第41节

of the She-Kargo and their blood-brothers have survived but

everything else has gone. The D'Troit, C'Natti and San'Louis, the

wheel-boats, the trading post ?. . all have been swept away." He

paused but there was no response. Awesome looked up at those around

him then sought the answer to one last question. 'Tell us, Old One was

this the Great Dying the Sky Voices spoke of so long ago?"

'Part... of it, yes. Talisman has. has cut. the poisoned . . .

branches from . . . the . . . tree that is the ... P!ainfolk. We who

... have. been chosen must. must make sure. they never.

grow...

again."

'He did more than cut the poisoned branches!" cried Boston-Bruin. His

voice was harsh with anger and grief.

'The She-Kargo, M'Waukee and San'Paul will never be able to count their

dead! We alone have lost close to half our clanfolk! If, as you say,

we're supposed to be Talisman's chosen people why did he not spare all

of us?!" Mr Snow closed his eyes. 'Ahhh, Boston... Boston,' he

whispered. 'Why must you. always. ask questions to which there.

is... no... answer?"

CHAPTER SEVEN

Two days later, when Steve, Night-Fever and the band of M'Call Bears

came in sight of Lake Superior, the water carried inland by the tidal

wave had not yet drained from the dips and hollows in the terrain.

Ranging in size from large puddles to miniature lakes, the farthest

pools were up to seven miles from the fatal shore. Bodies and debris

littered the entire triangle of land enclosed by the estuary of the St

Louis River but the eye was drawn to the shattered remains of the five

wheel-boats which rose out of the waterlogged grass like the

dismembered carcasses of beached whales.

Moving mechanically through this sombre landscape were groups of

scavengers; the numbed survivors of the She-Kargo, M'Waukee and

San'Paul. It was clear there had been a major catastrophe with massive

loss of life, and to judge from what was left of the wheel-boats, the

Iron Master trading expedition had been virtually wiped out.

Steve dismounted and used a length of cord to fasten the front and rear

left leg of his horse together. This allowed the animal to walk and

graze freely but stopped it from straying too far. Until they found

out what had happened and who had won, it would have been unwise to

proceed further on horseback. It could raise questions that might

prove difficult to answer - especially if they were posed by a bunch of

bellicose nips facing a long walk home.

Leaving Night-Fever to guard the roped horse against jackals and other

predators, Steve's party made their way down the slope and met up with

a small group of She-Kargo Mutes. They were from the Clan M'Kormik, a

close neighbour of the M'Call's. All of them looked pale and

subdued.

Cat-Ballou, the leader of Steve's escort, exchanged formal greetings

then, in hushed tones, asked what had caused such devastation.

For a moment none of the M'Kormik warriors replied then, one by one,

beginning with a Bear called First-Blood, they took turns to describe

what had happened with a kind of dazed weariness. There was none of

the elation which, as victors, they might have been expected to

display. Mutes were no strangers to pain or sudden death but the tidal

wave had claimed nearly two hundred thousand lives. No one had

witnessed destruction on this scale since the legendary War of a

Thousand Suns.

Rough-Cut, the last to speak, concluded the harrowing tale with a

sweeping gesture that took in the empty shoreline which, as Steve

suddenly realized, had lost its familiar landmark.

'Even the trading post has gone! Torn from the ground and snapped in

two by the wrath of Talisman."

'Oyy-yehhh!" groaned the M'Call Bears.

'And the Iron Masters?" enquired Steve.

Rough-Cut's face darkened. 'We have killed all those in which a breath

of life lingered."

'And the treacherous dogs from the bloodline of the D'Troit have

suffered the same fate,' added First-Blood.

'But all those from the C'Natti and San'Louis who could still walk were

sent away unharmed."

Steve frowned. 'I thought they were in this together."

'They were,' replied First-Blood, 'But our elders said they should be

allowed to go free to bear witness to the fate reserved for those who

deny Talisman and seek to divide the Plainfolk!" 'And what of our