L. Camp - The Exotic Enchanter

So they waited until the gates opened, three travelers among the many who gathered, waiting. When the huge panels swung wide, they poured into the town — and Randhir led Shea and Chalmers unerringly toward the gleaming dome of the royal palace.

As they came up to the gates, Chalmers dropped behind Randhir a few steps and pulled Shea alongside. “He is going to reveal his lofty station to us, Harold. Be suitably impressed.”

“Oh! Yes, of course,” Shea smiled brightly.

Randhir marched right up to the gates, and the guards stared, amazed at the insolence of the “peasant.” Then they clashed their spears together, blocking his way. The Rajah halted and told them, “Summon your captain.”

The guards began to look angry, and the older of the two said, “We take no orders from ruffians!”

“You do not know me, then?”

“Know you?” the younger cried. “We have never seen you in our lives.”

“That is reassuring.” The Rajah took out his knife and cut the horsehair. His nose, freed, swelled back out to its royal proportions, somewhat resembling a cross between an eagle’s beak and a seaside promontory. “Do you know me now?” he demanded.

The men stared, then bowed low, “My King and sovereign!”

“I am indeed. Now summon your captain.”

One guard ran to call his boss, and Chalmers leaned over to mutter, “Most interesting. He made sure neither had been among the thieves last night, before he risked revealing his identity.”

“Very wise,” Shea agreed. “Of course, they might have been lying.”

“Quite so, but I’m certain it was only double-checking; he would have recognized them if he had seen them last night.”

“If he could have,” Shea said. “He’s got a much better memory for faces than I have.”

“Well, yes,” Chalmers agreed, “but that would not take much, would it now?”

Shea turned a look of indignation on him. “Well, thank you , Mr. Memory Wizard!”

Chalmers was saved from an answer by the arrival of the guard captain, who took one look at Randhir and blanched. “Seize him,” the rajah commanded.

The captain reached for his sword, but the guards managed to react to their surprise fast enough so that it never cleared the scabbard. A spear-point touched his chest, and he froze; then a fist cracked into his jaw, and he folded.

“Chain him in the dungeon,” the rajah commanded, “and bind his mouth; make sure he speaks to no one. He is a thief, and has betrayed us all.”

As the guards carried the man away. Shea conceded, “I guess he does have a good memory for faces.”

“Yes,” Chalmers agreed, “but very poor recruiting procedures.”

Finally, Randhir turned to Shea and Chalmers. “Now you know whom you have accompanied this evening.”

Shea stared and took a step back — right into Chalmers, who muttered, “Pure ham.” It was a good thing — Shea had been on the verge of sticking his hands in the air and crying, “I surrender Sheriff!” Instead, he risked a glance at Chalmers, who was simply staring, pure and simple, then began to tremble ever so slightly.

Randhir saw and smiled, sure of his power and majesty. “Do not be afraid, for we have been comrades in danger. Come with me now and refresh yourselves.”

He turned and marched before them. As they passed through the gates, Shea suddenly became sure of safety, and felt himself go limp — limp with relief, but also weariness.

“Do not relax yet.” Chalmers’ voice was heavy with exhaustion. “One misstep, and we could still lose our heads.”

“That’s right — the Rajah has no reason to think were not foreign thieves.” Shea managed to muster a few grams of remaining strength, enough to imagine the Rajah’s face swollen with anger and his voice shouting, “Off with their heads!” The result was remarkable — adrenaline surged through him, stiffening his backbone and brightening his eyes. He managed to keep his step brisk as he followed Randhir.

Into the palace they went, but by a side door that led into a room with long tables adorned with knives. For a moment, Shea thought the Raja had led them to his torture chamber, Then he saw the garbage bins, and realized they were in the kitchens.

The light of dawn showed him an old woman who was snoring in a chair by the window. “Up!” Raodhir commanded, but his voice was gentle. The woman’s eyes snapped open; she saw the Rajah, and pushed herself painfully to her feet. “Water,” Randjnr commanded and the woman hobbled away to dip water from a bucket into a silver bowl. She hung a clean cloth over her arm and brought both to her King. He peeled off false eyebrows and washed his face thoroughly, taking away some of the coloring, then dried it and began work on his moustaches, twisting them down from the corners of his eyes to blend in with his beard. The woman handed him a comb, then went to bring a richly brocaded robe. Randhir combed his parted beard back into one single, well-trimmed mass, then doffed his rough tunic and slipped into the robe the old woman held out for him. He tied a sash about it, then exchanged his black cotton turban for one of purple silk with a peacock’s feather held by a golden brooch to the front and turned to face them, magically transformed into the very image of a Hindu king. Come, friends of my night’s adventure! You must tell me what you have seen, so that we have as full an account of this nights work as we may!” But he didn’t give them a chance to talk, only led them out of the kitchen and through a narrow hallway into a broad one, then up a broad flight of steps and into a room floored with cool marble and roofed by an azure dome upheld by columns of alabaster. At the far end, on a dais surrounded by more columns, stood a great chair covered with gold. Randhir stepped up and sat in the throne as casually as Shea might sit in his office chair. “Now, my guests! Tell me what you have seen.”

“You . . . you’re the Rajah!” Chalmers spluttered, and Shea took his cue, staring as though still stupefied. “ You? ”

Randhir permitted a slight smile to play over his lips. “indeed. Your companion of the evening’s search is truly the Rajah Randhir — and I gather, from your conduct and the strangeness of your garb, that you are no more thieves than I am.”

“I assure Your Majesty that we most certainly are not!” Chalmers said. “But surely our observations can be of little value when we have seen only what so esteemed a personage as yourself has seen!”

Trust Doc, all right. When it came to knowing how to lay it on, he had no peer.

“Ah, but before our separate groups joined together, you saw what I did not see. Come, tell me of it!”

“We saw some men finishing the looting of a house,” Shea said slowly. “Then we saw the rest of the gang gathered out in the street, getting ready for the night’s work and practicing their skills. A few of them even practiced them on passersby, killing them for the few coins in their purses.”

“It would seem you have indeed seen no more than I have myself,” Randhir sighed, “for from that time on, we were together. However, you can join us when we march against them, to help me remember the way and the means of entering.”

Shea wasn’t all that sure he liked that idea, so he changed the subject — quickly. “Your Majesty must have been willing to sacrifice your pride enormously, to consort with such low-lifes for a night!” He didn’t say anything about aiding and abetting a burglary.

But the stroke seemed to please Rajah Randhir. He nodded, saying, “The good of my subjects demanded such a sacrifice, since the spies I sent on that errand did not return. I could see that if I wanted knowledge of the thieves’ ways, I should have to go myself. Now I know why, and it is fortunate that I disguised myself so thoroughly for a number of the thieves were my own people — watchmen and guards, patrolmen and spies.”