'Is your crew aboard?'
'All but the steward. He-we can do without a steward.' Remille made up his mind. 'We leave.' Then, looking at Lofoten, he said, 'What about him?'
'Kick him out.'
'Let me come with you! Captain! Please!'
'Dump him,' snapped Dumarest. 'Drop him through the lower hatch. It's him they want, not us.'
'Earl, they'll kill him.' Dephine's voice was high. 'You know the kind of death they give to looters.'
He said, bitterly, 'He would have smashed in your face had I let him. He would have burned me down given the chance. To hell with him.' Reaching out he grabbed the man's good arm. 'Let's get rid of this filth and be on our way.'
Chapter Four
The Varden was small; a roving free-trader picking up a living wherever a cargo was to be found; the crew paid if and when there were profits to be shared. Aside from the looted crates the hold was empty; but there were passengers.
Dumarest studied them a day later as he sat in the salon. At the table a fat man toyed with a deck of cards, ringed hands deft as he manipulated the pasteboards. Charl Tao, a dealer in rare and precious merchandise-or so he claimed. Dumarest had a shrewd suspicion that the salves and lotions which formed his stock in trade contained not the near-magical essences he said but ingredients of a more humble origin.
Glaring at the plump trader a thin-faced, wasp-voiced woman sat in the rigid attitude of one who wore unyielding garments. Allia Mertrony, a widow, a follower of some obscure sect. Her cabin stank of incense and she wore a cap of dark material covering her hair. Next to her sat a middle-aged man with a bandaged leg. Fren Harmond, taciturn, his face creased with pain.
'A game, Earl?' Charl glanced towards Dumarest. 'Something to pass the time. Spectrim, starsmash, banko, man-in-between. You name it and we'll play it.'
'For money, no doubt,' snapped the woman.
'For small stakes and those only to add interest. How about you, Fren, it'll take your mind off the pain.'
'No.'
'You don't have to suffer it,' said Charl smoothly. 'I've a few drops which will give you dreams instead of anguish. Come to my cabin and let's see what can be done.'
'We should have a steward,' said the woman. 'It's all very well to say that he was too sick to rejoin us on Hoghan but we should have one just the same. It's a part of the service.'
Dumarest said, 'Did any of you board at Hoghan?'
'We came from Legand,' said the plump man. 'I wanted to leave but they wouldn't let me and when I learned why I was pleased to change my mind.'
'They wouldn't let you land? Why not?'
'The war. Surely you must have been involved. We arrived at a bad time and it was best to remain within the safety of the ship. So Captain Remille advised and he made sense.'
'Did you book to Hoghan?'
'No, to Malach. The ship had a special delivery to make. It adds time to the journey, but what choice had we?'
'We should have a steward,' said the old woman fretfully. 'Who is to give us quick-time? Or are we supposed to do without? I've paid for a High Passage and I want what I've paid for. Fren, why don't you complain to the captain? Charl-'
'I'll do it,' said Dumarest.
In the control room the air was alive with the hums and burrs of smoothly working apparatus, the sensors questing their way into space, plotting a path and guiding the vessel with mechanical efficiency. Remille sat in his chair, the navigator at his post beside him. A thin man with sour lips half-hidden beneath a ruff of beard, Haw Mayna had an abrupt and bristling manner.
'What do you want? Passengers aren't allowed in the control room. Damn it, man, surely you must know that!'
'Captain?'
'He's right.' Remille turned to glare from the depths of his chair. 'What is it?'
'You haven't a steward,' said Dumarest. 'I'm applying for the job.' He sensed the hesitation, caught the glance each threw to the other. 'I've done it before. Worked as a handler too. I know what has to be done.'
'Let him do it,' said the navigator after a moment. 'Anything for peace. Just keep them quiet and happy.'
The previous steward had been allocated a cabin at the end of the passage. It was bare, not even the cabinet containing a scrap of clothing. The bunk was stripped of bedding. The set of drawers normally filled with small items of personal value, like the cabinet, were empty.
Thoughtfully Dumarest moved back to the small room adjoining the salon. From a drawer he took a hypogun and loaded it with quick-time. Charl smiled at him as he moved towards the man.
'Throat or wrist?'
'Throat. It's more efficient.'
'If you aim straight, I agree.' The man tilted his head, exposing the side of his neck. 'Go ahead.'
Dumarest aimed the instrument, touched the trigger and it was done. Carried by a blast of air the drug penetrated the skin and fat to mingle directly in the bloodstream. The effect was immediate. As if stricken, Charl Tao slowed, turned into an apparent statue, not even his eyes moving as Dumarest moved to the others and treated each in turn. At the door of the salon he turned to look at them. All three were apparently frozen, their metabolism slowed by the chemical magic of quick-time so that, to them, normal hours passed as swiftly as minutes, weeks shrank into days. A convenience to relieve the tedium of long voyages.
Dephine was in her cabin. She had been sleeping but, as Dumarest entered, she woke to sit upright, stretching her arms above her head. Rest had taken some of the tiny lines of strain from around her eyes, but anticipation made her features even more sharp.
'Now, Earl?'
'Not yet.'
'How long must we wait? Those crates are just begging to be examined. Who knows what we may have won? A fortune! Enough to keep us in luxury for the rest of our lives!' She saw the hypogun in his hand. 'What's this?' She smiled when he told her. 'So you're the new steward. A clever move, Earl. A crew member has advantages the passengers lack. Now hurry! Treat the others and let's see what we have!'
* * * * *
The crates lay in an untidy heap to one side of the hold, held only by a single lashing of rope, the restraint less than useless had the ship been subjected to sudden strain. Dumarest slashed it free and hauled at the topmost box. It thudded to the deck, the lid starting from its seating. With a jerk he tore it free. Beneath lay a mass of fiber which Dephine tore apart with her bare hands.
'Earl? What the hell-'
The crate was stacked with guns. Antiques. Each individually wrapped in plastic, each weapon carefully labeled. Dumarest lifted one, a rifle with a chased stock and an elaborate sight. The barrel was flared and the trigger of a peculiar shape.
'A hunting rifle made for the Mangate of Tyrone after the accident which deformed the muscles of his right hand. He-'
'Never mind that!' Dephine snatched the weapon from his hands as Dumarest read the label. 'What about the others?'
They were all much the same, items which belonged to a collection or a museum, and with the thought came the answer.
'We took the wrong boxes.' Dumarest turned one, read the small label previously unnoticed. 'This comes from the Hargromond Collection. They packed the guns and put them into the warehouse for safe-keeping.' He frowned
