statement. Sol had made the original offer, not her.
'I will leave now, if you ask me,' she whispered. 'No screaming, no trouble, and I will not come again.'
She could not afford the gesture. She had already won. Wordlessly he clasped her and sought her lips and body.
And now she held back. 'You know the price?'
'I know the price.'
Then she was as eager as he.
CHAPTER NINE
In the spring Sol reappeared, lean and scarred and solemn, toting his barrow. More than two hundred men were there to greet him, tough and eager to the last. They knew his return meant action for them all.
He listened to Tyl's report and nodded matter-of-factly. 'We march tomorrow,' he said.
That night Sav came to share his tent again. It occurred to Sos that the staffer's departure and return had been remarkably convenient, but he did not comment directly. 'Your bracelet got tired?'
'I like to keep moving. 'Bout run out of ground.'
'Can't raise much of a family that way.'
'Sure can't!' Say agreed. 'Anyway, I need my strength. I'm second staff now.'
Yes, he thought forlornly. The first had become second, and there was nothing' to do but abide by it. The winter had been warmer than the spring.
The tribe marched. The swords, fifty strong, moved out first, claiming their privilege as eventual winners of the point-score tournament. The daggers followed, winners on index, and then the sticks, staffs and clubs. The lone morningstar brought up the rear, low scorer but not put out. 'My weapon is not for games,' he said, with some justice.
Sol no longer fought. He stayed with Sola, showing unusual concern for her welfare, and let the fine military machine Sos had fashioned operate with little overt direction. Did he know what his wife had been doing all winter? He had to, for Sola was pregnant.
Tyl ran the tribe. When they encountered a single man who was willing to come to terms, Tyl gave the assignment to the group corresponding to the man's weapon and let the leader of that group select a representative to enter the circle. The advantage of the extended training quickly showed: the appointed warriors were generally in better physical shape than their opponents and superior strategists, and almost always won. When they lost, more often than not the victor, perceiving the size and power of the tribe, challenged the group leader in order to be incorporated into it. Tyl allowed no one to travel with the tribe who was not bound to it.
Only Sos was independent-and he wished he were not. A week out they caught up to another tribe. It contained about forty men, and its leader was typical of the crafty oldsters Sos had anticipated. The man met Tyl and surveyed the situation-and agreed to put up just four warriors for the circle: sword, staff, sticks and club. He refused to risk more.
Disgruntled, Tyl retired for a conference with Sos. 'It's a small tribe, but he has many good men. I can tell they are experienced and capable by the way they move and the nature of their scars.'
'And perhaps also by the report-of our advance scouts,' Sos murmured.
'He won't 'even send his best against us!' Tyl said indignantly.
'Put up fifty men and challenge him yourself for his entire group. Let him inspect the men and satisfy himself that they are worth his trouble.'
Tyl smiled and went to obtain Sol's official approval, a formality only. In due course he had forty-five assorted warriors assembled.
'Won't work.' Tor muttered.
The wily tribemaster looked over the offerings, grunting with approval. 'Good men,' he agreed. Then be contemplated TyL 'Aren't you the man of two weapons?'
'Sword and stick.'
