the Hairy Men from the Stars!”
“Wha . . . what?” said Benoni.
The Usspika sat down again, and, after ceasing to breathe so hard, regained some of his composure and said, “You do not know what I am talking about?”
“No,” said Benoni.
The old man looked thoughtful but did not offer to explain. The Pwez, whose face had lit up at Benoni’s description of the metal building but who had maintained more self-control, said, “We will discuss that later. Not that we are not interested but that we must take one thing at a time.
“Now, my honored uncle may have given you the impression that both of you Fiiniks would be sent as bearers of our offer. But he did not mean to give that impression, I am sure.”
Benoni saw the Usspika’s eyes flick in her direction, and he was sure that the old man had meant to give that impression. But the Pwez did not want them to think this nor to know that she was over-ruling her uncle. That the Usspika did not object showed Benoni that she was the ruler, although a woman and young. It also showed him that she probably depended upon his wisdom and counsel and did not wish to offend him by blatantly acting in an autocratic manner. Nevertheless, when she made a decision, she would follow it through.
“One of you is lying,” she said. “One of you is vicious, untrustworthy. We would not want to send such a man to act for us, for we could only expect him to betray us the first chance he got to better himself by so doing. Therefore, we must determine who is telling the truth and who is lying. The liar will be killed, for he has dared to lie to the Pwez, which is the same thing as lying to the people of Kaywo and the god of Kaywo.”
She paused, and Benoni felt the sudden sweat trickling from under his armpits and down his ribs. He had seen enough of the customs of this nation to know that even proving one’s innocence might be very painful. Besides, how could either he or Joel prove or disprove anything? There were no witnesses to Joel’s treachery.
The Usspika spoke. “If my beloved niece and revered superior will hear an old man, in private, she may learn within a short time how to determine which is guilty. And it will not be necessary to go through a long and perhaps fruitless attempt to wrest the truth from these two. They both look tough and as hard as the skin on the soles of their feet. They might die, and we would be left without a guide. Even if one survived, he might so hate us, because of the ordeal, that we could never trust him. No, if I may be forgiven for interceding, I can clear this up within a short time.”
“Since I was a little girl, I have listened to my uncle,” said Lezpet. “I am not offended.”
She spoke to the three standing before her. “You may go to apartments that have been prepared for you, for we expected that you would accept.”
We would be fools if we had not, thought Benoni. Probably dead fools.
“You will be taken care of there. I imagine,” she said, smiling briefly, “that you are hungry after your prison fare. Tomorrow, we begin an intensive training. Within two weeks you should know enough to speak for us. That is,” she added, “two of you will be our guests. One of you will not be concerned with our affairs. Or, indeed, your own.”
Benoni began to sweat even more. He knew that she, like most of her people, was cruel. Far better to have gotten the suspense over with inside a few minutes, as the Usspika had said it could be, than be tortured with uncertainty all night. And she could speak so calmly of the possibility of taking his life. He could not imagine Debra, soft and oh, so kind Debra, speaking in such a manner.
A few minutes later, Benoni and Zhem were inside the suite of rooms that would be—for one of them, at least—permanent quarters for the next two weeks. Joel was taken to another suite, the one next door to theirs. Apparently, the Pwez or whoever had ordered their domiciling had decided that the wisest
“Wha . . . what?” said Benoni.
The Usspika sat down again, and, after ceasing to breathe so hard, regained some of his composure and said, “You do not know what I am talking about?”
“No,” said Benoni.
The old man looked thoughtful but did not offer to explain. The Pwez, whose face had lit up at Benoni’s description of the metal building but who had maintained more self-control, said, “We will discuss that later. Not that we are not interested but that we must take one thing at a time.
“Now, my honored uncle may have given you the impression that both of you Fiiniks would be sent as bearers of our offer. But he did not mean to give that impression, I am sure.”
Benoni saw the Usspika’s eyes flick in her direction, and he was sure that the old man had meant to give that impression. But the Pwez did not want them to think this nor to know that she was over-ruling her uncle. That the Usspika did not object showed Benoni that she was the ruler, although a woman and young. It also showed him that she probably depended upon his wisdom and counsel and did not wish to offend him by blatantly acting in an autocratic manner. Nevertheless, when she made a decision, she would follow it through.
“One of you is lying,” she said. “One of you is vicious, untrustworthy. We would not want to send such a man to act for us, for we could only expect him to betray us the first chance he got to better himself by so doing. Therefore, we must determine who is telling the truth and who is lying. The liar will be killed, for he has dared to lie to the Pwez, which is the same thing as lying to the people of Kaywo and the god of Kaywo.”
She paused, and Benoni felt the sudden sweat trickling from under his armpits and down his ribs. He had seen enough of the customs of this nation to know that even proving one’s innocence might be very painful. Besides, how could either he or Joel prove or disprove anything? There were no witnesses to Joel’s treachery.
The Usspika spoke. “If my beloved niece and revered superior will hear an old man, in private, she may learn within a short time how to determine which is guilty. And it will not be necessary to go through a long and perhaps fruitless attempt to wrest the truth from these two. They both look tough and as hard as the skin on the soles of their feet. They might die, and we would be left without a guide. Even if one survived, he might so hate us, because of the ordeal, that we could never trust him. No, if I may be forgiven for interceding, I can clear this up within a short time.”
“Since I was a little girl, I have listened to my uncle,” said Lezpet. “I am not offended.”
She spoke to the three standing before her. “You may go to apartments that have been prepared for you, for we expected that you would accept.”
We would be fools if we had not, thought Benoni. Probably dead fools.
“You will be taken care of there. I imagine,” she said, smiling briefly, “that you are hungry after your prison fare. Tomorrow, we begin an intensive training. Within two weeks you should know enough to speak for us. That is,” she added, “two of you will be our guests. One of you will not be concerned with our affairs. Or, indeed, your own.”
Benoni began to sweat even more. He knew that she, like most of her people, was cruel. Far better to have gotten the suspense over with inside a few minutes, as the Usspika had said it could be, than be tortured with uncertainty all night. And she could speak so calmly of the possibility of taking his life. He could not imagine Debra, soft and oh, so kind Debra, speaking in such a manner.
A few minutes later, Benoni and Zhem were inside the suite of rooms that would be—for one of them, at least—permanent quarters for the next two weeks. Joel was taken to another suite, the one next door to theirs. Apparently, the Pwez or whoever had ordered their domiciling had decided that the wisest
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