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.His sandals, along with his gifts, weresafely he hoped sealed in the oilskin bag, shortly to be joined by his kirtle.If none of the Antillides family saw his arrival, he would have to anchor theskiff until he could get some help beaching it, and he would no more think ofarriving at a neighbor's empty-handed than he would of spitting in theirshadow or failing to belch loudly at the end of a meal.Niko was a simplefisherman, but Father and Grandfather had raised him to understand simplecourtesy, even though it had taken a clout or two.He was so busy coming about to swing wide of the rock spit that spiked out ofthe north side of the island jibing would have been quicker and easier, yes,but a jibe in a heavy wind could capsize the skiff, and was harder on the boomrigging that the ship seemed to appear in front of him.His jaw dropped.He had always thought of theKalends as large and certainly it was not only larger than any of the otherregular trading ships that called on them, and larger than most of the shipshe had seen in his rare trips to Pironesia but this ship could almost havecarried it as a launch, and the launch being raised by a dozen seamen wasitself easily twice the size of Niko's skiff.The ship was a long and sleek monster, two-masted, with rigging for probably afull dozen sails, although none were flying as it lay at anchor, of course.Niko could count easily a dozen men on the deck, besides those working thepulleys and ropes to raise the launch.The black flag of the Crown, Shield, and Dragon fluttered atop the foremast;and below it, the red-and-gold pennant of the Royal Navy, and below that agolden cross on a white field, representing the One True Church, and, finally,a blue and white one that Niko couldn't identify.The deck was crowded with half a dozen ballistae, and large traps in the sideof the hull more promised than suggested that there were catapults below; Nikodidn't need to see the flags to know that it was a ship of war, not of trade."Ahoy the skiff! Drop your sails!" the watchman shouted in trading-languagefrom the raised rear deck."This is theWellesley what ship are you?"I'm not a ship I'm just a fisherman on a skiff didn't seem to be a goodanswer.The Navy wasn't known for having a sense of humor or brookingdisobedience, so he let the boom swing free, and quickly dropped the sail."Niko Christofolous," he called back, using the family name that the TriuneChurch had given the family, and the One God Church had left alone."The skiffdoesn't have a name it's bad luck to name a skiff." He was surprised that theoutlander didn't know that, although he shouldn't have been; outlanders werenotoriously ignorant."I'm a fisherman."The wind and the current kept carrying him closer to the man-of-war, and hestarted to reach for the gaff before he decided that that might be seen as achallenge, and you didn't challenge the Crown, so he made his way forward,slowly, empty-handed.He could always hang on to the bow and stop the skiffPage 28ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlfrom bumping into the ship with his feet."More like a fisher boy, I'd say," the man said, with a chuckle.His comment was directed at somebodyjust out of sight behind one of the wooden boxes stacked on the rear deck, butthe windcarried it to Niko's ears, and he felt the tips of his ears reddening."Andyour business here, fisherboy?""Visiting," Niko answered, "and seeing if I can get some dried seaweed we useit to smoke fish, and ""Enough." The seaman cut him off with an upraised hand."I don't have allwatch to stand and listen to you chatter.On your way, then.You'll need acall-and-challenge from ashore before you leave." He looked up at the sky."Not that anybody's going to be going anywhere for a while," he said, turningaway in dismissal."Hey, you yes, you, Blodgett, you clove-footed son of aByzantine whore and her priest-pimp get that rack lashed down, and smartlynow.There's a storm coming, and while I don't care if a wave shoved a rack upyour back passage, it probably wouldn't be good for the rack and Isuspect the captain wouldn't like the spectacle of you jumping around andcapering about while squealing like a stuck pig, and yes it will end up upyour back passage if it's not smartly lashed down, asI'd shove it up there myself, so move your lazy ass."Niko didn't have any intention of leaving until the storm passed, and hedidn't envy the sailors who would be aboard the ship when the storm hit, butit wasn't his problem, and he was still being carried toward the ship.He raised sail, pulled hard on the tiller, and tacked into the cove.* * *A party was waiting for him on the beach.Niko had always envied Kela her beach: broad and sandy and with only a fewboulders, and a deep cove, instead of rocky outcroppings, which made landing alot easier.A small launch was beached just above the waterline.The family skiff had beenbeached, as well, although the skiff had been pulled far up the beach,dismasted and flipped over, in anticipation of the storm.Kela was nowhere to be seen but her father, Stavros, and brother Andrea werewaiting, along with three outlanders, the two younger ones in the overly heavyoutlander clothes that Niko didn't envy, while the old one was dressed moresensibly, at least for an outlander.All three of the outlanders stoodsilently watching Niko without comment, while both Stavros and Andrea waved agreeting [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]