As soon as he was on the ground, MC 3 darted through the forest on foot. Ishihara finally jumped to the ground and ran after him. In the darkness, Ishihara could see virtually nothing. He was not specialized for a search, the way Hunter was, and lacked the infrared vision which would have allowed him to glimpse MC 3 by the heat he generated in the cold forest. He could, however, hear that MC 3 was also having trouble fleeing in the dark. Neither one of them was moving very quickly.
Ishihara heard branches snapping up ahead as MC 3 crashed into a bush, then a slapping sound as he fell onto the wet ground. Focusing on the noise, Ishihara took two more quick strides and blindly threw himself forward. With one hand, he snagged MC 3’s ankle and held on.
MC 3 tripped, got up, and tried to scramble away. Ishihara’s grip was firm, however, and he got to his feet, yanking MC 3’s foot out from under him at the same time. MC 3 fell, with Ishihara still holding his ankle.
“Listen to me,” Ishihara said aloud. He repeated the statement through his communication link, but MC 3 did not respond. Ishihara decided that trying to communicate was a waste of time and energy. He bent down to grip MC 3’s right arm and released his ankle. Then he pulled MC 3 to his feet.
MC 3 was not resisting now, but he was tense, ready to run again if he thought it was worth the effort.
Ishihara did not have the device that triggered the time travel sphere. Wayne had kept it. Ishihara would have to join him with MC 3 before they could return to their own time.
Wayne had told him not to call him. Ishihara turned toward where he had last known Wayne to be and began to work his way in that direction. In his firm hold, MC 3 walked with him, not struggling.
14
Wayne had plunged through the forest in a panic to escape Steve when the German warriors distracted him. He had slammed his forehead into a low-hanging branch and fallen several times. Twice he had crashed into bushes and flailed blindly to get free. Finally, lost in the dark and out of breath, he had realized that no one had chased him.
When Wayne heard Steve lead his horse away with the Germans, he returned to his dying fire. He built it up slightly and lay awake in the wet forest for a long time, listening for more trouble. Finally, however, he stretched out and went to sleep again.
At dawn, he awoke stiff with cold but somewhat rested. The sky was gray but the rain had stopped for the moment. The fire had gone out and starting it again was too much work. He pulled a strip of commercially prepared beef jerky from his own time out of his pack and munched on it.
Wayne did not dare linger any longer. Steve could find Hunter and lead him back here. Wayne turned away from the river and began hiking in the general direction Ishihara had taken.
“I hate this,” he muttered out loud to himself. “No matter what I do, something goes wrong.” He reached for his communicator pin to call Ishihara.
After a hearty breakfast, Marcus rode out of the Roman camp with Jane by his side and Gene riding on the far side of her. He had agreed to help them search for Steve and their other lost friend. This time, he had taken one precaution. He had ordered a decury of cavalry, ten legionaries, to ride with them. Marcus did not intend to be caught unprepared again by any German warriors, and with everyone mounted, they would be able to run from a German force of any size.
He sneaked another glance at Jane, who had protested earnestly against his ordering the decury to accompany them.
“I confess you puzzle me,” he said politely. “I should have thought you would be pleased to have a small squadron of cavalry to ride along this morning.”
“You have been very courteous and considerate,” said Jane. “But I really don’t want to interfere with your army business.”
“Oh, I think the Roman legions can manage their business today without us,” Marcus said lightly, smiling at her. “They are still on the march today, and ten fewer cavalrymen will not even be missed.”
Jane smiled tightly and glanced at Gene. “Maybe Gene and I should go out on our own. I would prefer not to trouble you any more than we have already.”
“It would not be a problem,” Gene said.
“Nonsense,” said Marcus. “You are no bother at all. I am happy to accompany you. With good fortune, we may chance across more German warriors today and learn something of their intentions.”
“I hope we don’t meet any of them,” Jane said quietly, exchanging another glance with Gene.
“We have nothing to fear from a small party,” said Marcus. “And a large number of Germans will not be mounted, so we can ride away from them. I assure you both that I will see to your safety.”
“Thank you,” Jane said, with a weak smile. “You’re very…conscientious.”
Ishihara had made very little progress during the night. MC 3 alternately went limp, tried to wrestle away, or grabbed tree trunks with his free arm or even his legs as Ishihara tried to pull him through the dark forest. Ishihara did not have any way to communicate verbally with MC 3, as long as the component robot kept both his communication link and his hearing shut off, nor would he have had the authority of the Second Law over MC 3 in any case. All he could do was push, drag, and pull the smaller robot with him.
At dawn, Ishihara was able to see well enough to avoid colliding with as many bushes and trees as he had been in the darkness. He located his own trail, leading from where he had left Wayne to the German village, and backtracked. By midmorning, however, he had still made only a little progress.
Ishihara considered calling Wayne several times, but could not justify it to himself. The Second Law required that he obey Wayne’s clear instruction not to call him, and Ishihara could not yet make a firm interpretation of a First Law problem that would require him to violate it. Dragging MC 3 through the forest was difficult and time-consuming, but it did not imply any particular danger to humans that Ishihara could see.
Steve had been very relieved to return to the German village late at night. Vicinius’s hut was much drier and warmer than the damp ground next to Wayne’s campfire had been. As he shared breakfast with Vicinius on yet another gray, chilly morning, Hunter walked out of the forest to join them. After they had all exchanged greetings, Hunter politely accepted a bowl of hot gruel.
“You have not found your friends,” said Vicinius. “In fact, since you first came to visit us, you have lost two more of your party.” He grinned. “I have not been much help to you; I can see that.”
“You have been an excellent host,” said Hunter. He turned to Steve. “I am glad to see you well. Do you have a suggestion for finding Jane and Gene today?”
“Well, I might.” Steve understood that Hunter was speaking in a kind of code because Vicinius was with them. He chose his words carefully in return. “I lost a good luck charm last night.” He patted the spot where he usually wore his communicator pin. “ And I was tied up briefly by an old adversary of ours. He took my… charm.”
“You have an enemy in this forest?” Vicinius turned in surprise. “Do not fear. Tell us where to find him. My friends and I will slay him for you.”
“Not a blood enemy,” Hunter said quickly. “He is, uh, a fellow trader. We do not want him killed.” He looked at Steve. “You do mean Dr. Wayne Nystrom?”
“Yes.”
“We would like to tie him up and take him with us, however,” Hunter added.
“Why?” Vicinius looked back and forth between them. “If he is an enemy, you must kill him. If he is a friend, you would not talk about him this way.”
“He might know stuff we want to know,” said Steve quickly. “We might learn something from him.”
“Ah! So you want to torture him for information.” Vicinius nodded his understanding.
“No!” Hunter said sharply. “We…would like to take him back to Gaul with us to discuss business.”
“No, no,” said Vicinius, now shaking his head. “You Gauls are too soft.”