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.I want to see thewall up close.Do you think we can go up in one of the towers? No! What s wrong? Look, it s a tourist attraction only in our time, Marcia said anxiously. Iwouldn t ask these soldiers just to show us around. Why not? To use a modern phrase, this is a functioning military installation, even ifit s not as important now as it used to be. Marcia lapsed into her lecturingtone again. And we aren t Mongols; they see the Chinese as a conqueredpeople.Asking to go up in the tower could raise the suspicion that we mightattempt sabotage or espionage in some form. Even an ordinary couple like us? As soon as we ask to tour the watchtower, we won t be ordinary anymore.We lllook very odd.Like I said, this is not a place for tourists in this time. Well.I see. Good. But we can still go find out what they re looking at.I mean, the gate sPage 57ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlstanding wide open. I don t think we should. Well, look, we have to ask someone about the Polos anyway.They should know.Come on. Steve kicked his mount and rode up to the gate. Well, be careful. Shaking her head, Marcia followed him reluctantly. Should we speak Mongol to them? No.Judging by their armor and their weapons, they re Chinese. They are? Even under the khan, the Mongol armies and the Chinese armies are distinct. Why don t they have just the Mongol army now, if the khan is worried aboutthe Chinese rebelling? The Mongol army alone isn t big enough to garrison the whole Chinese empire.The khan needs the Chinese army for that.The Chinese army is controlled bygenerals put in place by the khan, as Emperor of China. Oh.Well, okay.I get the idea. Steve felt that if he was polite andcareful, he could at least see what had caught the attention of the sentries.Besides, if the Polos had passed through the gate, the sentries were the onesto ask.As he reined in at the gate, the sentries turned to look up at him.All fourwere stocky, muscular young men.They seemed more resigned than wary. What is your business here? One sentry, marginally taller than the others,straightened up. I have heard that the Polo family took this road in the last day or so, saidSteve. Marco Polo and his father and uncle.I seek them.The other three guards also drew themselves up, suddenly interested.The Poloname obviously carried some importance.However, all four sentries looked ateach other and shook their heads. They have not come this way recently, said the first sentry politely. Weknow their name, because they are favored by the Emperor.We have seen them onthis road in past years, but not recently.Steve was startled, but he nodded courteously.He suddenly realized that XiaoLi s story had been a falsehood from beginning to end.As soon as he couldreport to Hunter without local witnesses, he would.Behind him, Marcia sighed audibly.Steve pointed through the open gateway.Several large groups of men wereriding in the distance, across patches of rugged, steeply sloped steppesurrounded by forest. Who are they? What are they doing?The sentry frowned. A local Mongol battalion has camped just outside thewall.They are practicing maneuvers, no more.After all, we are many milesfrom the borders of the Emperor s empire here. Really? Apparently more comfortable now, Marcia rode up closer to Steve andlooked out, too.Steve could see hundreds of riders moving together in one group, their bannersflying on upright lances.In the distance behind them, a separate group waswheeling about, riding through a sharp turn.A third group of riders stood ona far hill, unmoving. That looks like fun, said Steve. Don t you dare, Marcia whispered loudly. Calm down. He grinned. I m not going out there.But I used to ride out inthe Mojave Desert.My favorite horse was a half-quarter horse, half-Arabianmare. These are Mongol horses. I know.Arabians have more delicate features and more high-strungtemperaments.But both are small, hardy desert breeds. You still have your horse? She looked at him with a new curiosity. No.I don t have any of them now.But I miss that one the most. He noddedto the sentries and reined his mount around. Come on.Steve rode a short distance away from the sentries and all the small buildingsPage 58ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlin the little settlement.Marcia followed him.When he was out of the hearingof everyone else, he leaned close to Marcia. We ll pretend we re talking to each other, since people can see us.I mcalling Hunter. All right. Hunter, Steve here.For once, Hunter did not answer. Hunter, you there?Marcia s eyes widened as she looked at Steve. Hunter?Only static hissed quietly from the lapel pin. Maybe my transmitter s broken, said Steve. Try calling him on yours.Marcia switched on her pin. Hunter? Marcia calling.Steve and I have reachedthe Great Wall.She, too, received only static and shut it off. What do you think happened?Steve turned to look back the way they had come. Maybe nothing.He was abouta half day s ride behind us, and we ve come through some very rugged country,much rougher than the ground we covered yesterday.The mountains block radiosignals.He s probably still coming. Then why could we communicate last night? It depends on the configuration of the mountains and passes.The signal canbounce, too.It s impossible to predict exactly where it will go. Then you think he s still coming? Yeah. So what are we going to do?Steve looked at the sky.The sun had gone behind the mountains, and the skywas reddening with sunset.The air had abruptly chilled even in the brief timesince they had arrived at the gate.Marcia waited, looking back up the road as though she hoped to see Hunter. Well, I guess we wasted a lot of time coming here, said Steve. You think the Polos turned off the road somewhere along the way? No, said Steve. If you remember, we haven t passed any forks today. I saw some paths.Hunting trails, most likely.These mountains provide gamefor the emperors. I don t think the Polos came this way at all.Xiao Li must have pulled a fastone from the very start.I should have figured that out last night, but somuch was going on, I never thought it all through. None of us did, with Jane and Hunter being carried off, said Marcia. But,as I asked you a moment ago, what are we going to do? I guess we can take a room two if you prefer for the night.Hunter shouldarrive sometime later.Tomorrow, we can go back to Khanbaliq. Oh, no.Some of the same people must be here in one of the inns. the peoplewho kidnapped Hunter and Jane. Well.that s true. Steve looked around.The little town had three inns withstables, some small houses, and seven taverns. This is a strange place. Yes, it s just a road stop, really.Travelers would account for the numberof inns, of course.But only the garrison of guards on the Great Wall couldsupport that many taverns in a settlement this size. Do they live in the houses? No.They re garrisoned in the towers along the wall.The houses must beowned by some well-to-do tavern owners or innkeepers who can live separatelyfrom their businesses. She shrugged. Hard to tell, really. Look, that group of travelers stayed together all day.At least, every timeI saw them, they were still together [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]