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.The deck, if he could call itthat, was moving around continuously underfoot, there was a ceaseless sloshing ofwater against the hull, and an endlessly repeated splash as buckets of water werepoured overboard.The sails flapped occasionally, but the noise was apparently dueto the motion of the boat, not the wind.The wind had given out shortly after they leftthe island-barony of Scrattel, and they had had to use the engine alone.The enginehad failed shortly after taking them out of sight of Scrattel.As Harold William wasaware, the next thing to give out would probably be the drinking water.There was a clearing of the throat, and the former guard, who had turned out tobe named Bor, was standing oppressively close in the still, humid air.Harold William kept his voice level and his tone courteous. What is it, Bor? It s the men, Your Lordship.There was another splash of water from up forward as another bucket of waterwas dumped over. What about them? They want to go back, begging your pardon, my lord.Harold William glanced back, squinting his eyes against the glare of the sun onthe slight roll of the sea. H m. He tapped the compass repeatedly and the needle swung around fifteendegrees by small stages. Perhaps your eyes are better than mine, Bor.Can you see Scrattel? No, sir.And I haint since yesterday.Harold William looked up forward, where Rig Strun and Mak Stran bailedmethodically.By the engine, Dar Strun patiently screwed the single spark plug backin, stood up, and put his foot on the starting lever.He straightened his leg with aneffort.Er-er-er-er-erThe engine didn t catch.The water sloshed and splashed against the hull.Thesun beat down.Splash another bucket of water went over the side.Bor was apologetic,  The men, m lord they want to go home.Harold William left the diluted glare where the worn strip of canvas partlycovered the cockpit in which the warped engine cover had been lifted aside, andstepped out in the full sun.Up ahead, Rig Strun, gnarled and aged, raised up and shouted,  Bek! Canna gun!Nae gut!After two days of this, Harold William could laboriously translate the words: Back! Can t go on! No good!But after two days of it, he waited until he reached partial shade cast by thebig and motionless sail further aft.Then he crouched, and spoke slowly andcarefully:  Canna gae bed.Need s rae gut t find.This sounded to Harold William like a clear rendering of  Can t go back.Needlethe local word for compass  is no good to find.But Rig Strun and also his brawny grandson, Mak, who had paused tolisten took several minutes for a rapid-fire and incomprehensible exchange ofdialect before Rig Strun turned to Harold William, and pointed ahead. Nae thin. He pointed back, roughly in the direction of the island. Smeh.Gae clash, us smeh the Oyl.Harold William laboriously translated the first comment into ordinary speech: No thing. Rig argued that there was no land ahead.So much for that.Now, what might  smeh mean? After a long silent struggle inwhich both Struns resumed bailing, Harold William found a combination that seemedto make sense:  Smell.Go close, us smell the Isle.Harold William was laboriously composing a reply when a loud noise made himjump.BANG!Back by the engine, Dar Strun waved his arms excitedly.BANG!Bor, at the tiller, shouted to Harold William. T needle, m lord! BANG!There was a cool breeze as the boat gathered speed.BANG!Harold William tapped the needle, and found it was reading true.BANG!With that vibration, there was no need to tap the needle.BANG!The boat nearly cleaved the calm water.A wake showed up behind it.BANG!Harold William pointed slightly to the north.Bor turned the tiller a fraction.Theboat heeled slightly, swung a little northward.Behind them, the wake stretched out.Dar Strun, listening anxiously to thedeafening bang, nodded enthusiastically, and took hold of the warped cover.BANG!Bor shouted,  Tiller, m lord.I ll help Dar! Harold William held the tiller steady.Bor sprang forward to help with the engine cover.BANG!The wake seemed now to stretch out to the horizon.Rig and Mak Strun began totake in the useless sails.BANG!Bor and Dar lowered the engine cover.Rig pulled back a small lever that startedthe bilge pump.BAM!Faintly muffled by the engine cover, the noise was still an assault on the ears anda delight at the same time.BAM!Harold William, expecting some argument in favor of going back, saw withastonishment Rig, Mak, and Dar go forward to the bow, and stand there beaming.Rig and Mak enthusiastically banged Dar on the back.BAM!Harold William turned in bafflement to Bor, who grinned, and shouted:  Theworld is different when your engine works!Harold William nodded, beamed, looked ahead, and then checked the compass.Suddenly he looked up again, and peered intently forward.Dimly, on the horizon, hecould see a low dark line.XXIV.The Rivals« ^ »Vaughan Roberts, keeping his muscles relaxed with an effort, watched the spyscreen that was set up in the forward part of the patrol ship, on the upward-warpeddeck over the missile bay.On the screen, Duke Marius smiled at Princess Erena, andthe Regent s smile had improved of late.It had less of a sickly cast, and was muchmore a smile than a grimace.Roberts intently disliked this smile. You must understand, Erena, said the Regent,  that what I have done, I havedone for our country.Erena looked away, and said nothing.Roberts breathed a little more easily. I have, said the Regent,  become King to free Festhold of outwornsuperstition, and to bring the dawn of a new age to this outmoded land.Princess Erena said quietly,  Superstition is undesirable because it is false, notbecause it is outmoded.Truth is never outmoded.The Regent frowned, then suddenly laughed. Erena?She looked at him.He said,  It is a proved scientific fact that  acquired characteristics cannot beinherited. Were you aware of that?She frowned. I leave such things to men.All I know of science is that it isuseful, and it is dangerous.He nodded, still watching her with a smile.It was a smile that transformed hisface, and Roberts growled,  Where s the Prince?Morrissey said,  His boat landed about two hours ago. Where is he now? We ve got a poor view through that forest.The last we saw, he was on a dirtroad headed west. Roberts growled exasperatedly.On the screen, the Regent was saying,  Since acquired traits cannot be inherited,your family must have experienced a mutation of the logical faculty in the past.Inyour father and your brothers, it had a terrible effect.In you, this logical insightis  he smiled  charming [ Pobierz caÅ‚ość w formacie PDF ]