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"The hell with all that," said Mohan languidly. "Why don't we just take it easy and wait for
something to happen? Sooner or later, something is bound to happen. The chaps who brought us here are
going to get tired of just supplying our groceries. Sooner or later, they will want a return on investment."
"That is the thought that troubles me," retorted Russell. "As a decadent western
pseudo-intellectual," he grinned at Anna, "I am all for comfort and security. But, at the same time, I would
like if possible to find out what the whole thing is about before somebody decides it's time to switch the
programme."
"What if there's nothing beyond the mist barrier but more bloody grassland and forest and hills
stretching into the far distance?"
"Even that information would be useful."
"What if one or more of us gets hurt or killed trying to breakout?"
Russell shrugged. "That is a risk we have to take. I wouldn't want such an expedition to consist of
more than two people me being one."
Mohan smiled and poured himself another drink. "Your trouble, Russell, is that you are a bloody
hero. The archetypal Englishman thin red line vintage."
"My trouble," said Russell, "is that, like the Elephant's Child, I have an insatiable curiosity."
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
during the next few weeks, several interesting and some frightening things happened. Ever
since he had suggested the aim of ultimately passing through the mist barrier to explore the world outside,
Russell noticed that the morale of his thirteen companions had improved perceptibly. Up till that time, they
had felt helpless in a situation that they could neither understand nor do anything about. But now they had a
purpose a real, if limited, objective. It was enough to dispel the insidious mental lassitude that had
imperceptibly sapped their energies and their will power.
One of the small but ultimately important things that happened was that one of the British students,
Janice Blake, managed to rear some chickens. She had been brought up on a small East Anglian poultry
farm, and she was very home-sick. It occurred to her one day that some of the eggs that were nocturnally
delivered to the supermarket by the indefatigable metal spiders might possibly be fertile. So she made a
straw box and rigged a low power electric light bulb, wrapped in some discarded clothing, to provide the
heat normally supplied by a broody hen. She kept the box of straw and the simple heating appliance in one
of the spare rooms of the Erewhon Hilton. Each morning, she added two eggs to the clutch, each pair of
eggs taken from a different batch at the supermarket. On the twenty-third day of her experi-ment, she was
rewarded by a chicken hatching. Another came out on the thirty-fourth day, and two more on the fortieth
day. One of the chickens later revealed itself as a cock, and in the end, Janice's experiment yielded some
very useful and rewarding results.
Meanwhile, Robert Hyman had appointed himself official weapon maker. He had already equipped
the men with long bows; but archery was clearly not a common talent. Apart from Robert himself, no one
could use the long bow with any degree of accuracy. So he designed a simple crossbow or arbalest that
used a short but heavy bolt. He made the cross-bow so that it could be used also with some effect by the
women, and when he had found the best balance between power and ease of use, he put the crossbow into
mass production. He spent most of his days in one of the small workshops beside the hotel, turning out a
dozen crossbows and a large number of bolts. In the evenings, just before dinner, the group would indulge in
target practice under his instruction. After a time, even the women were able to hit a target the size of a
man at thirty paces.
When he had satisfied himself that the crossbows and bolts could be used effectively by everybody,
Robert began work on a more ambitious project. He began to design a large but portable ballista. He had
talked the matter over with Russell. Crossbows, hatchets and knives were fine as weapons for personal
combat or protection; but an occasion might arise if, for example, there were some serious difference of
opinion with the occupants of Keep Marur where a long-range engine of destruction was required. The
ballista that Robert was proposing to build could be handled and trans-ported by three men, and should be
able to hurl a ten pound missile about half a kilometre. In short, it could be used against a large target that
was well out of bowshot range.
Recalling his visit to Keep Marur, Russell was confident that the Gren Li people only had light
personal weapons. Regarding the ballista as a form of insurance, he was therefore much in favour of a
weapon that could give some strategic advantage. Although he hoped that the friendship and the bond that
existed between himself and Absu mes Marur would prevent any serious clash, he was not so naive as to
rely on it entirely. Besides, something might happen to Absu; and his successor might not feel bound to
honour the friendship. The Gren Li people were environmentally con-ditioned to be fierce and warlike. If it
came to a clash involv-ing close range weapons, they would very soon make short work of the terrestrials.
So the ballista began to take shape.
While this project was under way, John Howard made an important discovery. He found, quite by
accident, a large patch of ground that was naturally rich in saltpetre. By the slow and arduous process of
getting it out of the soil and into a solution and then crystallizing it out of the solution he managed, during the
course of several days of digging and separating, to produce about five kilogrammes of fairly pure saltpetre.
Access to sulphur was easy. It was in the super-market for medicinal purposes. All he now needed was
char-coal, and that could be obtained by heating wood in an enclosed container.
His first gunpowder mixture was too coarse, and only fizzled. But when Mary had ground the
charcoal and the sulphur to a very fine powder oddly, this was the hardest part of the entire
business John produced a gunpowder that was very potent indeed. With such gunpowder, it would be
possible to make simple grenades. And grenades, like the ballista, were another piece of insurance.
Warlike activities did not, however, predominate. Cau-tious and systematic exploration was
undertaken, particularly towards the south and the territory of the People of the River. Russell did not think
that the time was yet ripe for a con-frontation with such primitive people. He thought it probable that they
would fight first and ask questions after-wards, as it were. So he wanted to be sure that the terrestrials
could deal with any aggression before he risked holding out the hand of friendship.
But this did not preclude observation. And although the People of the River would undoubtedly be
stronger on forest lore therefore dangerous in wooded country if the ter-restrial observers kept as much
as possible to open ground and made good use of their binoculars, the risk of a surprise encounter should
not be too high. Paul and Marion Redman, Andrew Payne and Selene Bergere trained together and formed
themselves into a semi-permanent exploration force. Both Paul and Andrew became reasonably good shots
with the crossbow; and Selene, who was not very good with mechanical or even semi-mechanical things,
devised her own weapon. It was a derivation of the South American bolas two large stones joined
together by a metre of cord. Selene learned to swing and fling with surprising accuracy, so that she could
bring a running man down at distances of up to forty metres. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]