‘Kafkafka,’ he coughed.
‘Eh? What’s that? What’s the fellow saying?’ demanded Prince Bolo loudly. ‘Can’t make out a single word.’
‘What a poser , I swear ,’ Blabbermouth hissed at Haroun. ‘Our Bolo. Talking so big and rude because he thinks it’ll stop us from noticing that he’s scared out of his pants .’
Haroun wondered why Blabbermouth remained in Prince Bolo’s service when she had such a low opinion of the gentleman; but he kept his mouth shut, partly because he didn’t want her to say something cutting and scornful to him ; partly because he had started to like her a good deal, which made any opinion of hers okay with him; but mostly because there was a giant Shadow with a huge sword looming over them, and a Warrior grunting and spitting at them from a few feet away, and in short this was no time for chit-chat.
‘If, as it is said, people in the Land of Chup hardly talk at all these days, because of the Cultmaster’s decrees, then it’s not surprising that this Warrior has temporarily lost control of his voice,’ Rashid Khalifa was explaining to Prince Bolo, who was unimpressed.
‘It’s too bad,’ he said. ‘Really, why people can’t speak properly, it beats me.’
The Shadow Warrior, ignoring the Prince, made further rapid hand gestures at Rashid, and managed to croak out a few words. ‘Murder,’ it said. ‘Spocok Obi New Year.’
‘So it’s murder he plans,’ cried Bolo, putting his hand upon the hilt of his sword. ‘Well, he won’t have it all his own way, I promise him that .’
‘Bolo,’ said General Kitab, ‘Dash it all, will you be quiet? Spots and fogs! This Warrior is trying to tell us something.’
The Shadow Warrior’s hand movements became agitated and a little desperate: he twiddled his fingers into different positions, held his hands at different angles, pointed at different parts of his body, and repeated, hoarsely: ‘Murder. Murder. Spock Obi New Year.’
Rashid Khalifa smacked his forehead. ‘I’ve got it,’ he exclaimed. ‘What a fool I am. He’s been talking to us fluently all the time.’
‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ Prince Bolo put in. ‘You call those grunts fluency ?’
‘It’s the hand movements,’ Rashid answered, showing considerable restraint at Bolo’s burblings. ‘He has been using the Language of Gesture. As for what he said, it wasn’t “murder”, but Mudra . That’s his name. He’s been trying to introduce himself! Mudra . Speak Abhinaya . That’s what he’s been saying. “Abhinaya” is the name of the most ancient Gesture Language of all, which it just so happens I know.’
Mudra and his Shadow instantly began nodding furiously. Now the Shadow sheathed its sword, too, and began to use Gesture Language as rapidly as Mudra himself, so that Rashid was obliged to plead, ‘Hang on. One at a time, please. And slowly; I haven’t done this for a long time, and you’re going too fast for me.’
After a few moments of ‘listening’ to the hands of Mudra and his Shadow, Rashid turned to General Kitab and Prince Bolo with a smile. ‘Nothing to worry about,’ he said. ‘Mudra is a friend. Also, this is a lucky meeting—for we have here none other than the Champion Warrior of Chup, considered by most Chupwalas to be second in authority only to Cultmaster Khattam-Shud himself.’
‘If he’s Khattam-Shud’s number two man,’ Prince Bolo exclaimed, ‘then we really are in luck. Let’s seize him and put him in chains and tell the Cultmaster we’ll only release him if we get Batcheat back safe and sound.’
‘And how do you propose to capture him?’ General Kitab mildly asked. ‘I do not think he wishes to be captured, you know. Harrumph.’
‘Please listen,’ Rashid urged. ‘Mudra is no longer an ally of the Cultmaster’s. He has become disgusted with the growing cruelty and fanaticism of the Cult of the tongueless ice-idol Bezaban, and has broken off relations with Khattam-Shud. He came here, to
‘Eh? What’s that? What’s the fellow saying?’ demanded Prince Bolo loudly. ‘Can’t make out a single word.’
‘What a poser , I swear ,’ Blabbermouth hissed at Haroun. ‘Our Bolo. Talking so big and rude because he thinks it’ll stop us from noticing that he’s scared out of his pants .’
Haroun wondered why Blabbermouth remained in Prince Bolo’s service when she had such a low opinion of the gentleman; but he kept his mouth shut, partly because he didn’t want her to say something cutting and scornful to him ; partly because he had started to like her a good deal, which made any opinion of hers okay with him; but mostly because there was a giant Shadow with a huge sword looming over them, and a Warrior grunting and spitting at them from a few feet away, and in short this was no time for chit-chat.
‘If, as it is said, people in the Land of Chup hardly talk at all these days, because of the Cultmaster’s decrees, then it’s not surprising that this Warrior has temporarily lost control of his voice,’ Rashid Khalifa was explaining to Prince Bolo, who was unimpressed.
‘It’s too bad,’ he said. ‘Really, why people can’t speak properly, it beats me.’
The Shadow Warrior, ignoring the Prince, made further rapid hand gestures at Rashid, and managed to croak out a few words. ‘Murder,’ it said. ‘Spocok Obi New Year.’
‘So it’s murder he plans,’ cried Bolo, putting his hand upon the hilt of his sword. ‘Well, he won’t have it all his own way, I promise him that .’
‘Bolo,’ said General Kitab, ‘Dash it all, will you be quiet? Spots and fogs! This Warrior is trying to tell us something.’
The Shadow Warrior’s hand movements became agitated and a little desperate: he twiddled his fingers into different positions, held his hands at different angles, pointed at different parts of his body, and repeated, hoarsely: ‘Murder. Murder. Spock Obi New Year.’
Rashid Khalifa smacked his forehead. ‘I’ve got it,’ he exclaimed. ‘What a fool I am. He’s been talking to us fluently all the time.’
‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ Prince Bolo put in. ‘You call those grunts fluency ?’
‘It’s the hand movements,’ Rashid answered, showing considerable restraint at Bolo’s burblings. ‘He has been using the Language of Gesture. As for what he said, it wasn’t “murder”, but Mudra . That’s his name. He’s been trying to introduce himself! Mudra . Speak Abhinaya . That’s what he’s been saying. “Abhinaya” is the name of the most ancient Gesture Language of all, which it just so happens I know.’
Mudra and his Shadow instantly began nodding furiously. Now the Shadow sheathed its sword, too, and began to use Gesture Language as rapidly as Mudra himself, so that Rashid was obliged to plead, ‘Hang on. One at a time, please. And slowly; I haven’t done this for a long time, and you’re going too fast for me.’
After a few moments of ‘listening’ to the hands of Mudra and his Shadow, Rashid turned to General Kitab and Prince Bolo with a smile. ‘Nothing to worry about,’ he said. ‘Mudra is a friend. Also, this is a lucky meeting—for we have here none other than the Champion Warrior of Chup, considered by most Chupwalas to be second in authority only to Cultmaster Khattam-Shud himself.’
‘If he’s Khattam-Shud’s number two man,’ Prince Bolo exclaimed, ‘then we really are in luck. Let’s seize him and put him in chains and tell the Cultmaster we’ll only release him if we get Batcheat back safe and sound.’
‘And how do you propose to capture him?’ General Kitab mildly asked. ‘I do not think he wishes to be captured, you know. Harrumph.’
‘Please listen,’ Rashid urged. ‘Mudra is no longer an ally of the Cultmaster’s. He has become disgusted with the growing cruelty and fanaticism of the Cult of the tongueless ice-idol Bezaban, and has broken off relations with Khattam-Shud. He came here, to
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