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. Fool! Meredith was angry, feigned or not,  It is impolite to keep a man insuspense, even if he is of holy persuasion. They have returned, sir! Koon tossed his lips aside and a rolling, unendinglaugh strolled from his tongue. Who? The Fardy brothers! and Koon s laugh continued.Meredith dropped the oars. And with them, their Marins! and he still laughed in pleasure.Meredith crossed himself feverishly, grabbed the oars, and spun the boataround like a Floatings merchant.His arms rampaged, and the little boat shotforward, the trees on either side running beside him.In a moment, he reachedthe end of the channel. Oh, my devil! he cried, piously refraining from blasphemy,  Oh, my devil --Beelzebub, Baal, and all princes and powers of the air! What the heaven isthis?Unsatisfied with merely reaching the shoreline, he pushed the boat forward ata tremendous speed.He was a man of the forest before a man of the water, andhe began to kick his heels into the floor as if he were riding a horse.Page 214ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html Faster, girl, faster! he cried, and his feet pounded the floor with anunconscious fury.He sped like lightning that fearfully flees its own thunder, and in anothermoment reached the firstTimber, behind which a Marin was towed.He passed the first and stopped at thesecond.As he came against the Marin s docking platform, his boat wasbeginning to sink from the holes he had driven into the floor.Water coveredthe lower portion of the craft.Meredith grabbed his sword and dashed onto theMarin, his eyebrows bobbing around him in pure monastic action.He turned toexamine his sinking boat, Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter,http://www.processtext.com/abclit.htmland as he did the door creaked open behind him.He spun to face it andstretched his arms out to embrace the newcomer, assuming it to be one of hisdear friends, the Fardy brothers. I see how seriously monks regard their orders, here in Atilta, a foggy,feminine voice said,  That they throw open their arms at the first sign of awoman. My devil, my devil! Oh, my bloody devil! Meredith cried, and he fell backuntil he teetered on the edge of the deck.There -- standing before him with a lion s face -- was Cybele, the queen ofSaxony. Treachery! he cried, looking in horror at the fair lady, whom he knew wasnot so fair within.Her hair made the clouds gray, and her gray eyes made themisty dawn a desert. Treachery! he cried, and took a step backwards, forgetting that he alreadystood on the very precipice of the waters.He stumbled and fell into his boat,which was sinking steadily beneath the waters.Meredith grabbed the oars andbegan rowing away from the Marin, imbued with the same vigor he had whileapproaching it.But within ten feet he found himself floating on the oars, asthe boat deserted to Neptune. You may have me! he cried with great determination,  But though you take mylife, you cannot take my secrets! A bottle of Atiltian Scotch will do that easily enough, a jolly voice calledout. But come, old friend, you are getting wet!Meredith turned and saw the blond Fardy exiting the same passage as Cybele.Behind him were his two brothers. You know us to be patient, the brown brother called out,  But still, I ameager to know why you should swim, when there is so much to be done? Indeed, the blond Fardy added,  And though I do not mean to sink your ship,we must hurry.As for swimming, you can do it within the walls of our Marin. We must be patient, brothers, the black Fardy said, squinting his crookednose and opening wide his oyster eyes, as if to display absolute seriousness. We may be men of action, but Meredith has served well enough to do whateverfloats his boat. He is a great man, without a doubt, the brown brother added in the tone of aeulogy. For even when our cause seemed dark and without hope, he neverabandoned ship. Shut up or shove off, there! Meredith cried, half angry and three-quartersjoyful.He paddled with his arms a moment; then, when he reached the Marin sdock, the Fardy brothers pulled him up.By this time, the current and theTimber had taken them closer to the hidden harbor. What is this? Meredith asked as he looked over the queen. A prisoner of war, the blond Fardy boasted. Ah! But? Meredith did not finish, though the others knew his meaning.Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html She is here, the queen said silently, all breath and no voice.Page 215ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html Ah! But? they knew what he meant this time, as well. She came to me and I imprisoned her, as the strong must do to the weak.ThenI was made weak by these -- men.I am no fool; still, I will not be tamed. No one blamed, no one tamed. Spare me! My ears have cavorted with your impious tongue long enough, andyet she smiled vaguely.If her heart was corrupted by power, she no longer had any.Yet there areworse things for a person than mere authority. Your tone betrays the good which you cannot cover, Celestine said, comingonto the deck. Or you do not even wish to cover it? She placed her hand onher sister s shoulder.Silence, then,  You were not lax in preparing a greeting, Meredith, the blondFardy said, pointing to the channel, where the fleet was coming onto the oceansingle file. I did not order it, Meredith said,  And there is barely enough men to sailthem.Captain Koon is a presumptuous man. Yet the sea is calm, and men are not so necessary. Perhaps, but I will still rebuke Koon for moving without my orders.A truenavy would not be run in such a manner. Is it a false navy? Celestine asked. And is not a true man worth a dozenveteran sailors? You rebuke me! Meredith said [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]