第34节

val and left, bolting the door behind him.

Ahah, thought Steve. So that's how it plays. It's only the boss man

who's got the inside track on this. The rest of the bunch are just

spear-carriers. When the light faded away, he moved back to the

partition and reestablished contact with Clearwater.

'Did you ride across the waters on one of the wheelboats?" she

whispered.

'Yes. How did you know? And why are you whispering?"

She raised her voice slightly. 'I felt your presence near by soon

after I came ashore."

'You - you were on one of the boats?" stammered Steve. 'You actually

came to the trading post?!" 'Did Mr Snow not tell you? Did he not

show you the box?"

'What box?"

'The box with the hidden pictures that were to guide you to the place

where Cadillac and I are held. I gave it to him the night before we

sailed back to Ne-Issan."

Steve began to understand. 'When he came out to Yama-Shita's vessel

. ."

'Yes - with Rolling-Stone and Mack-Truck."

Steve responded with a dry, sighing laugh. 'So that's what he was up

to. Trust me to do things the hard way.

When I saw him go by I was already on board one of the other

wheelboats. I found a place to hide and stayed out of sight until we

docked at Pi-saba." Steve didn't volunteer any further details. 'Did

the Old One know he was coming to see you?"

'No. He seemed taken aback. Perhaps because I was unskinned."

'llnskinned' was the term Mr Snow had used to describe the true

appearance of Clearwater and Cadillac in the brief period between

washing off their camouflage and applying a fresh coat of paint.

'Yeah, I wanted to ask you about -' Clearwater cut in quickly.

'Yama-Shita was present.

We were not free to say what we wished, but his hidden words told me

you had returned and would try to rescue us. He did not say how or

when."

'I was going to travel with the M'Call journeymen but Mr Snow wouldn't

let me take any weapons on board. So I made my own travel

arrangements. There was no way I was going to leave my quarterstaff

behind - not after what you'd done to it."

'Did it help?"

'Are you kidding? If it wasn't for your magic act, I wouldn't be

here.

You've saved my life several times over."

'Not I, golden one. The power was given to me by Talisman."

'Maybe. You I know, him I don't." Steve's voice lightened.

'If he's so keen on helping me he could at least have arranged for us

to be on the same boat. We could have spent some time together. Would

have made the trip a lot more enjoyable."

'It would have been utter madness. What you did was dangerous

enough."

She sounded concerned- and a touch severe.

Steve kept it casual. 'No worse than the jam I'm in now.

But - on the other hand - here you are. Fate, I guess."

'Did you get back to your own people?"

'Eventually." There was no point in lying. He had already told Mr

Snow the whole story. Or most of it.

'They weren't too pleased to hear that the Plainfolk weren't as stupid

as they thought."

'Did you tell them about me?"

The lie tripped easily off his tongue. 'No, I didn't.

You're my secret weapon. When I'm with you I feel as if I could

conquer the world." That part, at least, was true.

'Perhaps you are meant to,' she whispered. 'Is that what Cadillac has

seen in the stones?"

'He has seen many things."

Steve felt his skin prickle. 'Such as... ?"

'That you would return in the guise of a friend, with Death hiding in

your shadow, and carry me away on a river of blood. Is that why you