Suddenly Hama turned the picture off, and they looked away from the screen now, puzzled. “So you see,” said the god, “the jewel has already been stolen. For the sake of Argo, and of Hama, carry the jewels back to Leptar. Young Argo will help you. Though her mother and I are pained to see her go, she is as prepared for the journey as you are, if not more. Will you do it?”
“I will,” Iimmi said.
“Me too,” said Geo.
“I guess so,” Urson said.
“Good,” smiled Hama. “Then come with me.” He turned from the screen and walked through the door. They followed him down the long stairway, past the stone walls, into the hall, and along the back of the church. He walked slowly, and smiled like a man who had waited long for something finally arrived. They turned out of the temple and descended the bright steps.
“I wonder where the kids are?” Urson asked.
But Hama led them on, across the broad garden to where the great black urns sat in a row close to a wall of shrubbery. A woman—old Argo—suddenly joined them. She had apparently been waiting for them. She gave them a silent smile of recognition, and they continued across the garden path.
Light fell through the shrubbery across her white tunic and Snake’s bare back as they crouched over the contraption of coils and metal. She twisted two pieces of wire together in a final connection as Snake placed the jewel on an improvised thermocouple. Then they bent over it and both concentrated their thoughts on the bead. The thermocouple glowed red, and electricity jumped in the copper veins, turning the metal bone into a magnet. The armature tugged once around its pivot, and then tugged around once more. Finally it was whipping around steadily, the brushes on its shaft reversing the magnetic poles with each half circle of the arc. It gained speed until it whirred into an invisible copper haze between them. “Hey,” she breathed, “look at it go, will you! Just look at it go.” And the young thieves crouched over the humming motor, oblivious to the eyes of the elder gods that smiled at them from the edge of the green shift of shadow and sunlight, by the side of the marble urn.
XI
Under the trees, she raised up on tiptoe and kissed the balding forehead of a tall, dark-robed priest. “Dunderhead,” she said, “I think you’re cute.” Then she blinked very rapidly and knuckled beneath her eye. “Oh,” she added, remembering, “I was making yogurt in the biology laboratory yesterday. There’s two gallons of it fermenting under the tarantula cage. Remember to take it out. And take care of the hamsters. Please don’t forget the hamsters.”
Finally, they started once more around the slope of the volcano, and the temple and grove fell black and green away behind them.
“Two days to get to the ship,” said Geo, squinting at the pale sky.
“Perhaps we had better put the jewels together,” said Urson. “Keep them out of harm’s way, since we know their power.”
“What do you mean?” Iimmi asked.
Urson took Geo’s leather purse from his belt. Then he took the jewel from Geo’s neck and dropped it in the purse. Then he held the purse out for Iimmi to do the same.
“I guess it can’t hurt,” Iimmi said, dropping his chain into the pouch.
“Here’s mine too,” Argo said. Urson pulled the purse string closed and tucked the pouch in at his waist.
“Well,” said Geo, “I guess we head for the river, so we can get back to your sister and Jordde.”
“Jordde?” asked Argo. “Who’s he?”
“He’s a spy for the blind priestesses. He’s also the one who cut Snake’s tongue out.”
“Cut his—?” Suddenly she stopped. “That’s right: four arms, his tongue—I remember now, in the film!”
“In the what?” asked Iimmi. “What do you remember?”
Argo turned to Snake. “I remember where I saw you before!”
“You know Snake?” Urson asked.
“No, I never met him. But about a month ago I saw a movie of what happened. It was horrible what they did to him.”
“What’s a movie?” asked Iimmi.
“Huh?” said Argo. “Oh, it’s sort of like the vision screens, only you can see things that happened in the past. Anyway, Dunderhead showed me this film about a month ago. Then he took me down to the beach and said I should have seen something there, because of what I’d learned.”
“See something?” Iimmi almost yelled. “What was it?” He took her shoulder and shook it. “What was it you were supposed to see?”
“Why … ?” began the girl, startled.
“Because a friend of mine was murdered and I almost was too because of something we saw on that beach. Only I don’t know what it was.”
“But …” began Argo. “But I don’t either. I couldn’t see it, so Dunderhead took me back to the temple.”
“Snake?” Geo asked. “Do you know what they were supposed to see? Or why Argo was taken to see it after she was shown what happened to you?”
The boy shrugged.
Iimmi turned on Snake. “Do you know, or are you just not telling? Come on now. That’s the only reason I stuck with this so far, and I want to know what’s going on!”
Snake shook his head.
“I want to know why I was nearly killed,” shouted the Negro. “You know and I want you to tell me!” Iimmi raised his hand.
Snake screamed. The sound tore over the distended vocal cords. Then he whirled and ran.
Urson caught him and brought the boy crashing down among leaves. “No you don’t,” the giant growled. “You’re not going to get away from me this time. You won’t get away from me again.”
“Watch it,” said Argo. “You’re hurting him. Urson, let go!”
“Hey, ease up,” said Iimmi. “Snake, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell. But I do want you to tell me. Very much.”
Urson let the boy up, still mumbling,
