He stood looking down the tunnel. However, the fronds still pointed at me, and his upper hands hovered over laser butts.
It was clear from the attitude of the X-Tee that this second ship was not expected. Therefore – who? The Patrol? Or some innocent scout or trader arriving just at the wrong time? That the new arrival was about to walk into a trap, I did not doubt.
The thunder of the planeting died away. Now I could not feel or hear the vibration caused by the workers in the other tunnel.
“What is it?” I dared to ask my guard.
His attentive fronds twitched, but he did not turn his head. Only now the lasers were drawn as if he were prepared to repel an invasion.
We continued to wait. I tried other questions until the wave of a weapon in my direction silenced me. Then there was a tramp of feet in the passage and a voice raised in a hail. My guard restored one laser to its holster, held the other ready.
Three of them came in, human crewmen. They carried a struggling bundle which they dumped without ceremony and with extra roughness on the floor. Once in port I had seen a crewman, drunk on the maddening lorthdrip, subdued by a police tangle gun. And now I looked upon a captive completely enmeshed in the same fashion. Among the coils of gummy rope I caught sight of the black tunic known across space. They had bagged a Patrolman, and securely.
THIRTEEN
He had sense enough to cease struggling as he was dropped, so that his bonds did not tighten. Luckily none had crossed his face or throat. But his captors were so sure of him they walked away, leaving the two of us to the X-Tee. He surveyed the Patrolman, no expression on his face. Then he returned to his stool.
The Patrolman’s eyes were open and, I judged, he was busy examining his prison and its occupants. He stared a long time at me. The ordeal of questioning under the probe, though sleep had followed, had left me weak. And not only weak, but caught in a curious lethargy, disinclined to action. I could foresee that at any moment the X-Tee might turn a laser on me. But I was no longer afraid.
After a while one of the human crewmen came in, pitched in my general direction another tube of E-ration. Though I felt hunger stir in me when I saw it, a strong effort of will was required to put out my hand, shift my body to reach it. And I held it in my shaking fingers for some time before I could summon the energy to suck at its contents.
With the flow of food into my mouth, that dreamy, half-awake state broke, and I aroused enough to know that this was no nightmare but grim and threatening reality. The entangled Patrolman lay where they had dropped him, watching me. I had sucked about half the tube before I realized they had left nothing for him. Nor could he feed himself. I started to crawl to where he lay.
“Naw-“ It was not good Basic, no more than a guttural bark. A laser appeared in our guard’s hand, his intent of using it plain. I halted. He waved me back.
“Staaay-tharrr-“
I stayed. But I did not finish the tube. It would appear that our guard was determined to keep his two charges well apart.
Now I returned the Patrolman’s stare. He was immobile in the net casing. Had he landed here alone, as a scout? Or did he have companions who would come seeking him? I would have given a great deal at that moment to be able to communicate with him as I had with Eet.
It could well be that I was a latent esper, and my talent – though limited – had been so aroused by Eet that I could at least make my fellow prisoner aware I was striving to contact him. So I put most of my energy into a beamed call.
What followed was so great a surprise that I betrayed my astonishment and had to dissemble quickly by throwing both hands to my head as if struck by a sudden pain – though how good a cover that could be I did not know. The X-Tee was on his feet, his feather fronds sweeping swiftly back and forth.
I had been answered. Not by the man who lay across the cavern – but by Eet! And as quickly as that touch of recognition had come, it was gone – a single flash of light across the dark of a moonless night.
The X-Tee advanced to the center of the working, his fronds still swinging, as if those antennae could pick up our communication. And the Patrolman looked from one of us to the other, inquiry plain on his face.
There was nothing more, and I could guess the reason for Eet’s caution. If the X-Tee had been able to sense that touch, then mind speech was to be avoided. But the very fact the mutant was alive was almost as good as if someone had dropped a laser into my reach.
I continued to play a part, huddling together, my hands to my head. The guard halted by me and kicked out, the metal-enforced tip of his boot landing painfully against my shin.
“Whaaat-do-you-?” His guttural mouthing of Basic was hard to understand.
“Pain- in my head- hurts-“
“Mind-talk-you-“ He did not make that a question.
I felt then a kind of clumsy, fumbling thought approach which was only a feeble pushing, bearing no relation to Eet’s. It was easy to withstand such a probe. The X-Tee must have esper powers to a degree, but perhaps they worked better among his own kind. At any rate he got nothing from me.
Now he begin a crisscross search of the cavern, his fronds ever in motion. That they were highly astute sense organs, I did not doubt. But whether they could nose out Eet I did not know.
My confidence arose as I saw that the uneasiness of the X-Tee did not abate, but rather grew. Had he been able to get a quick line on Eet, he would not have continued to prowl but would have gone into action.
Where was Eet? I had no idea from which direction that flash of recognition had come. But that he was alive-! Now I hoped furiously that they would not question me again. But if the guard continued to be suspicious perhaps they would.
He stood close to the Patrolman now, his fronds still seeking. Slowly he turned, then put his head back and looked up at the dim expanse overhead. Eet – was Eet up there somewhere?
Clearly the X-Tee’s attention was now riveted and I could only believe that he had a line on the esper tie. But how could he? Eet had been quiet.
The laser swung up, pointed at a spot almost directly above the guard. There were hollows in plenty there, and they might hide anything. A mass of crystals larger than my head was visible. He fired-
A flash of light blinded me. I had reason enough to cry out and cover my eyes now. I heard a gasping which could have come from either the Patrolman or the guard. A thud – and a rattling-
To be blind was horror at that moment. I feared to move, sure that ray was bringing down the rocks over us, to bury us alive. When that did not follow, I tried vainly to see through a blood-red fog.
“Are you dead?” That demand which penetrated my dark was no call from Eet, nor was it the bark of our guard. Basic in human voice – it could only come from the Patrolman.
“Where are you?” I asked, groping out with one hand.
“Ahead, a little to your right!” he answered swiftly.
“You must have been looking up as he fired-“
“What happened?” I did not try to get to my feet, but crawled forward on hands and knees, sweeping now and then a hand before me.
“He beamed straight up. Brought down a hunk of crystal on his head. Look out, he is right before you now-“
But my hands had already encountered the body. I made myself examine it by touch, locate one of the lasers. And all the time I feared I was blind.
I edged around the body and crawled on until one of my hands touched the Patrolman. To burn off his bonds was a job demanding good sight, and I could not do it blind.
“Wait!”
I settled back on my heels, a surge of relief breaking like a high tide in me. “Eet!”
He came out of nowhere as far as I was concerned. I felt the pat of his hand-paws on mine and I released the laser into his hold. I guessed that he was quick and efficient about freeing the Patrolman. For it was only moments later that a human hand fell on my shoulder, drawing me up to my feet. I wavered there, almost as I had when I had played the role of plague wanderer for the Captain. Eet climbed me as if I were a tree and his weight once again ringed my shoulders. I felt the tickle of his whiskers against my cheek.