him while he searched the room.
"What’s going on, Martin"" he said. "Where is everyone""
"Maybethey all went on leave," said Martin.
— We’re not going to get anything out of him," said Andre. "He’s no different from our Martin in that respect. "
"I’ll take that as a compliment," said the soldier from the alternate timeline.
"Shutup," said Delaney, searching the gear in the storage cabinets at the far end of the room. "Where the hell did they put them""
"Are these what you’re looking for""
A pair of warp discs landed on the table in front of Martin. Finn spun around. Captain Bryant stood in the entrance with four soldiers behind him. He had a laser trained on Finn."Goahead," he said, with a half smile. "Do you feel lucky""
Gunga Din perched precariously on a rocky ledge above the balcony. He had managed to climb perhaps twenty feet. To his left, about fifty feet away, was a large hollow in the rock wall where part of the temple stood, surrounded by the cliffs. He could see the walled enclosure of an open space, a large balcony with several carved statues of Kali between pillars supporting the rock overhead, and farther in, another part of the tem-ple. A number of Chazis had come out onto that balcony and shot at him with their jezails, but he scuttled around to the far side of the small ledge, out of their line of fire. They kept shooting for a short while, laughing, but soon wearied of the game and went away. They could not get at him, but neither could he go anywhere. There was no place left to go. He could not climb any higher, there was no place that would afford him adequate hand or footholds to the right or to the left, and he could not go back down. He was trapped.
He sat there, miserable, shivering from the wind which lashed at him. He had no idea what to do. There was nothing he could do. He had failed. The soldiers had counted on him, and he had failed. He would sit on that ledge, unable to go anywhere, until he became weak or desperate and could bear it no longer, and then he would die. He could see no point to prolonging the in-evitable. He closed his eyes and muttered a brief prayer to Brahma the Creator, giving thanks for the life he had led and asking his blessings in the next one. Then he said a prayer to Vishnu the Preserver, to redeem the karma of his soul as the sun redeems the earth from darkness. He said a prayer to Shiva the Destroyer, asking that the end be swift, and at the last, he prayed to the avatar of Vishnu, the hero-god Krishna, asking that his karma lead him to a better existence in the next life. Then he raised his battered bugle to his lips, determined to die not as the regimental bhisti he had been, but as the bugler he dreamed of being. He shut his eyes and inhaled deeply, preparing to sound Retreat.
"Whatin heaven’s name are you doing""
Din jerked so forcibly he almost fell off the ledge. Just before he lost his balance completely, a hand reached out to steady him. He looked up, wide-eyed, at the tall dark figure standing on the ledge beside him. He was dressed entirely in black. The coal-black eyes seemed to burn into him.
Din s ‘ hut his eyes. Shiva! He had to be dead. The Destroyer had come to escort his soul to the next plane. He
bent his head down low, touching the rock at Shiva’s
feet and praying out loud, praising the Destroyer.
"Stopthat! I can’t understand a word. Can’t you speak English"-
Din stopped praying. English" The great god Shiva wanted him to speak in English" Come to think of it, the great god Shiva had spoken to him in English. Perhaps it was because he was wearing the English khaki uniform and served as a regimental bhisti. Perhaps that was now the language of his soul. Who was he to question Shiva"
"Oh, Mahadeva!" Din said, keeping his face pressed close to the rock. "Oh, great god! You who are Great Destroyer; you whose presence is felt in falling of a leaf; you who are bringer of swift and terrible death; you who-