'How did you know me' sleeping when you did not know me awake?'
Sav smiled. 'I recognized your snore.'
'My-' He hadn't even known he snored.
'And one or two other things fit into place,' Sav continued. 'Like the way you stared at the spot on the ground where our little tent used to be-and I know you weren't remembering me! And the way you hummed `Red River Valley' today while we marched, same way Sola used to hum `Greensleeves,' even if you do carry a tune even worse than you did before. And the way you took care to make me look good in the circle, make me lose like a man. You didn't have to do that. You were taking care of me, same way I took care of you before.'
'You took care of me?'
'You know-keeping the gals away from your tent all winter, even if I had to service `em myself. Sending a man to bring Sol back when it was time. Stuff like that.'
Sol had stayed away...until Sola was pregnant!
'You knew about Sol?'
'I'm just naturally nosy, `I guess. But I can keep my mouth shut.'
'You certainly can!' Sos took a moment to adjust himself to the changed situation. The staffer was a lot more knowledgeable and discreet than he had ever suspected. 'All right, Sav. I'll tell you everything-and you can tell me how to keep my secrets so that nobody else catches on. Fair enough?'
'Deal! Except-'
'No exceptions. I can't tell anyone else.'
'Except a couple are going to know anyway, no way to stop it. You get within a hundred feet of Sol, he'll know you. He's that way. And you won't fool Sola long, either. The others-well, if we can fake out Tor, no problem.'
Sav was probably right. Somehow the thought did not disturb Sos; if he did his honest best to conceal his identity, but was known by those closest to him anyway, he could hardly be blamed. The word would not spread.
'You asked `why me? That's the same question I asked myself. They put pressure on me, but it wouldn't have been enough if I hadn't had internal doubts. Why me? The answer is, because I built the empire, though they didn't know that. I started it, I organized it, I trained it, I left men after me who could keep it rolling. If it is wrong, then I have a moral obligation to dismantle it-and I may be the only one who can do it without calamitous bloodshed. I am the only one who really understands its nature and the key individuals within it-and who can defeat Sol in the circle.'
'Maybe you better start at the beginning,' Sav said. 'You went away, then I heard you came back with the rope, and Sol beat you and you went to the mountain-'
It was late at night by the time the complete story had been told.
Tyl's camp was much larger than Sav's had been. This was an acquisition tribe, contrasted to the training tribe, and by itself numbered almost five-hundred warriors. This time there was no stupidity at the entrance; Sav was a ranking member of the hierarchy, and there was the unmistakable ring of command in his normally gentle voice as he cut through obstacles. Ten minutes after they entered the camp they stood before Tyl himself.
'What brings you here unattended, comrade?' Tyl inquired cautiously, not commenting on the mending arm. He looked older, but no less certain of himself.
'I serve a new master. This is the nameless one, who sought me out and defeated me in the circle. Now he offers me and my tribe against you and yours.'
Tyl contemplated Sos's tunic, trying to penetrate to the body beneath it. 'With all due respect, ex-comrade, my tribe is more powerful than yours. He will have to meet my subchiefs first.'
'Of course. Post a third of your tribe to correspond to mine. After the nameless one defeats your man, he will match both sections against the remainder. You can study' him today and meet him tomorrow.'
'You seem to have confidence in him,' Tyl observed.
