"Hard to say," said Reith. "From what I hear, some Qiribuma, especially the men, say they're better off. But others yearn for the days of that old she-yeki, Queen Alvandi."
"No governmental system ever comes up to expectations," murmured Marot. "At least, such has been Terran experience."
The Morkerád approached an opening on one of the piers. Reith knew better than to plague the captain while he was engrossed in warping his boat into its dock. Only when the little ship brought up against the bumpers, and the lines were made fast, did Reith say:
"Captain, when shall we get together with your cousin's agent, to straighten out our obligations?"
Sarf grinned. "Not tonight, I ween! Unloading will swallow the rest of the daylight, and then I'm off to see my wife."
"Your other ..."
"Hist, not a word, an ye'd thank me for hiding you! Where will ye put up for the night?"
"Angur knows me, so I'm sure he'll take us in even though we're arzuless."
The crew finished wrestling the gangboard into place. With the approach of the ship, a scattering of the usual waterfront populace began to converge on its landing place: longshoremen, porters, sedan-chair bearers, touts, pimps, and peddlers.
Four Krishnans of a different aspect pushed through the crowd and stamped aboard. One was a male in good civilian dress; the other three wore uniforms with crested brass helmets and brazen cuirasses, which flashed in the afternoon sun. This armor was worn over scarlet tunics and pleated kilts, and each soldier bore a short sword suspended from a baldric. Two soldiers were male, but the third, evidently an officer, was a female, whose cuirass was molded to fit her feminine shape. Reith told his companions:
"All the soldiers used to be female, and most of the higher ranks still are. But the ratio is changing, as more males enlist."
While Captain Sarf and the civilian conferred over the ship's manifest, the three in scarlet and brass advanced upon Reith and Marot. The female said:
"Ohé! Terrans wearing swords? Ertsuma are not exempt from the laws of Qirib! Hold still, ye twain, whilst we render your hangers harmless."
One uniformed male belayed the swords of Reith and Marot into their scabbards by iron wire, wound around the guard and through the suspension rings. Then the other soldier fastened the ends of the wire together with a clamp that confined them within a leaden seal.
"Now," said the female, "if ye be caught with your peace wires unfastened, ye'd better have ponderous excuses ready, as that ye were set upon by robbers. Otherwise 'twill go hard with you."
"I understand, Officer," said Reith. "I've been here before."
The officials went ashore, and longshoremen lined up to file aboard. Sarf said to Reith:
" 'Tis a long walk to Angur's. Will ye hire a carriage or a set of chairs?"
"I doubt the ordinary carriage driver would extend credit on the strength of my little plaque. Most of them cannot read."
"Let it fret you not. I'll stake you to your carriage ride. In for an arzu, in for a kard, as they say in Qirib."
Sarf rounded up a carriage, the prospect of seeing his other wife having put him in a high good humor. He loaded his Terrans aboard and paid the driver. Qa'di departed afoot, clutching her incubator in one hand and a sheet of paper bearing the address of an attorney in the other.
Angur's Inn stood in the upper town across a spacious square, facing the end of the railroad platform. A train was being made up at this station, which consisted of a shed between two stub-end tracks of qong-wood, and beyond, a small station building. Several little four-wheeled cars had been rolled into place, and more were being added by a tame bishtar, which pushed with its head at the command of its mahout.
The second story of Angur's three-story inn, upheld by a row of arches, extended out over the sidewalk. Reith led his companions in the front door on the ground floor. Angur, whose exceptionally long antennae gave him somewhat the look of a beetle, sat behind a desk in the small lobby, beyond which could be seen the tables and dance floor of the cabaret, occupying most of the ground floor.
Angur rose to greet the newcomers. "Hail, Master Reit'! 'Tis a small touristic party ye bring this time; but they shall enjoy all the luxe my elegant establishment affords. What accommodations will ye have? Business hath been a smitch slow of late, so I can offer a wide range of choice."
"Have you one double and one single room?"
"Aye. I'll give you Numbers Twelve and Thirteen." Angur took keys from a rack and shouted: "Haftid! Hither!"
An adolescent Krishnan picked up the small bundles of personal gear. The youth would also have picked up Marot's bag of fossils—now shrunken by Marot's expert chipping and prying to little more than half its original weight—had not the Frenchman forestalled him.
"What's in that?" said Angur. 'Treasure?"
"Mineral specimens," said Reith. "Doctor Marot is wise in such matters. Show them a sample, Aristide."
Marot raised his eyebrows, but he untied the sack and dug out a couple of fossiliferous stones. Curiosity satisfied, Angur led the trio upstairs to the second deck and unlocked two doors. Reith glanced into the rooms, then took Alicia's bundle and his own from the youth and carried them into the large room. He set them down, saying:
"Here you are, Alicia!"
She hesitated in the doorway, and their eyes met. Then a smile of pure happiness lit up her classic face, as if a ray of the sun had crossed it. Reith knew she had been wondering whether he would forgive his ducking in the Zigros, or banish her to the single room. When they were settled and the porter had departed, she asked:
"Why did you insist on showing the innkeeper Aristide's fossil fragments?"
"If I hadn't, they'd have been sure the bag contained gold, jewels, or what have you. I'd trust Angur, but not his hired help." Reith raised his voice. "Aristide! Will you step in here, please? We have a couple of hours before dark. What would you two like to do with that time?"
"I should like to go look at the railroad," said Marot. "Perhaps I could arrange for our passage."
"Has Jazmurian a decent shopping district?" asked Alicia.
"I don't think the railroad would give us credit, and there's no use shopping with empty pockets."
"Well then, I shall go look at the trains," said Marot. "I am what you call a railroad bluff."
"Buff, old boy, buff. Find out what you can about fares and schedules."
"And I'll write up my rough notes," said Alicia.
"In that case," said Reith, "I'll leave you for a while. Lock your doors. If you go out, stay close to the inn, and don't wander off into any tough districts."
"Where are you going?" asked Marot.
"To the temple of Yesht, to see if our little Jeshango priest made it."
"Could you buy me some more paper and pencils?" said Alicia. "I'm running short."
"Sure; I have a couple of karda left. See you."
The temple of the Judge of the Dead was a heavy, square structure surmounted by a huge dome. The entrance was below street level, so that to enter, one went down a flight of steps. This, Reith thought, was a shrewd psychological preparation for worshipers of the Lord of the Underworld.
In the entrance way, an acolyte took Reith's name and listened to his inquiry after the Jeshango priest of Yesht. Soon Nirm bad-O'lán appeared in the full green-and-purple regalia of a priest of the Qiribo cult.
"Master—Master—Reit', is it not? 'Twas you and your companion who succored me in Jeshang, wherefore I shall be forever grateful. Come hither where we can talk."
In an audience room, the garrulous little priest described his passage down the Zigros. By way of gossip, he added: "We have here another fugitive from the wrath of the Bákhites, a priest of Dashmok who arrived but a few days since. The jolly Majburo god hath no temple here, but he had a small cult in Jeshang. We have given refuge to the Reverend Ozagh, even though his god be not ours, and heard his breath-stopping tale of violent doings in Jeshang. Shall I hale him forth?"