Андрэ Нортон - Beast Master's Circus

When he woke completely the sun was almost down. It would take them a couple of hours to walk the distance to the clan camp. Best they had a meal now, then started. Ideena was of the same mind. Once they'd begun the march she ranged up alongside Cregar and her voice came in a low tone none but he could hear.

"I don't trust these men." That was the pot calling the kettle black, Cregar thought. He cocked an eyebrow in invitation for her to continue and she did, dropping her voice still lower. "I've a spare gun tucked in the clump of weeds by the ramp. If anything happens, pretend to fall down there."

"What sort of gun? How effective will it be?" He wanted to know how far she'd go.

"Stunner but it's blast-bolt activated." That told him. She'd go all the way. Activating a stunner with a blast-bolt had been done before, but it was so frowned on that anyone caught doing it would go to rehab automatically. Of course, if it was his life, then he'd risk the illegality first and worry about rehab later. It wasn't likely they'd catch him anyhow. Or care greatly about the death of any of this lot. But it told him more than he'd known about this precious pair. He'd always thought they were small-time. They might still be the jackals he'd believed. If they were prepared to go that far though, they were rabid ones. He spoke quietly.

"What about your own stunners here?"

"They're straight."

That was better—if it was the truth but he couldn't be sure of that until they used their weapons. He plodded on in silence considering all he'd learned of them thus far. He couldn't trust any of the six people with him and he didn't like that. He'd have liked things even less if he'd known what lay ahead.

Tani had returned to the clan. Storm had accepted that when, after ten days, there'd been no sign of trouble. But it was the time between the two major seasons on Arzor, the big wet and the big dry. She enjoyed that pleasantly mild in-between season and had gone back to hunt with her friends another few days. They'd taken two yearling merin deer and a number of the fat grass hens. It was an hour short of dusk. They'd done well enough, now they'd head for the camp to be back before dark.

Jumps High, the first clan friend she had made the year before, had been about to pack the meat onto their horses when Ferarre's ears pricked. He whined. Linking, Tani caught the up and down beat of a muffled copter. She hissed and dropped flat. Jumps High copied that as did the other four natives.

He half turned from his sprawl to hand-sign to her. "Danger, where, what?"

"Ferarre hears a copter. That's not good."

"How so?"

"It didn't head for the camp, instead it's gone in a half circle around and landed beyond. It hasn't lifted off again. You know the law, no copter is allowed over clan lands. I think those who fly it may be enemies." It had to be that. Or some idiot citizen with more money than sense but the rangers would have known and stopped it. The treaty was very firm on over-flights.

If it had been Storm or one of the rangers with an emergency he'd have flown straight to the camp. The Nitra weren't fools. They would have understood if it was truly needful. But the copter had landed in cover; not near the camp. She felt there was danger and these were her friends, she would not have them hurt because she did not make her warning clear.

Jumps High was signing. "Does the copter rise again?"

"No." The coyote's ears could hear no sound. The engines were still off. That probably meant it would stay where it was for a while. She stood, turning, listening. Then her hands rose. "The engine sounds came from that way."

Her friends clustered around their mounts, swiftly field dressing the dead deer then loading the kill. Jumps High considered. "How far are the copter sounds from here, and how far from our camp?"

"From here maybe a half-hour ride. From camp they may be one hour's ride." And that was what had given the copter away. They'd circled in from the far side of the outer lands. It was their ill fortune that Tani and her friends had been hunting in that direction. Worse luck that Ferarre and Minou could hear even a copter with a muffled engine at that distance. Had it not been for the coyotes, even then the copter would not have been noticed.

She smiled to herself. They'd all been under cover cleaning the game when the copter circled. If it had heat-sensing gear the occupants hadn't been reading it at the time. And neither Tani, the Nitra, nor their animals had been out in the open to be seen by any glancing out of the clearplas bubble. A copter's heat-sensing gear differed. It was possible theirs was of the basic kind which read only that there was a sort of blotch of heat in a certain position. Not the shape of that source. In which case with everyone in cover they could have seen the sources and still mistakenly assumed them to be animals, sheltering from the hotter sun of afternoon.

The deer and grass hens safely loaded, Jumps High was signaling to Tani again, using her native name. "We will go now, Sunrise. Once we are back in camp I will speak to the Thunder-talker of this. She will pray and ask the powers of the Thunder what is the danger to us. Then we can make plans. For now, let us ride quickly for the camp."

His mount leapt away and Tani swung into her saddle. Destiny, the silver part-duocorn filly she rode, followed Jumps High's mount eagerly. Behind them in a scattered group came their friends. The coyotes ranged ahead. Tani wondered if she should mind-link with Mandy. The big paraowl could fly out and look over the area where the copter had landed. But if anyone who knew Arzor saw her they'd know she didn't belong here. It could warn the enemy if that's what they were. Best to take no chances. Not yet.

One thing the possible enemy should not know. Tani smiled, a slow hard grin. She was the only human clan-friend among the dozen clans of the Nitra. Because of her position Kelson of the rangers had granted her a miniature comcaller. When she visited the Djimbut clan it came with her by clan permission. Using it she could report any Nitra problems, anything likely to make trouble between native and settler. There was a built-in scramble as well; that way if the news was bad no one listening in would raise a premature alarm. She nudged Destiny and the filly sped up to canter lightly beside the mount of Jumps High.

"When we come to the camp I'll speak to Kelson. Ask why a copter breaks the treaty."

"That is good," was the brief reply.

Tani rode on, her mind busy. She had to know what to say to the ranger head. She sorted her impressions, ordered them by importance, then rode patiently. As soon as they arrived at the camp she slowed but continued through toward the tent of the clan medicine woman. Once there she dismounted, signing swiftly as her friend stepped from the tent entrance to greet her.

"There may be trouble, I must speak to Kelson. Listen to what I say." She switched on the comcaller and reached Kelson almost at once. As she spoke into the transmitter panel her hands flew, repeating in sign-talk for the benefit of those clan members who did not understand the settler language what she was saying to the ranger head.

"Kelson. Listen. While I was hunting to the north of the clan camp Ferarre heard a copter. It landed about an hour's ride from the camp and hadn't taken off again after an hour or so. I don't like the way the engines are muffled and it circled supposedly out of our hearing before setting down. Could it be a legitimate flight?" There was a gasp, then the sound of a computer beeping. After several minutes the ranger's voice came back, loud and angry.

"No, it is not. There's no record of any request. Our two copters are both out in other directions and I've just checked with port. No copter filed any flight plan even remotely in your direction."