force.'
'Marvelous,' I said, bitterly.
Grunt shrugged. 'These people,' he said, 'must survive with one another.'
'Hold!' said Grunt, suddenly, tensing.
The rider had appeared very suddenly, over a small rise in front of us, sometwenty yards away. He reined in his kaiila. Dust swept about the paws and legsof the beast.
'Do not reach for your weapons,' said Grunt. 'He is Fleer,' he added.
'How do you know?' I asked.
'The hair,' said Grunt, 'is won in the high pompadour, combed back.'
'Like Corn Stalks,' I said. The fellow's hair came down his back, flowing evenover the spine of the kaiila. He was riding bareback. He carried a long,feathered lance, and a small, round shield, a war shield, on which wereinscribed medicine signs.
The fellow moved his kaiila down the slope towards us.
'Be careful,' said Grunt. 'He has made two killings and has counted severalcoup. The scarlet circles on the feather indicate killings, the red marks on hislegs, and on the nose of the kaiila, show coups.'
The Fleer reined in his kaiila a few feet from us. Grunt relaxed in his saddleand smiled, broadly. He raised his right hand to the side of his face, the indexand middle fingers extended upwards and held together, the other fingers closed.
'He has no saddle,' said Grunt. 'His body, and that of his kaiila, is stillpainted with coup marks. Undoubtedly he took part in the action of a few daysago.'
Grunt then, still smiling, clasped his left hand with his right, and shook it.
This, too, is used by some tribes as a sign for friend.
'Kodakiciyapi,' said Grunt. 'Hou, Koda. Hou, Mitakoda.' 'Peace, friendship, hadsaid Grunt, 'Greetings, friend. Greetings, my friend, in Dust Leg. He thenadded, in Kaiila, for good measure, substantially the same message. 'Hou, Kola.
Hou, Mitakoda. Olakota. Wolakota.' 'Greetings, Friend. Greetings, my friend.
Peace, Peace, Friendship.
The fellow regarded us, not speaking, either verbally or in sign.
I was not certain that Grunt was wise in addressing him in the dialect of theKaiila, for the Fleer and Kaiila are hereditary enemies. On the other hand,interestingly, the many affinities between their languages suggest a commonancestor. The distinction between dialects and languages, as the dialecticaldivergencies increase, can become, at times, almost arbitrary. Most people, forwhat it is worth, regard Fleer and Kaiila as different languages. Certainly theFleer and Kaiila do, and few see much profit in arguing the point with them.
'Wopeton,' said Grunt, pointing to me. 'Wopeton,' he said, pointing to himself.
This is the word in both Dust Leg and Kaiila for a trader, or merchant.
The fellow did not drop his lance into the attack position, grasping it firmly,anchoring it under his right arm.
'Do not move,' said Grunt.
The fellow then, kicking back with his heels into the flanks of his kaiila,moved his beast about us, and our party.
'Stand straight,' called Grunt to the coffle, which now, in our pause, had putdown its burdens. 'Keep your heads up, but do not meet his eyes. It is you whoare the merchandise, the beauties, the slaves, not he. It is not yours toexamine, but to be examined, not yours to consider, but to be considered.'
I thought Grunt was wise not to have the girls look into the eyes of the Fleerwarrior. Such an exchange of glances, or looks, can be like an electric shock,an encounter almost fearfully significant. Who knows what each might recognizein the eyes of the other? Does she see in his eyes that he is one such as mightbe her master? Does he see in her eyes that she is one who could not help butacknowledge herself, and soon, despite what she might now take to be herdesires, his helpless and natural slave? Sometimes, at as little as a meeting ofeyes, masters and slaves know one another. 'I must have her. She is mine,' hetells himself. 'I belong to him. I am his slave,' her heart whispers to her.
This matter of eye contact is interesting and has many facets. One of the mostinitially frightening and disturbing things to Earth women brought to Gor asslaves is the way Gorean men look at them. They are not used to being looked atas women, truly, with appraisal, desire and ownership. This tends, in thebeginning, when they are still new to their collar, to confuse and frightenthem, but also, of course, as it will continue to do, and even more powerfully,to stimulate them. It is the first time that they have found themselves in theorder of nature, and as what they are, and it is the first time that they havefound themselves being looked at, frankly, and honestly, within the order ofnature, and as what they are, females, appropriate objects of male predation anddesire. This recognition of her femaleness, and this joy in release andself-discovery, often comes as a stunning revelation to the Earth female. Neveragain, once having discovered this, does she retreat to the conditioned idealsof neuterism and pseudomasculinity, nor, indeed, even if she desired to do so,would her masters permit it. Sometimes in training, incidentally, or as adiscipline or punishment, the slave is not permitted to look into the eyes ofthe master. Indeed, sometimes, in training, she is not permitted to raise hereyes above the belt of the trainer. Also, it must be recognized that many slavesoften, and perhaps all slaves sometimes, find it difficult to look into the eyesof the master. He, after all, holds total power over them and they fear todisplease him. What if he should interpret her gaze as suggesting the leastinsubordination or insolence? Are they truly prepared to have the soles of theirfeet lashed or to live on bread crusts for the next five days? But, on the otherhand, there is, on Gor, in circles of the mastery, no discouragement, commonly,of eye contact between masters and slaves.
Indeed, in the deep and profound relationships of love and bondage, such eyecontact is usually welcomed and encouraged. What can be understood of theglances of masters and slaves by those who have been united only in lesserrelationships? Too, to be sure, from the practical point of view, it is usefulfor a girl to be able to look into the eyes of the master. In this way she maybe able to better read his moods, and desires, and, accordingly, be able thebetter to serve him, in the process perhaps saving herself a few cuffings andbeatings, such as might be garnered by a less alert, more slothful, laxer girl.
To be sure, all girls, upon occasion, are cuffed or beaten. This is good forthem, and helps to remind them that they are slaves. Beauty in a slave girl,incidentally, and most slaves are beautiful, for this is the sort of woman thattends to be enslaved, does not excuse poor service. The most beautiful girl mustserve with the same perfection as the lesser girl. Gorean masters areuncompromising on this point.
From the point of view of the master, too, not only is it pleasant to look intothe eyes of a slave, but there are certain practical advantages attached todoing so. For example, one might, in her eyes, read desire, and thus order herto perform an act which she, even though a slave, might not have dared to beg toperform, or, say, by looking into her eyes, one might determine if she has beenup to something or has neglected something to which she should have attended.
Has she been into the sweets? Has she, perhaps gossiping and dawdling with theother girls, been amiss in the discharge of her duties? Perhaps the shopping hasnot yet been done? Perhaps the laundry has not yet been finished? Suchinfractions call for discipline. But perhaps, in lieu of discipline, the masterwill accept the performance of desperate placatory services on the part of theoffending slave. The decision is his. I would, incidentally, advise the slave tobe superb.
The Fleer warrior stopped his kaiila by Priscilla, the second to the last girlon the coffle, and lifted up her chin with the iron point of his lance. It was atrade point, some nine inches long, socketed, with two rivets.
He then backed his kaiila away from her.
Priscilla had not met his eyes, as Grunt had advised them.
Grunt did not want to do business with the Fleer. He wished only to traverse thearea in peace.
The kaiila snorted and threw up its head, and squealed, its mouth wrenched bythe jerking back of the jaw rope.
On its nose were red lines, coup marks, matching those on the warrior's legs.
Its eyes were outlined with wide circles of black paint. On its left forequarterwas drawn a zigzag line, indicating lightning. On its right forequarter therewere five inverted 'U's.' Its right ear bore a V-shaped notch. On its left flankthere was an opaque red circle with a waving red line descending from it also onthe left flank, and on the right flank, too, there was a black, horizontal line,with a semicircular, curved blue line above it. The coup
