“All right, steady,” the beastcatcher growled. “Going to pieces isn’t going to help.” He rose from where he knelt in the wheat.
“You won’t be so self-assured once you’ve seen the farmer,” Vonones warned.
* * *
The tenant’s hut was a windowless beehive of wattle and daub, stuck up on the edge of his holdings. Huddled in the doorway, three of his children watched the strangers apathetically, numbed by the cold drizzle and their father’s death.
The farmer lay about thirty yards into the field. A scythe, its rough iron blade unstained, had fallen near the body. Blank amazement still showed in his glazed eyes. A sudden, tearing thrust of the creature’s taloned hands had eviscerated the man—totally, violently. He lay on his back in a welter of gore and entrails, naked ribs jagged through his ripped-open chest cavity.
Lycon studied the fragments of flesh strewn over the furrows. “What did you feed it in the compound?”
“The same as the other carnivores,” Vonones replied shakily. “Scrap beef and parts of any animals that happened to die. It was always hungry, and it wasn’t fussy.”
“Well, if you manage to get it back alive, you’ll know what it really likes,” Lycon said grimly. “Do you see any sign of his lungs?”
Vonones swallowed and stared at the corpse in dread. The archers held arrows to their bows and looked about nervously.
Lycon, who had been following the tracks with his eye as they crossed the gullied field, suddenly frowned. “How’s your bow strung?” he asked sharply of the nearest archer.
“With gut,” he answered, blinking.
Lycon swore in disgust. “In this rain a gut string is going to stretch like a judge’s honor! Vonones, we’ve got to have spears and bows strung with waxed horsehair before we do anything. I don’t want to be found turned inside out with a silly expression like this poor bastard!”
* * *
Lycon chose a dozen of Vonones’ men to follow the dogs with him. After that nothing happened for hours, while Vonones fumed and paced beside the wagons. At the prospect of extricating himself from his dilemma, the Armenian’s frantic fear gave way to impatience.
About mid-afternoon a battered farm cart creaked into view behind a pair of spavined mules. The driver was a stocky North Italian, whose short whip and leather armlets proclaimed him the trainer of the six huge dogs that almost filled the wagon bed. Following was a much sharper carriage packed with hunting equipment, nets as well as bows and spears.
“What took you so long, Galerius!” Vonones demanded. “I sent for you hours ago—told you to spare no expense in hiring a wagon! Damn it, man—the whole business could have been taken care of by now if you hadn’t come in this wreck!”
“Thought you’d be glad I saved you the money,” Galerius explained with dull puzzlement. “My father-in-law lets me use this rig at a special rate.”
“It doesn’t matter.” Lycon headed off the quarrel. “We had to wait for the weapons anyway. How about the dogs? Can they track in this drizzle?”
“Sure, they’re real hunting dogs—genuine Molossians,” the trainer asserted proudly. “They weren’t bred for the arena. I bought them from an old boy who used to run deer on his estate, before he offended Domitian.”
Vonones began to chew his ragged nails.
At least the pack looked fully capable of holding up its end of things, Lycon thought approvingly. The huge, brindle-coated dogs milled about the wagon bed, stiff-legged and hackles lifted at the babble of sounds and scents from Vonones’ caravan. Their flanks were lean and scarred, and their massive shoulders bespoke driving strength. Their trainer might be a slovenly yokel himself, but his hounds were excellent hunting stock and well cared for. With professional interest, Lycon wondered whether he could talk Galerius into selling the pack.
“Don’t you have horses?” the trainer asked. “Going to be tough keeping up with these on foot.”
“We’ll have to do it,” Lycon snorted. The trainer’s idea of hunting was probably limited to the arena. Well, this wasn’t just some confused animal at bay in the center of an open arena. “Look at the terrain. Horses’d be worse than useless!”