"John Norman - Gor 23 - Renegades of Gor" - читать интересную книгу автора (Norman John)

him. тАЬYou two fetch it.тАЭ
тАЬIt is not on the road,тАЭ said one of the fellows.
I flung the leader to his belly in the mud and put my foot on his back.
тАЬGet the wagon!тАЭ he said.
They hurried away.
тАЬDo you think they will return?тАЭ I asked.
He was silent.
I moved my foot to the back of his neck and pressed his face down into the muddy
water. He pulled up, sputtering. тАЬYes!тАЭ he said. тАЬYes!тАЭ
He was correct. In a few Ehn the two fellows returned, leading a tharlarion
drawing another wagon. As I had anticipated, it had not been far away.
тАЬEmpty your wagon out,тАЭ I told the two. тАЬAnd place the cargo of this wagon in
what was once yours.тАЭ
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 23 Renegades of Gor


They did so. As I had anticipated the contents of their wagon was a miscellany of
cheap loot, taken from other wagons, and from refugees moving south on the
Viktel Aria, from the vicinity of ArтАЩs Station, on the Vosk.
The driver, his tharlarion freed, and on its feet, hitched it before the other beast, in
tandem. It knew his voice, and would respond more readily as the lead beast.
тАЬGive your purses to the driver,тАЭ I said.
They did so.
I myself took the contents of a metal coin box removed from their wagon and
emptied it into my wallet. It contained several coins, the loot, probably, of better
than several daysтАЩ work. To be sure, most of the coins there were small, such as
would be likely to weight only a threadbare purse. The number, however, more
than compensated for the generally unimpressive denominations. There must have
been the equivalent there of seventeen or eighteen silver tarsks.
I located the stones which were missing from the edge of the road. They were in
the ditch below their place, half sunk in the mud. Apparently they had been
removed deliberately from the road, and might be replaced, thence to be removed
again, at will, to (pg.11) again jeopardize the integrity of the road, their absence in
the darkness in effect, constituting a trap. The three fellows, with my
encouragement, in the rain, replaced them.
I again took them to the bottom of the ditch, by the overturned wagon.
тАЬKneel there,тАЭ I told the three of them, тАЬbetween the wheels, with your backs to
the bottom of the wagon.тАЭ
They complied, kneeling with the bottom of the overturned wagon behind them.
From this position it would be difficult for them to bolt.
тАЬTake everything, but let us go!тАЭ begged the leader.
тАЬI am thinking,тАЭ I told him, тАЬof tying you naked on your back, over the tongue of
the wagon, and fastening your two fellows, on their backs, stripped, over the
wheels. It might be amusing to spin them about.тАЭ
They regarded one another, frightened.
тАЬBut you are not female slaves,тАЭ I mused.
тАЬMen would find us with the loot about, and impale us!тАЭ said the leader.
That was not improbable. Thieves are often dealt with harshly on Gor.
тАЬDo not condemn us to death!тАЭ begged the leader.