“That would work, provided you were not lifting a load that had to be supported in the meantime,” replied the Earthman. “Good for you, Don.”
The crew immediately headed for the original group of Stakes, but Barlennan called to them to wait.
“There aren’t so many blocking the canal we were digging. Don, did the Flyer say how long it would take to pull them Out with that contraption?”
“He wasn’t sure, since he didn’t know how deeply they were buried or how fast we could operate it; but he guessed at a day or so each — faster than we could cut through them.”
“But not so fast we wouldn’t gain time by having some of us finish that canal while you take however many men you need to pull the stakes in it. Incidentally, did he have any name for the thing?”
“He called it a differential hoist The second word is plain enough, but I don’t see how to translate the first — it’s just a noise to me.”
“Me too. Differential it is. Let’s get to work; your watch to the hoist, and mine to the canal.” The crew buckled down with a will.
The canal was finished first, since it quickly became evident that most of the crew would be free to dig; two sailors, taking turns on the hoist at intervals of a few minutes, proved enough to start the spear shafts sliding very slowly out of the hard ground. To Barlennan’s satisfaction the heads came with them, so that,he had eight very effective-looking spears when the operation was completed. His people did little work in stone, and the quartz heads were extremely valuable in his estimation.
Once through the barrier, the distance to the lake was relatively short; and there tfyey stopped to reassemble the Bree in her natural form. This was quickly accomplished — indeed, the crew might now be considered expert at the task — and once more the ship floated in relatively deep water. The Earthmen above heaved a collective sigh of relief. This proved to be premature.
The gliders had been passing back and forth throughout the journey from the trading site. If their crews had been at all surprised at the method used to extract the spears, no evidence had appeared of the fact. Barlennan, of course, hoped they had seen and added the information to the list of his own people’s superior accomplishments. He was not too surprised to see a dozen gliders on the beach near the mouth of the fiord, and ordered the helmsman to turn the ship ashore at that point. Perhaps at least the islanders would notice that he had recovered the spears intact.
Reejaaren was the first to greet them as the Bree anchored a few yards offshore. “So your ship is seaworthy again, eh? I’d try to meet any more storms a long way from land, if I were you.”
“Right,” Barlennan agreed. “The difficulty in a sea you don’t know is being sure where you stand in that respect Perhaps you would tell us the disposition of lands in this sea? Or would you, perhaps, have charts you could provide us with? I should have thought to ask before.”
“Our charts of these islands, of course, are secret,” the interpreter replied. “You should be out of the group in forty or fifty days, however, and then there is no land for some thousands of days’ sail to the south. I do not know your ship’s speed, so I cannot guess just when you are likely to make it. Such lands as there are are mostly islands at first; then the coast of the land you crossed turns east, and if you
keep straight south you will encounter it at about — ” He gave an expression which referred to a spring-balance reading, and corresponded to about forty-five Earth gravities of latitude. “I could tell you about many of the countries along that coast, but it would take a long time. I can sum it up by saying that they will probably trade rather than fight-though some will undoubtedly do their best not to pay for what they get.”
“Will any of them assume we are spies?” Barlennan asked pleasantly.
“There is that risk, naturally, though few have secrets worth stealing. Actually they will probably try to steal yours, if they know you have any. I should not advise your discussing the matter of flying while there.”
“We did not plan to,” Barlennan assured him, with glee that he managed to conceal. “We thank you for the advice and information.” He gave the order to hoist the anchor, and for the first time Reejaaren noticed the canoe, now trailing once more at the end of its towrope and loaded with food.
“I should have noticed that before,” the interpreter said. Then I would never have doubted your story of coming from the south. How did you get that from the natives?” In the answer to this question Barlennan made his first serious mistake in dealing with the islander.
“Oh, we brought that with us; we frequently use them for carrying extra supplies. You will notice that its shape makes it easy to tow.” He had picked up his elementary notions of streamlining from Lackland not too long after acquiring the canoe.
“Oh, you developed that craft in your country too?” the interpreter asked curiously. “That is interesting; I had never seen one in the south. May I examine it, or do you not have time? We have never bothered to use them ourselves.” Barlennan hesitated, suspecting this last statement to be a maneuver of the precise sort he himself had been employing; but he saw no harm in complying, since Reejaaren could learn nothing more from a close examination than he could from where he was. After all, it was the canoe’s shape that was important, and anyone could see that. He allowed the Bree to drift closer inshore, pulled the canoe to him with the tow-rope, and gave it a push toward the waiting islander. Reejaaren plunged into the bay and swam out to the little vessel when it ran aground, in a few inches of liquid. The front part of his body arched upward to look into the canoe; powerful pincer-tipped arms poked at the sides. These were of ordinary wood, and yielded springily to the pressure; and as they did so the islander gave a hoot of alarm that brought
the four gliders in the air swinging toward the Bree and the shore forces up to full alertness.
“Spies!” he shrieked. “Bring your ship aground at once, Barlennan — if that is your real name. You are a good liar, but you have lied yourself into prison this time!”
XIV: THE TROUBLE WITH HOLLOW BOATS
Barlennan had been told at various times during his formative years that he was someday pretty sure to talk himself into more trouble than he could talk himself out of. At various later times during his career this prediction had come alarmingly close to fulfillment, and each time he had resolved to be more careful in future with his tongue. He felt the same way now, together with an injured feeling arising from the fact that he did not yet know just what he had said that had betrayed his mendacity to.the islander. He did not have time to theorize over it, either; something in the line of action was called for, the quicker the better. Reejaaren had already howled orders to the glider crews to pin the Bree to the bottom if she made a move toward the open sea, and the catapults on shore were launching more of the machines to reinforce those already aloft. The wind was coming from the sea at a sufficient angle to be lifted as it struck the far wall of the fiord, so the flyers could remain aloft as long as necessary. Barlennan had learned from the Earthmen that they probably could not climb very high — high enough for effective missile dropping — under the thrust of the updrafts from ocean waves; but he was a long way from the open sea where they would have to depend on such currents. He had already had a chance to observe their accuracy, and dismissed at once any idea of trusting to his dodging ability to save his ship.
As so frequently happened, the action was performed by a crew member while he was debating the best course. Don-dragmer snatched up the crossbow that had been given them by Reejaaren, nocked a bolt, and cocked the weapon with a speed that showed he could not have been completely absorbed in his hoist project at all times. Swinging the weapon shoreward, he rested it on its single support leg and covered the interpreter with the point.