"You are right," she said. "I will do it."
When Tanar completed his work upon her, Stellara had been transformed into a bearded Korsar, but the best that he could do in the way of disguise failed to entirely hide the contours of her hips and breasts.
"I am afraid they will suspect," he said. "Your figure is too feminine for shorts and a shirt to hide it."
"Wait," exclaimed Stellara. "Sometimes the sailors, when they are going on long voyages, wear cloaks, which they use to sleep in if the nights are cool. Let us see if we can find such a one here."
"Yes, I saw one," replied Tanar, and crossing the room he returned with a cloak made of wide striped goods. "That will give you greater height," he said. But when they draped it about her, her hips were still too much in evidence.
"Build out my shoulders," suggested Stellara, and with scarfs and handkerchiefs the Sarian built the girl's shoulders out so that the cloak hung straight and she resembled a short, stocky man, more than a slender, well-formed girl.
"Now we are ready," said the Sarian. Stellara pointed to the body of Bulf.
"We cannot leave that lying there," she said. "Someone may come to this room and discover it and when they do every man in the palace—yes, even in the entire city—will be arrested and questioned."
Tanar looked about the room and then he seized the corpse of Bulf and dragged it into a far corner, after which he piled bundles of hides and baskets upon it until it was entirely concealed, and over the blood stains upon the floor he dragged other bales and baskets until all signs of the duel had been erased or hidden.
"And now," he said, "is as good a time as another to put our disguises to the test." Together they approached the door. "You know the least frequented passages to the garden," said Tanar. "Let us make our way from the palace through the garden to the gate that gave us escape before."
"Then follow me," replied Stellara, as Tanar opened the door and the two stepped out into the corridor beyond. It was empty. Tanar closed the door behind him, and Stellara led the way down the passage.
They had proceeded but a short distance when they heard a man's voice in an apartment to the left.
"Where is she?" he demanded.
"I do not know," replied a woman's voice. "She was here but a moment ago and Bulf was with her."
"Find them and lose no time about it," commanded the man, sternly. And he stepped from the apartment just as Tanar and Stellara were approaching.
It was The Cid. Stellara's heart stopped beating as the Korsar ruler looked into the faces of Tanar and herself.
"Who are you?'" demanded The Cid.
"We are sailors," said Tanar, quickly, before Stellara could reply.
"What are you doing here in my palace?" demanded the Korsar ruler.
"We were sent here with packages to the storeroom," replied Tanar, "and we are but now returning to our ship."
"Well, be quick about it. I do not like your looks," growled The Cid as he stamped off down the corridor ahead of them.
Tanar saw Stellara sway and he stepped to her side and supported her, but she quickly gained possession of herself, and an instant later turned to the right and led Tanar through a doorway into the garden.
"God!" whispered the man, as they walked side by side after quitting the building. "If The Cid did not know you, then your disguise must be perfect."
Stellara shook her head for even as yet she could not control her voice to speak, following the terror induced by her encounter with The Cid.
There were a number of men and women in the garden close to the palace. Some of these scrutinized them casually, but they passed by in safety and a moment later the gravel walk they were following wound through dense shrubbery that hid them from view and then they were at the doorway in the garden wall.
Again fortune favored them here and they passed out into the barracks yards without being noticed.
Electing to try the main gate because of the greater number of people who passed to and fro through it, Tanar turned to the right, passed along the full length of the barracks past a dozen men and approached the gate with Stellara at his side.
They were almost through when a stupid-looking Korsar soldier stopped them. "Who are you," he demanded, "and what business takes you from the palace?"
"We are sailors," replied Tanar. "We are going to our ship."
"What were you doing in the palace?" demanded the man.
"We took packages there from the captain of the ship to The Cid's storeroom," explained the Sarian.
"I do not like the looks of you," said the man. "I have never seen either one of you before."
"We have been away upon a long cruise," replied Tanar.
"Wait here until the captain of the gate returns," said the man. "He will wish to question you."
The Sarian's heart sank. "If we are late in returning to our ship, we shall be punished," said he.
"That is nothing to me," replied the soldier.
Stellara reached inside her cloak and beneath the man's shorts that covered her own apparel and searched until she found a pouch that was attached to her girdle. From this she drew something which she slipped into Tanar's hands. He understood immediately, and stepping close to the soldier he pressed two pieces of gold into the fellow's palm. "It will go very hard with us if we are late," he said.
The man felt the cool gold within his palm. "Very well," he said, gruffly, "go on about your business, and be quick about it."
Without waiting for a second invitation Tanar and Stellara merged with the crowd upon the Korsar street. Nor did either speak, and it is possible that Stellara did not even breathe until they had left the palace gate well behind.
"And where now?" she asked at last.
"We are going to sea," replied the man.
"In a Korsar ship?" she demanded.
"In a Korsar boat," he replied. "We are going fishing."
Along the banks of the river were moored many craft, but when Tanar saw how many men were on or around them he realized that the plan he had chosen, which contemplated stealing a fishing boat, most probably would end disastrously, and he explained his doubts to Stellara.
"We could never do it," she said. "Stealing a boat is considered the most heinous crime that one can commit in Korsar, and if the owner of a boat is not aboard it you may rest assured that some of his friends are watching it for him, even though there is little likelihood that anyone will attempt to steal it since the penalty is death."
Tanar shook his head. "Then we shall have to risk passing through the entire city of Korsar ," he said, "and going out into the open country without any reasonable excuse in the event that we are questioned."
"We might buy a boat," suggested Stellara.
"I have no money." said Tanar.
"I have," replied the girl. "The Cid has always kept me well supplied with gold."
Once more she reached into her pouch and drew forth a handful of gold pieces. "Here," she said, "take these. If they are not enough you can ask me for more, but I think that you can buy a boat for half that sum."
Questioning the first man that he approached at the river side, Tanar learned that there was a small fishing boat for sale a short way down the river, and it was not long before they had found its owner and consummated the purchase.
As they pushed off into the current and floated down stream, Tanar became conscious of a sudden conviction that his escape from Korsar had been effected too easily; that there must be something wrong, that either he was dreaming or else disaster and recapture lay just ahead.
Borne down toward the sea by the slow current of the river, Tanar wielded a single oar, paddlewise from the stern, to keep the boat out in the channel and its bow in the right direction, for he did not wish to make sail under the eyes of Korsar sailors and fishermen, as he was well aware that he could not do so without attracting attention by his bungling to his evident inexperience and thus casting suspicion upon them.