All that evening I felt like a traitor to Duare; but I had sworn allegiance to Muso, and while I served him I must obey his orders. The next morning, as I kissed her goodby, I suddenly had a premonition that it might be for the last time. I held her close, dreading to leave her; and she must have sensed in the tenseness of my body that something was amiss.
She looked up at me questioningly. 'There is something wrong, Carson ,' she said. 'What is it?'
'It is just that this morning I hate to leave you even more than usual.' Then I kissed her and left.
Following a plan of my own to deceive the enemy as to my possible destination, I flew east out over the ocean, turning north when I had passed beyond the range of their vision; then I circled to the west far north of their camp and finally came to the ocean again west of Amlot. Flying back parallel with the coast and a few miles inland I had no difficulty in locating the flat-topped hill that was my principal landmark. During the flight I had dyed my hair black and removed the insignia of my office and service from the scant trappings that, with my loincloth, constituted my apparel. Now I could pass as an ordinary citizen of Amlot, providing no one noticed the color of my eyes.
I easily located the farm of Lodas in the fork of the rivers, and circled low looking for a suitable landing place. As I did so, a number of men working in the fields dropped their tools and ran toward the house, from which several other persons came to observe the ship. Evidently we aroused much excitement, and when I finally landed several men came cautiously toward me with weapons ready for any eventuality. I climbed down from the cockpit and advanced to meet them, holding my hands above my head to assure deem that my intentions were friendly. When we were within speaking distance, I hailed them.
'Which of you is Lodas?' I asked.
They all halted and looked at one big fellow who was in the lead.
'I am Lodas,' he replied. 'Who are you? and what do you want of Lodas?'
'I have a message for you,' I said, holding out the leather envelope.
He came forward rather hesitantly and took it from me. The others waited while he opened and read it.
'All right,' he said finally, 'come to the house with me.'
'First I'd like to make my ship fast in a safe place,' I told him. 'Where would you suggest? It should be protected from the wind and be somewhere where it can be watched at all times.'
He looked at it rather dubiously for a moment; then he shook his head. 'I haven't a building large enough to hold it,' he said, 'but you can put it between those two buildings over there. It will be protected from the wind there.'
I looked in the direction he indicated and saw two large buildings, probably barns, and saw that they would answer as well as anything he had to offer; so I taxied the ship between them, and with the help of Lodas and his fellows fastened it down securely.
'Let no one ever touch it or go near it,' I cautioned Lodas.
'I think no one will wish to go near it,' he said feelingly.
It must have looked like some monster from another world to those simple Amtorian rustics.
The ship tied down, the hands returned to the fields; and Lodas led me to the house, two women who had run out to enjoy the excitement accompanying us. The house, a long narrow building running east and west, had a verandah extending its full length on the south side and was windowless on the north, the side from which the prevailing warm winds came and the occasional hot blasts from the equatorial regions. Lodas led me into a large central room that was a combination living room, dining room, and kitchen. In addition to a huge fireplace there was a large clay oven, the former necessitated during the winter months when the colder winds came from the antarctic.
At the door of the room Lodas sent the women away, saying that he wished to speak with me alone. He seemed nervous and fearful; and when we were alone he drew me to a bench in a far corner of the room and sat close to me, whispering in my ear.
'This is bad business,' he said. 'There are spies everywhere. Perhaps some of the men working for me were sent by Mephis. He has spies spying upon everyone and spies spying upon spies. Already rumors have come from Amlot of a strange thing that flies through the air dropping death and fire upon the forces of Mephis. At once my workers will know that it is this thing that you came in. They will be suspicious; they will talk; if there is a spy among them he will get word to Mephis, and that will be the end of me. What am I to do?'
'What did the message tell you to do?' I asked.
'It told me to get you into Amlot; that was all.'
'Are you going to do it?'
'I would do anything for Kord, my jong,' he said simply. 'Yes, I shall do it; but I shall probably die for it.'
'Perhaps we can work out a plan,' I suggested. 'If there is a spy here or if your men talk too much, it will be as bad for me as for you. Is there any place near here where I could hide my ship—some place that it would be reasonably safe?'
'If Mephis hears of it, it will not be safe here,' said Lodas, and I appreciated the truth of his statement. He thought for a moment; then he shook his head. 'The only place that I can think of is an island off the coast just south of us.'
'What sort of an island?' I asked. 'Any clear, level land on it?'
'Oh, yes; it is a very flat island. It is covered with grass. No one lives there. It is seldom that anyone goes there—never since the revolution.'
'How far off shore is it?'
'It lies very close. I row to it in a few minutes.'
'You row to it? You have a boat?'
'Yes, once a year we row over to pick the berries that grow there. The women make jam of them that lasts all the rest of the year.'
'Fine!' I exclaimed. 'Now I have a plan that will remove all suspicion from you. Listen.' For ten minutes I talked, explaining every detail of my scheme. Occasionally Lodas slapped his knee and laughed. He was hugely pleased and relieved. Lodas was a big, simple, good-natured fellow. One couldn't help but like and trust him. I didn't want to get him in any trouble, on his own account; and, too, I knew that any trouble I got him into I would have to share.
We decided to put my plan into execution immediately, so we left the house; and as we passed the women, Lodas spoke to me angrily.
'Get off my farm!' he cried. 'I'll have nothing to do with you.'
We went at once to the ship and cast off the ropes; then I taxied it out toward the field where I had landed. Lodas followed on foot, and when we were within earshot of some of the men, he shouted at me loudly. 'Get out of here! I'll have nothing to do with you. Don't ever let me see you on my farm again.' The farm hands looked on in wide-eyed amazement, that grew wider eyed as I took off.
As I had done when I took off from Sanara, I flew in a direction opposite that I intended going; and when I was out of sight circled back toward the ocean. I found the island Lodas had described and landed easily. Some high bushes grew on the windward side, and behind these I made the ship fast. I worked on it until dark, and had it so securely fastened down that I didn't believe that anything short of a hurricane could blow it away.
I had brought a little food with me from Sanara; and, after eating, I crawled into the cabin and settled myself for the night. It was very lonely out there with only the wind soughing through the bushes and the surf pounding on the shore of that unknown sea. But I slept and dreamed of Duare. I knew that she must be worrying about me already, and I felt like a dog to have treated her so. I hoped that Muso would soon tell her that I had but gone on a mission for him. At the worst, I hoped to be home by the second day.
I awoke early and crossed the island to the shoreward side; and about half an hour later I saw a huge gantor approaching, drawing a wagon behind him. As he came nearer I recognized Lodas perched upon the animal's back. I waved to him, and he waved back. Leaving his conveyance near the shore, Lodas climbed down to a little cove, and presently I saw him pushing a crude boat into the water. Soon I was in it with him, and he was rowing back to the mainland.
'How did our little scheme work?' I asked him.
'Oh, fine,' he said, with a broad grin. 'I wouldn't tell them what you wanted me to do, but I told them that it was something wrong and that I was going to Amlot to tell the authorities about it. That satisfied them all; so if there was a spy among them I don't think he will give us any trouble. You are a very smart man to have thought of this plan.'
