The Time Traders

he knelt to cut loose his fellow time traveler. Lal now huddled against the far wall of the cup, fear in every line of his small

asked McNeil as he stripped o

two, and grimaced with pain. "Our friend

bow. "The tribe i

who escaped are to be brought in and introduced to him pe

an taken in a raid before that day would meet such a fate. On unlucky years when people were not available a deer or wolf might serve. But the best s

rope which made a leading cord for Lal. Ashe would want to

rength. He had started off bravely enough, but now he wavered. Ross sent Lal ahead with a sharp push, ordering him to stay ther

the native version of his name. "And Lal. B

nd to the pile of brush which was his own bed. "

g my kinsman, Lal? Was it Nodren's? Has he forgotten the blood bond betwe

ht his face down upon his knees so that only his shaggy topknot of hair was exposed. Ross realized, with stupefaction, that th

asp his topknot and pull up his head. Lal's eyes were screwed tightly shut

harp knife? Has an arrow holed your skin? You are alive, and you could be dead. Show

was very plain that Lal was of different stuff, a simple man in whose head few ideas could find house r

displayed to the wealthy of Nodren's town. But he was also a follower of the Great Mother's, rather than one who made s

of his concern, and instead he began thinking of the treasures which might lie hidden in the destroyed buildings. It occurred to him that Lurgha's Wrath h

and he had been frightened out of his simple wits, fleeing without making the searc

ted the stream of Lal's sto

ly-that very morning when he had gone out to hunt wild fowl in the marshes Lurgha h

spoken? Ashe's voic

d so Lal was his meat. But not yet would he eat him, not if Lal served him in other ways. And he, Lal, had lain fla

carry the prisoner to the hill where Lurgha had loosed his wrath, and there they would leave him. Later they might return and take what they found there and use it to bless the fields a

reat Mother all these years, giving to her a portion of the f

th tears. It took a second or two for the question to

hen men fast before the coming of the new harvest. The Great Mother watches over her own. And it is she who has brought you to us now. For this I say to

Assha. He is of the blackness and

ith men and bring forth sons to lift their fathers' spears, daughters to spin by the hearth and sow the yellow grain in the furrows. Lurgha's quarrel lies with us, La

s, and upon myself I take your hate. Not upon Lal, nor upon Nodren, nor upon

impress the tribesman. It came in a spectacular burst of green fire beyond the stream. Lal wailed aga

may make a curtain for the Mother's home. See, it is white and so rare that the Mother will be pleased with such a fine gift. And you will tell her all that has chanced and how you believe in her powers over

d such a curtain for her secret place. Also, I am but a little man; the quarrels of great ones are not for me. Since Lurgha has accepted your words this is none of my affair. Yet I will not go back to the village for a while-wi

al. Perhaps you are a wiser man than you think.

. Thus I shall go into the marsh for a while. There are birds and hares to hunt, and I shall work upon this fine skin so that when

the tribesman ducked his head in a shy, awkward fa

ck him up?" McNe

he'll keep away from Nodren's village and out of sight for the time being. Lal's not too bright in some ways, but he's a good hunter. If he has reason for hi

Ashe and Ross worked on his burns, making him com

st?" Ashe rubbed his chin

post signal and pinpointed the source. That mea

gers abou

was able to work without arousing any suspicions. I suppose his being a member of the smiths' guild was a big help. He could pick up a lot of news from any village where there was one at work. And I tell you," McNeil propped himself up on his elbow t

ent base with the transport has to be somewhere within

d laugh at us," McNeil exploded. "

ng lay within their modern boundaries, we would never have tumbled to the thing in the first place. What the Reds want must lie outside their twentieth century holdings,

her than roving hunters. But I'll wager anything you want to name that their point is somewhere in Euro

. "These people couldn't possibly kn

ay that the native who may stumble upon it will never know it is man-made. Our sub is a whale to all appearances. Possibly their plane is a bird, but neither c

pose I handed Lal a gun and taught him to use it. He couldn't duplicate the weapon-the tec

it would set them thinking along new lines. We might find that they would think our time right out of being. No, we dare not play tricks with the past. This is the same situation we f

or we will go under. But back in time we have to be carefu

now?" McNeil

ial run. It's his test. The sub is to

-" McNeil lay down again-"they will tak

l enough to travel. Though Ross and McNeil took turns at hunting and guard duty, they saw no signs that the tribesmen we

nison roasted the night before and went out into the chill of a fog. A little way down the valley McNeil joined them out of the mist from his guar

latting of sheep, the bark of a dog. In the fog, Ross stumbled in a shallow ditch beyond which lay a stubbled

fog was thickening. Ashe pressed the pace, using his handmade crutch carefully. He gave an audible sigh of relief when they were faced at last by two s

, that he had merely studied these tribal beliefs as lessons; he had not accepted them. Yet now, if he had been alone, he would have avoided t

. Here were walls of evergreen plants and dwarfed pines almost as if this tunnel of year-round greenery had been planted with some purpose in mind. Once his companions had concealed themselves,

cloak concealing the entire figure. It halted right in back of the arch and Ashe,

e Mother, she who sow

her mocked him in the voice of Cassca. "What do you want, o

or on the night when Lu

harply drawn breath. "How

for her and her service. If Lurgha is a mighty g

For Lurgha came-on a bird he came, and he did even as he said he would. So now the village will make offerings to Lur

ich was Lurgha, can you tell me th

me? That does not add nor take from his power." Cassca move

t does. On

knowing that I was the Mother's and that even Lurgha's thunderbolts could not eat me up. Does knowing th

ed. "I do not think Lur

That shall be as it shall be, Assha. Now go,

came out of concealment. McNeil faced in the direction she had pointed.