第33节

ones; long feathery plumes falling ten, fifteen

metres then bursting into fans of spray as they hit rocks placed to

break their fall and, in the background, the gentle drumming as the

streams joined forces and emptied over the stepped wall around the base

of the shaft into the lake.

Standing at the open window, Steve listened intently, memories and

feelings about the overground reawakened by the sights and sounds, and

the faintly scented breeze circulating round the shaft. The only

difference, with what he had seen topside was that here, as at San

Jacinto Deep, the foliage on the trees, the shrubs and grasses were not

red, but green. According to the Manual, before the Mutes had fouled

the blue-sky world with their poisonous presence, the overground had

also been green. And would be green again when the Federation

triumphed.

Steve mulled over the middle lines of the last verse of the Talisman

Prophecy '... Death shall be driven from the air and the blood shall be

drained from the earth..." Was that also a promise that the deadly

sickness that blanketed the world would disappear? Did the Mute

victory under the leadership of the mysterious Talisman herald the

greening of America? If it did, it meant the First Family had lied

again: the atmospheric radiation could not have been caused by the

'poisonous presence' of the Mutes. Likewise, they could not be blamed

for the red grass and trees. The charge that they were a degenerate

species of anthropoid was also patently untrue; the perfectly formed

bodies of Cadillac and Clearwater were proof of that. Mr Snow had

spoken the truth when he claimed that Tracker and Mute shared a common

ancestry. The Heroes of the Old Time had also been the forefathers of

the Minutemen and Foragers, the first Trackers who, under the

leadership of george Washington Jefferson the 1st, had formed the

Federation...

Two arms snaked round his waist, and a body pressed hard against his as

someone laid their head against his left shoulder blade. Steve looked

down and recognised his soft-hearted assailant by the striped blue,

white and green sleeves. 'Hello, worm..."

'Don't move,' murmured Roz, her mouth against his back.

'Since when did you give the orders?" said Steve.

Lifting his right arm he twisted around, encircled her with his arms

and squeezed hard.

'Harder,' said Roz. She laid her head against his neck, hugged him

fiercely then covered his face with exuberant kisses. 'Oh, you

bastard! If you knew what I've been through on account of you!" She

kissed him hard on the lips and locked her arms round his ribs. Steve

pulled his mouth away, sucking in his breath sharply.

'What's the matter?" whispered Roz. 'Did I hurt you?"

The jagged pain in Steve's chest faded. 'It's okay just a little

fragile. I keep forgetting that a couple of weeks ago, I was still a

prisoner of the Mutes."

As Roz looked up at him her eyes widened and her hands flew to the

cross-shaped scars on his cheeks. 'How did that happen?"

'Someone stuck an arrow through my face."

'Christopher Columbus...?"

'It was a test. One of the ways they have of sortiing out the men from

the boys."

'Did they, uh - beat up on you a lot?"

'Not too much." Steve grinned. 'Most of the damage happened on the

way here. Don't worry. Nothing's broken. Just, uh . . bumped into a

few things."

Roz caressed the two scars then slipped her arms around his neck and

planted a soft-lipped kiss on his mouth. 'You pleased to see me?"

'Of course I am. I just hate the idea of you risking everything on

account of me."

'It's okay. Provided I don't say anything to Annie and Poppa-Jack,

there's nothing to worry about. Chisum -' 'You've gotta watch that

guy, Roz. He's crazy. And so's this."

'I don't care,' said Roz. Her arms tightened around his neck.

'Did Chisum tell you where they're sending me?"

Roz placed a hand on his lips. 'Don't talk about it. I don't want to

think about it. Not tonight, anyway."

'You're right. I don't want to think about it either."

'Chisum says you're okay. Otherwise, I mean. No deterioration in your

blood cells, no tissue or bone damage, or anything. Well, you can

imagine my reaction. I was speechless. But then he explained he

thought the reason you hadn't pulled a trick was on account of some new

drug the First Family have been developing."

'Do you believe that7'

Roz frowned. 'Are you asking me do I think he's lying, or do I think