By this time all the slave girls were sexually engaged, Hero haunches bobbing everywhere Macurdy looked. He took a deep quavering breath, walked to the narrow rear exit and left. No one would notice, he felt sure.
Outside, he ran off down the road, through the dusk, determined to run himself exhausted before he came back.
The next morning, Macurdy was lame. He’d alternately run and walked three or four miles the night before, and unaccustomed to it, was sore from buttocks to calves. “What’s the matter with you?” the sergeant asked.
All around them were men hung over, or sleeping off exhaustion. “I’m sore,” Macurdy answered.
Zassfel scowled. “Someone said you turned Melody down last night, then left. You never screwed anyone at all, did you.”
His aura was hostile. To Macurdy’s surprise, he found himself feeling better. Hostility was something he could deal with. “You don’t know what I did,” he said, “or what I can do.”
Zassfel’s eyes sharpened. “Is that some kind of threat?”
“I don’t threaten anyone. Least of all the platoon sergeant.”
“Don’t play games with me, Macurdy. I can ruin you. Any kind of ruin you can think of.”
“Sergeant, I’m the best new man you’ve got, and by the time the leaves turn, I’ll be the best new or old. There’s no need to get on me.”
Zassfel’s face froze in a grimace, and his hand moved as if to the hilt of the sword he wasn’t wearing at the moment. “You son of a bitch,” he growled softly. “You better be careful. Real careful.”
Macurdy nodded pleasantly. Later he’d be astonished that he’d felt no fear, no upset or anger. “Just remember who went up the tree yesterday,” he said, “and how it worked out.”
Then he walked outside and sat in the sun, to occupy himself with a dream of rescuing Varia.
The week went well enough. Mostly Zassfel ignored him, as if he’d forgotten about it, but whenever his glance passed over Macurdy, Macurdy could literally feel it, and see the anger in the sergeant’s aura. Not until Six-Day before supper, though, was anything said. Then Zassfel walked over to him.
“Macurdy,” he murmured, “tonight we’ll see whether you’re a man or a pansy. Don’t leave the longhouse unless I say so, or I’ll put you on punishment. Bad punishment.”
Macurdy nodded without speaking, wishing the uncanny calm of the previous Seven-Day would come back to him. As it was he ate his supper, but his stomach churned.
Afterward the men sat around, waiting for the slave girls, some of them telling what they were going to do. To Macurdy, they sounded like a couple of eighth graders he’d known in the one-room Oak Creek school. Then Zassfel stepped into the middle of the floor and called for quiet.
“Men,” he said, “we’ve got a pansy among us, someone who’s been here four weeks now and hasn’t humped a single girl, let alone half a dozen a night like a real Hero. So tonight we’re going to test him. When the girls come, I’m going to set Maira on him. He turned her down once; she told me so. If he can satisfy her . . .” His pause was met by knowing laughs. “If he can satisfy Maira, we’ll keep him around. Otherwise, the slave bastard goes back to the potato field.
“So when the girls come in, nobody grabs one. Nobody.” He looked around. “That includes you, Margli. I’m going to take Maira to Macurdy, and he’s going to hump her on this table in front of all of us.” He grinned at his victim. “We’ll see how he does. The rule is, he has to satisfy her. My bet is, he won’t even be able to get it up.”
When Zassfel identified his victim, the laughter stopped. Macurdy was liked—admired—especially since his climb up the tree. Now his pulse pounded like a triphammer, while his guts kept churning. A long few minutes later, the watchers outside the door began their cheer, answered at a little distance by female voices.
Macurdy became aware of Jeremid behind him. “Ride her rough, Macurdy,” the corporal whispered. “Really bang her! It’s your only chance; Maira likes it rough. And whisper to her that you’ll sneak out and go to her during the week. Maybe she’ll fake it for you. Usually she humps one guy after another. Long after everyone’s had enough, she’s pawing guys in their sleep, trying to get a rise out of one.”