nice day for a while.
"I hear a lot of birds," Tura said suddenly, frowning.
Page 54 Chalker, Jack L - Vengeance of the Dancing Gods "I can't see them, but my hearing and sonar are pretty good, even up here. It seems as if they're staying directly over the ship..
He looked up and around, only now aware of it as well.
The birds were pretty high up and both overhead and a bit behind, but they were only dark shapes at this distance and under these conditions. "Do you have a telescope or something?" he asked her. "I'd like to know what kind of birds those are." He was suddenly quite tense. If those were ravens...
"Sound like eagles to me," Tura said. "Funny that they'd be around these parts..
He relaxed a bit. "That's okay. I think that they and we have a mutual friend..
In about an hour they came upon a herd of wild hippocampuses, whose horselike heads and forequarters blended into huge, mermaidlike tails. They were far larger than horses, and they looked meaner than hippopotamuses, despite colors ranging from pale blue to passionate 72 JACK L. CHALKER 73 VENGEANCE OF THE DANCING GODS pink. It didn't look as if it would take too many of them to sink the small ship, and that worried Joe.
"Oh, don't worry so much," Tura chided him. "They're peaceful vegetarians living in the shallows and feeding off bottom plants much of the time. The only problem we ever have with them is a stampede, when they'll panic and instinctively head for deep water. It mostly happens during sudden thunderstorms, and the weather's clear and sunny..
"Yeah, just the same I—.
At that moment, a tremendous explosion seemed to go off right over the herd of more than thirty of the huge creatures. There was no flash or blast or any other sign of its cause, but the tremendous boom it created was so strong it could be felt as well as heard.
The great animals panicked, launching themselves straight toward the boat in a strange mixture of gallop and smooth, almost snakelike motion. Except for the fact that they all seemed to be rushing straight for the Piebald Hippogryph, however, no two were moving exactly alike or in a predictable manner, and all were making lowpitched, grunting sounds that filled the air.
Ely had been taken as much by surprise as had the hippocampuses by the explosion, but he acted almost instantaneously, bringing the ship around hard and pointing it, it seemed for a moment, directly at the oncoming Page 55 Chalker, Jack L - Vengeance of the Dancing Gods stampede. Then the bow came around some more, and not only Ely's hands and feet but even his long tail seemed to be working one control or another. There was no time to unfurl sail and try and get past them; instead, what he appeared to do was somehow put on the brakes and stop dead in the water.
It was a long swim to shore, and Joe braced himself for the crash.
Ely had done all he could with the ship; holding the wheel and rudder fast, his tail snaked into a small locker and picked up some small objects with the skill of a tentacle.
The huge creatures were now almost upon them, and it seemed inevitable that they would strike the Hippogryph and overwhelm it, crushing at least the bow.
Ely had been smoking a long, thin cigar, and now coolly touched it to the objects he'd snaked from the locker. The tail then hurled whatever it was forward with great strength, then immediately returned to the locker for more.
A series of small, staccato explosions went off between the ship and the hippocampuses. They weren't in the same league as the great noise that had stampeded the herd, but from the viewpoint of the animals they went off right in front of them. The tail tossed another smoking bundle, and again the rat-a-tat-tat of the explosions came. Joe had hit the deck and was clinging to a rail for dear life; he felt the ship suddenly shudder and heave and knew it was all over.
There was great splashing about, water
"I hear a lot of birds," Tura said suddenly, frowning.
Page 54 Chalker, Jack L - Vengeance of the Dancing Gods "I can't see them, but my hearing and sonar are pretty good, even up here. It seems as if they're staying directly over the ship..
He looked up and around, only now aware of it as well.
The birds were pretty high up and both overhead and a bit behind, but they were only dark shapes at this distance and under these conditions. "Do you have a telescope or something?" he asked her. "I'd like to know what kind of birds those are." He was suddenly quite tense. If those were ravens...
"Sound like eagles to me," Tura said. "Funny that they'd be around these parts..
He relaxed a bit. "That's okay. I think that they and we have a mutual friend..
In about an hour they came upon a herd of wild hippocampuses, whose horselike heads and forequarters blended into huge, mermaidlike tails. They were far larger than horses, and they looked meaner than hippopotamuses, despite colors ranging from pale blue to passionate 72 JACK L. CHALKER 73 VENGEANCE OF THE DANCING GODS pink. It didn't look as if it would take too many of them to sink the small ship, and that worried Joe.
"Oh, don't worry so much," Tura chided him. "They're peaceful vegetarians living in the shallows and feeding off bottom plants much of the time. The only problem we ever have with them is a stampede, when they'll panic and instinctively head for deep water. It mostly happens during sudden thunderstorms, and the weather's clear and sunny..
"Yeah, just the same I—.
At that moment, a tremendous explosion seemed to go off right over the herd of more than thirty of the huge creatures. There was no flash or blast or any other sign of its cause, but the tremendous boom it created was so strong it could be felt as well as heard.
The great animals panicked, launching themselves straight toward the boat in a strange mixture of gallop and smooth, almost snakelike motion. Except for the fact that they all seemed to be rushing straight for the Piebald Hippogryph, however, no two were moving exactly alike or in a predictable manner, and all were making lowpitched, grunting sounds that filled the air.
Ely had been taken as much by surprise as had the hippocampuses by the explosion, but he acted almost instantaneously, bringing the ship around hard and pointing it, it seemed for a moment, directly at the oncoming Page 55 Chalker, Jack L - Vengeance of the Dancing Gods stampede. Then the bow came around some more, and not only Ely's hands and feet but even his long tail seemed to be working one control or another. There was no time to unfurl sail and try and get past them; instead, what he appeared to do was somehow put on the brakes and stop dead in the water.
It was a long swim to shore, and Joe braced himself for the crash.
Ely had done all he could with the ship; holding the wheel and rudder fast, his tail snaked into a small locker and picked up some small objects with the skill of a tentacle.
The huge creatures were now almost upon them, and it seemed inevitable that they would strike the Hippogryph and overwhelm it, crushing at least the bow.
Ely had been smoking a long, thin cigar, and now coolly touched it to the objects he'd snaked from the locker. The tail then hurled whatever it was forward with great strength, then immediately returned to the locker for more.
A series of small, staccato explosions went off between the ship and the hippocampuses. They weren't in the same league as the great noise that had stampeded the herd, but from the viewpoint of the animals they went off right in front of them. The tail tossed another smoking bundle, and again the rat-a-tat-tat of the explosions came. Joe had hit the deck and was clinging to a rail for dear life; he felt the ship suddenly shudder and heave and knew it was all over.
There was great splashing about, water
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