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.Theplayers now considered the discards, the colors displayed above the boxes, and with this information eachattempted to calculate the colors hidden by the racks of his opponents: all of which served as a basis for afinal round of bets.The players then displayed the concealed ends of their rods.The high-ranking set ofrods took the accumulation of bets.Elvo, somewhat intimidated by the visceral grunts of emotion, letdiffidence be the better part of curiosity and kept a respectful distance from the game; he was thereforeunable to learn the hierarchy of combinations.The young woman came forward once again to serve a mug of unrequested beer, which Elvo was pleasedto accept.He tried to catch the woman s eye so that he might have a friendly word with her when into theroom came a man of most extraordinary appearance and mien.His face exhibited a range of mismatchedover-large features: an odd wide jaw, sunken cheeks, heavy cheekbones, a splayed nose, a tall roundforehead, a wide flexible slit of a mouth twisted in a mindless grin.His eyes, round and pale buff, blinkedand winced as if the light were uncomfortable.Long heavy arms dangled from burly shoulders; his torsofile:///C|/3278%20Sci-Fi%20and%20Fantasy%2.ack%20Vance%20-%20The%20Gray%20Prince.html (69 of 132) [1/11/2005 11:52:19 PM]THEGRAYPRINCEwas knotted and knobbed with bone and muscle; his long legs terminated in massive feet.He looked,thought Elvo, both imbecilic and cunning; simple yet rich in fancy.The gamblers saw him with little side-flicks of vision but paid him no heed; the pot-boy ignored him as ifhe had not existed.He approached the woman and spoke to her; then, with a soft sad grin on his face,struck her an open-handed blow on the side of the head, creating a sound which caused Elvo s stomach tochurn.The woman fell to the floor; the man kicked her in the neck.An instantaneous image struck into Elvo s mind which never would leave him: the pale young woman onthe floor, blood oozing from her mouth, face placid, eyes staring; the man looking down in proud delight,heavy foot raised to kick again, like a man performing a grotesque jig; the players at the table showingglittering side-glances but indifferent and remote; himself, Elvo Glissam of Olanje, sitting astounded andhorrified.To his amazement he saw himself reach out, catch the foot and pull, so that the man fellsprawling, only to leap up with incredible lightness, and still smiling his soft sad smile, aim a kick forElvo s head.Never in his life had Elvo fought with his hands; he hardly knew what to do except jerkback, so that the force of the kick thrust air against his face.In desperation he seized the foot and ranforward.The man, face suddenly contorted in dismay, hopped back with lurching foolish hops, out thedoor, out across the balcony, over the rail, out into the void.With nothing better to do, Elvo tottered back to his seat.He sat panting and presently he drank from themug of beer.The players occupied themselves with their game.The woman hobbled away.The room wasquiet except for the sounds at the gaming table.Elvo rubbed his forehead and stared down into the beer.The episode evidently had been a hallucination& For several minutes Elvo sat immobile.An odd thoughtoccurred to him: the man had worn no fiaps, no talismans of protection.Elvo thoughtfully finished themug of beer, then rose to his feet and went out to his hammock.Chapter 8In the morning no reference was made to the episode.The inn-keeper served a breakfast of bread, tea andcold meat, and took coins from Gerd Jemasze in settlement of the account.The three departedSailmaker s Inn, crossed the compound to the area behind the workshops.The sky-car rested as they hadleft it.Jemasze turned his attention to the sail-wagons.At a big eight-wheeled beer-cart, with three masts,a multiplicity of yards, shrouds, sprits and halyards, he merely glanced; the six-wheeled and four-wheeledhouse-wagons he gave more consideration.Their pneumatic wheels stood eight feet tall; the house hungon spring suspensions with less than two feet of ground clearance; most were rigged as schooners or two-masted brigantines; like the cargo-wagons, they seemed more adapted to passages down the monsoonwinds than to speed or maneuverability.Jemasze turned his attention to a land-yawl about thirty feet long, with four independently sprung wheels,a flat bed with a pair of cuddies fore and aft.The shop foreman had been unobtrusively watching; now hecame forward to ascertain Jemasze s requirements, and the two engaged in negotiations which occupiedthe better part of an hour.Jemasze finally obtained a rental rate for the land-yawl at a figure hefile:///C|/3278%20Sci-Fi%20and%20Fantasy%2.ack%20Vance%20-%20The%20Gray%20Prince.html (70 of 132) [1/11/2005 11:52:19 PM]THEGRAYPRINCEconsidered tolerable, and the shop foreman went off to find sails for the craft.Jemasze and Kurgechreturned to the inn to buy provisions, while Elvo transferred luggage and personal belongings from thesky-car to the land-yawl.Moffamides the priest sauntered across the yard. You have selected a good wagon for your journey, hetold Elvo. Sound and stiff, fast and easy.Elvo Glissam politely acquiesced in the priest s judgment. What kind of sail-wagon did Uther Madducuse?Moffamides eyes went blank. A wagon somewhat similar, so I would suppose.Several men came forth from the shop with sails which they proceeded to bind to the masts.Moffamideswatched with an air of benign approval [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]