第78节

f the wheel-boats.

They appeared on the horizon at the same time as the rising sun, a

conjunction whose significance Steve was not able to appreciate until

much later. Three specks which slowly grew into dark, squat blobs. As

they drew nearer still, the outlines became clearer. Smoke curled from

two tall, thin funnels set on either side of the square

superstructure.

Apart from the inflatable skimmer - one of the special devices used

only by AMEXICO - Steve had never seen pictures of boats or ships

before. The video-archives that could be accessed via the Public

Service Channels contained no reference to such things. The First

Family had obviously decided that, as far as ordinary Trackers were

concerned, waterborne vehicles fell into the category of extraneous

information - along with the Iron Masters, Mute magic and, well - only

COLUMBUS knew what else.

Some two-thirds of the Mutes left the lines - the name given to the

octagonal camp area - and trooped down to the shore where they milled

about in excited anticipation as the wheel-boats continued to advance

steadily towards them in arrowhead formation. A cloud of white smoke

billowed up from the lead boat then, a few seconds later, a deep

steam-powered 'vroooommm' drifted across the water. The Mutes replied

with a whooping cheer, followed by a frenetic burst of drumming.

Now that the boats were closer, Steve - who was standing on the far

left of the huge crowd - was able to see that they were propelled by

large paddle wheels mounted at the stern and driven by two huge pistons

that came out of angled housings on either side of the deck. The

superstructure was made up of three ornate galleried decks with an

extra housing fore and aft which, he guessed, served as a command

centre like the saddle on a wagon-train.

This massive pile rested on a wide, shallow-draught hull with low sides

and a sloping, blunt-nosed foredeck.

The overall colour of the boats was black, relieved with dark stained

wood and red, gold or silver trim.

Pennants, bearing strange markings fluttered from masts spaced around

the sides of the top decks. Steve glimpsed crewmen moving along the

galleries and wondered which of the three ships Clearwater was on. At

this very moment she might be scanning the shore, looking right at him

without suspecting for one moment he was there.

'Excited?"

Steve turned to find Mr Snow standing beside him with two of the M'Call

clan elders, Boston-Bruin, and Awesome-Wells. 'What do you think?"

Mr Snow looked amused. 'This is the twenty-eighth time I've made this

trip and they still send shivers down my spine."

'I can understand how you feel. I mean, we've got some pretty

spectacular stuff back in the Federation, but..." Steve gestured

towards the wheel-boats, '... whichever way you slice it, these guys

are in the big league."

The boats responded, as if on cue, sending wave upon wave of

multi-coloured rockets soaring skywards. Steve watched open-mouthed as

they exploded, throwing out cascades of stars which burst apart as they

fell, filling the sky with dazzling showers of rainbow-coloured

light.

A rumbling 'Heyy-yahhhhh' rose from throats of five thousand Mutes.

'Never fails to impress the natives,' said Mr Snow drily.

'We have rockets too,' riposted Steve. 'But they create a different

kind of impact."

'I bet..."

Steve let it pass. 'Tell me - the markings on those banners - do they

mean anything?"

'The shapes - like the flower pattern for instance - are the marks of

the various houses to which the wheel-boats belong. The Iron Masters

are a warrior people like us but instead of clans they have families.

They even have a first family."

'But not a President-General."

'No. Their great chieftain is called the Shogun."

'What about the other markings? The ones that look like animal tracks

- or dead spiders."