Page 14 (1/2)

Chapter 14

ANOTHER HOUR PASSED; NIGHT had coh of the rocks had been draay, by now, that Temeraire could breathe freely once more; but he scarcely noticed the relief, by colad when Arkady--who had begun by then to feel well enough to coet--was freed from his side and helped away Immortalis had stolen back to the camp, under cover of dark, to tell the others what had happened; Nitidus had flown back carrying Maxi the dreadful chains and considering how they ht best be removed

Temeraire could not quarrel with his situation despite the disco! to know that Laurence did not wish to leave hi to coust of his own lost fortune--he could scarcely call it anything else--only because it could not buy hireat s, all of them very splendid, so that did not really explain it to Temeraire’s satisfaction But he was not so deter so, having been given such assurances

"Why is he taking so long about it?" Arkady dehts Te in a half-doze, dull with fatigue even though he could breathe now more easily "Tell hi"

Temeraire looked over Gaiters had already drawn the hooks which had been driven through Arkady’s wings, by cutting the them away; his point of concern seemed to be how to cut out the barbs in Arkady’s shoulders so that the flesh would not be torn so badly that he could not fly

"Well, I will have a go at it, at any rate Horrocks, getdown froile was pressed fro to hold Arkady still for the operation Arkady indeed shrilled loudly in protest and shuddered all over while the cruel knives dug around in his flesh; Horrocks pointed, now and again, and Gaiters, without taking his eyes off his work, grunted and nodded in anshile the blood welled up continually around his hands Horrocksthe bar of the barb steady

Teruesoery at all But soain to the spectacle, until at last Gaiters gave the word "All right, fellows, lift away," and he and Horrocks together reached within the wound to guide the barb out as the ed little by little--a thing of horror with curling spikes and gobbets of flesh still clinging to them

The second one was extracted more quickly: not fivewhile Gaiters washed his hands "What a vicious piece of work," Gaiters said, looking it over laid out upon the ground "I have never seen the like I suppose they have so ons here they don’t mind if they ruin a nulad to have it bundled up and taken away, in any case; Arkady was coaxed li away to a corner of the encampment, as he had been warned away from any exertion until the wounds had healed, where he collapsed alile turned back to help with the digging Nitidus had been working industriously on the stones directly before Te a safe path; he suddenly exclaimed, "Oh! I hear them; I am sure I do," and in another quarter of an hour Sipho scra, and a little while after Ferris and Forthing ca out over Temeraire’s forearm, which was still pinned in place

Then at last Temeraire could heave hi away froed out, and he collapsed wearily with a sigh beside Arkady "Oh! how tired I a his eyes, only for a ain "But I aet back to camp, and I will squash General Fela, and I do not mean to let Hammond or anyone else talk me out of it, either"

But somehow his eyes did droop shut; they closed, and he heard Laurence saying, "He et it out of the caain with Mei nosing at hi in his ear: fortunately this second ht be dealt with in the most summary fashion, if somewhat indecorously Temeraire sed down the last bite of the head, spat out the horns, and said, "I beg your pardon: I was extre, and Laurence was drowsing as well beneath the reed and one back to camp "We do not at all want General Fela to know you have uncovered his treason," Mei said, e "We must find proof of his treachery which can be demonstrated to the Emperor, first You have killed everyone here, so we have no-one to obtain a confession from"

She sounded faintly reproachful about the last "Well, they were trying to kill us, so I do not see how you can coh to say that we must have more proof They are soldiers, they are under Fela’s co Arkady prisoner here, hidden away froht the opium"

"But you must see that Fela can make any number of excuses," Mei said "He will say that he did not know of these soldiers, that they are some s the opium, and is a false witness, and demand that he be put to torture"

"What is she saying aboutopen "And what is there to eat? I sly

Temeraire did not think it was very prudent to tell Arkady that therewe uilty, and that you did not bring the opiuoat, right there" He also did not think it needed to be mentioned there had been a cow, too, just lately; anyway he was erout seized the tethered goat with a practiced blow, to break its neck "I do not see that question is sensible at all," he said, around a ot any opiuood is it? Is it worth a lot of money?"

"Well, it is," Teht it here to give to soht soout of the tent and buckling on his sword as he did "Te ago? Why did he not cozhou?"

Arkady was disinclined to be helpful; he was already sagging back into exhausted sleep, and complained that he was tired after hismuttered fretfully, "A month, and all this while I have been alone, and in chains, and now you will not let me sleep Why would we have come so roundabout a way as the ocean? We had to coe for you"

"Who does he mean by ‘we’?" Laurence asked

"Oh," Arkady said, lifting his head abruptly, looking uilty; then he said in feigned tones of great surprise, "Why, Tharkay ith me, of course; haven’t you rescued hi up with dismay, when he heard the name "You don’t reood fellow; he has saved all our necks more than once I suppose Roland must have asked him to play the courier He knows those roads backwards and forwards; his people on his mother’s side are in Nepal He took us to Istanbul overland, the last tiht at an elusive twist of h dark half-deserted streets, and a great echoing vaulted cha like bells; but ithih from what Granby said they had known the , about the war," was all Arkady could tell thee Tharkay had carried, "--so that fellow Napoleon ht have enco peace on terrible ter when they pressed hi to think about You will have to ask Tharkay"

"If he is even alive," Granby said, "and we can find hiet a confession out of hiainst us"

"What we’re to do about it is the question," Captain Harcourt said, later that night They had gathered in her tent, as secretly as they led Laurence back to the camp, under cover of dark, while Temeraire and Arkady remained hidden in another valley "We haven’t the faintest notion where they are keeping hie Fela, he will claim it is all a lie and he has no idea where Tharkay is; and like as not will kill him

"I suppose Fela ons are his, thatwe do: they will have noticed Teone ile and Mei flying back and forth as well If anything, we are giving hiiving more aid and comfort to the rebels, in the meantime"

"Rebels," Hammond said slowly, from the chest upon which he sat, "--rebels, of e have seen not the least sign, and have no evidence for, but General Fela’s own reports," and they all regarded hie astonishuess at it before The conservative party required sou’s growing influence at court They trumped up this rebellion, General Fela sent in a few false reports--"

"The devil," Berkley said "Are you saying there are no damned rebels at all?"

"I dare say there are some number of malcontents, and soh to make reports plausible," Hammond said "But we have not heard a peep of any kind of truly organized force--no rebel ar"

They none of them spoke a moment; the implications hideous: "Good God, Hae to the sithout cause," Laurence said

"Pray consider the desperate nature of Fela’s situation," Haht have expected to vanish away a false rebellion as easily as he had created it, with no such measures required Yet quite unexpectedly, the crown prince proposed your superceding him in command, with a substantial force and an experienced senior officer to back you From thatbe preserved His only hope is to quickly discredit us, and have General Chu and his force recalled--and he hashad not estion, and we had been sent here alone as the conservatives wished, I a about theseforhis best to arrange Laurence’s murder in the meanwhile," Granby said "But how are we to prove any of it?"

There was scarcely any hope of their finding Tharkay, or any other evidence, so unfamiliar with the territory as they were; General Fela and his own forces knew it far too well the been stationed here for some time "We must have help," Laurence said

Temeraire could not but feel the ons to General Chu’s tent, and su him out of it Of course Laurence was nominally in command, and he himself as a Celestial technically took precedence over any other breed, but oh! What did that matter when everyone knew perfectly well that General Chu was a eneral, and really e of the other dragons’ eyes upon hi so rudely

General Chu caons whouard, and very stiffly bowed his head "How may I be of service?" he said shortly

Temeraire did not kno he could have answered; but Laurence had not the least hesitation He said in quite a calm voice, "General Chu, have you found any trace of the rebels that the Emperor has commanded us to destroy?"

Chu’s mane bristled "As yet we have not discovered their base of operations," he said, even more shortly "The search continues"

"Then you would obligewith us to discuss hoeuard-dragons flattened his own heavy brows, and Temeraire avoided their eyes

Chu’s eyes narrowed under the forward ridge of his hness, there is no reason we cannot discuss the reat maps laid out just inside his pavilion, with clustered ons

"I prefer to be surveying the territory directly, with e point, if you please You there, you uard would have risen "We do not need an escort" He touched Telad to leap aloft and escape the lares He hovered just out of ear-shot, pretending not to notice the outraged expressions on the other dragons, and their flattened wings and spines, as General Chu heaved himself into the air and followed

Arkady was not yet well enough to fly, but that dawn they had loaded hih not toHe had shown theh the mountains, not far from the encampment where he had been chained, and a valley at its end with a s cleft in the rock

"Here," he had said, "this is where they took us We saw theht we should ask them for direction; but after he cli on him"

"What did you do?" Teht it would be a very good thing if I could only get away, so I could come round and free him later, of course--so I tried to fly away as quick as I could; but those red fellows are fast, even if they do not look it h he had any right to be," Tenantly to Laurence, after, "once he turned tail and left poor Tharkay, and I aht"

Arkady and Kulingile aiting for them there in the valley when they descended with Chu; Temeraire had been sure to fly on ahead as quickly as he could, without pausing for conversation "What is this?" Chu deon, and why have we co your pardon for the ht you here We have reason to believe we have all been practiced upon, to an extent difficult to s; but we have not a hope of de it, without your assistance"

But Chu received the explanation of Arkady’s presence, and of Fela’s treachery, with enormous skepticisrily, "I suppose you would rather believe that we are all liars--that I ah he is the Emperor’s adopted son"

Chu snorted a little "That does not disqualify anyone to be an emperor’s son, or an emperor for that matter: what is an emperor but one who tells a lie that all the world believes?"

Temeraire was rather taken aback by this remark, which made an uncomfortable sort of sense, and did not quite kno to answer it Chu waved a wing-tip dismissively and said, "But in any case, I do not think you liars; I think you want China to n nation of yours, and so you are willing to believe the lies of others General Fela, to have committed such treachery? To have sent false reports, and connived at the attempted murder of the crown prince?"

"Sir," Laurence said, "have you seen any evidence at all, of the rebellion which he claie his own forces?" General Chu was silent in answer, frowning; in the cold mountain air, the breath from his nostrils drifted forth in pale clouds

"Then I ask you to indulge us this far," Laurence went on "You yourself coency You are well acquainted with these mountains, and whatever rebel fastnesses were taken and secured by the arht have taken and concealed a prisoner? If we can find our uards may be questioned, and other evidence found"

"Hm," Chu said, after a moment, and then he said, "Well, it will not hurt for us to take a look"

He leapt aloft, Te far up to where the air grew thin and cold A thin clouding layer of haze reduced the ular lines of their peaks ht be clearly seen below Te quickly; his oas laboring in his chest, and his wings working htily to keep with Chu

Chu did not keep theht There he flew in ruminative circles a while, and then beat up a second ti in easy circles back down to the clearing He plunged his head into the cold pool and drank deep, then raising his head shook water fro while since I hunted these mountains," he said, half-aside to hiotten all the bolt-holes of the rabbits yet There was a White Lotus fortification, a cave, near Blue Cranefrom the mountain-side now"

"Ha, thisover thefor the ene-Xi Emperor! It is not at all respectable, of course," he added, "for either of us; but it can be excused in this case, I think"