第97节

it away with the flask in the cupboard.

Loosening a panel in the timbered wall behind his bulk, he slid it to

one side, stuck the whole of his left arm in through the hole and

pulled out Steve's combat knife and quarterstaff. Steve strapped the

knife back onto his left forearm, covering it with the strip of

cloth.

'That's, uhh - my spare knife you've got there,' said Side-Winder.

'You'll probably find it more useful than the one you came on board

with."

'Thanks. But if I call, who's going to hear me?"

'I'm sure somebody will. The Family always keep one ear close to the

ground." Side-Winder led the way up onto the main through-deck and

opened a small hatch on the port side. Beyond was a wide expanse of

river.

'You'll have to swim for it. The wharf's crawling with dinks. The

other two boats are moored ahead of us. Let the current take you

down-stream until you're well clear of the dock then make your way

ashore."

'Okay." Steve crouched down by the hatch. 'One last question. When

you were unloading, did you happen to see a female renegade - medium

height, dark hair, with a big slab of pink scar tissue down one side of

her face and neck?"

Side-Winder cast his mind back. 'Yeah, as a matter of fact I did.

Funny thing ... they usually march the renegades straight off to the

mines but this time they lined 'em all up and asked if any of 'em were

wing-men.

' Steve's interest quickened. 'And...?"

'Two guys stepped forward. She was one of 'em."

'Did the other guy have red hair?"

'Yeah, he did."

Jodi Kazan and Dave Kelso . . . 'What happened to them?"

'.They were taken away by Yama-Shita's people.

Which could mean they're headed across the river and down the east

road. It cuts through the Allegheny mountains to the coastal plain

beyond."

'Did anybody say anything - like where they might be going, for

instance?"

'Nope. At least no specific place name that meant anything to me."

Side-Winder made an effort to recall what he had overheard. 'Wait a

minute, I did hear one of the dinks mention something about "the Heron

Pool"."

'What's a heron?"

'It's a bird, compadre."

'How do you say "Heron Pool" in Japanese?"

Side-Winder told him. 'I can't show you what the sign looks like

because I've got nothing on me to write with and even if I had it's too

lugging dark to see anything."

'That's okay." Steve grasped the mexican's hand and shook it warmly.

'Thanks. You've been terrific." He pointed across the river. 'The

east road is thataway right?"

'Yeah. You'll see the landing stage for the ferry about half a mile

down river. If I were you I'd keep well clear of the road between

sun-up and sunset. Especially over the next few days. Yama-Shita and

his crowd are due to travel that way tomorrow. There's going to be a

lot of people gathering at the road-side to pay their respects as he

goes through."

'Will you be staying here?"

The? No. These boats carry shipments all over the place."

'In that case, I may see you again sometime."

'Maybe . . ." Side-Winder uncoiled a length of rope and lowered it

over the side.

Steve slung the quarterstaff across his back and slid down into the

water. As soon as he let go of the rope, Side-Winder pulled it back in

and shut the hatch. Steve struck out for the far bank and came ashore

near a clump of trees that reached down almost to the water's edge.

Unrolling his walking skins he dressed quickly and took stock of his

surroundings. Beyond the trees was a large patch of newly cultivated

ground divided into neat squares. Keeping to the paths separating the

square plots, Steve worked his way round towards the landing stage and

took cover behind a cluster of wooden shacks with lighted windows. A

small knot of people stood by the roadside where it slope