Karl Allen snatched a breath of air and gave another heave on the line tied to the raft of parampa logs bobbing in the middle of the river.
"No," he grunted1, "they're not. They always balk2 at a time like this, when they can see it'll be hard work."
Joseph Hill wiped his plump face and coiled some of the rope's slack around his thick waist.
"Together now, Karl. One! Two!"
They stood knee-deep in mud on the bank, pulling and straining on the rope, while some few yards distant, in the shade of a grove3 of trees, their tiny yllumphs nibbled4 grass and watched them critically, but made no effort to come closer.
"If we're late for ship's landing, Joe, we'll get crossed off the list."
Hill puffed5 and wheezed6 and took another hitch7 on the rope.
"That's what I've been thinking about," he said, worried.
They took a deep breath and hauled mightily9 on the raft rope. The raft bobbed nearer. For a moment the swift waters of the Karazoo threatened to tear it out of their grasp, and then it was beached, most of it solidly, on the muddy bank. One end of it still lay in the gurgling, rushing waters, but that didn't matter. They'd be back in ten hours or so, long before the heavy raft could be washed free.
"How much time have we got, Karl?"
The ground was thick with shadows, and Karl cast a critical eye at them. He estimated that even with the refusal of their yllumphs to help beach the raft, they still had a good two hours before the rocket put down at Landing City.
"Two hours, maybe a little more," he stated hastily when Hill looked more worried. "Time enough to get to Landing City and put in for our numbers on the list."
He turned back to the raft, untied10 the leather and horn saddles, and threw them over the backs of their reluctant mounts. He cinched his saddle and tied on some robes and furs behind it.
Hill watched him curiously11. "What are you taking the furs for? This isn't the trading rocket."
"I know. I thought that when we come back tonight, it might be cold and maybe she'll appreciate the coverings then."
"You never would have thought of it yourself," Hill grunted. "Grundy must have told you to do it, the old fool. If you ask me, the less you give them, the less they'll come to expect. Once you spoil them, they'll expect you to do all the trapping and the farming and the family-raising yourself."
"You didn't have to sign up," Karl pointed12 out. "You could have applied13 for a wife from some different planet."
"One's probably just as good as another. They'll all have to work the farms and raise families."
Karl laughed and aimed a friendly blow at Hill. They finished saddling up and headed into the thick forest.
It was quiet as Karl guided his mount along the dimly marked trail and he caught himself thinking of the return trip he would be making that night. It would be nice to have somebody new to talk to. And it would be good to have somebody to help with the trapping and tanning, somebody who could tend the small vegetable garden at the rear of his shack14 and mend his socks and wash his clothes and cook his meals.
And it was time, he thought soberly, that he started to raise a family. He was mid-twenty now, old enough to want a wife and children.
"You going to raise a litter, Joe?"
Hill started. Karl realized that he had probably been thinking of the same thing.
"One of these days I'll need help around the sawmill," Hill answered defensively. "Need some kids to cut the trees, a couple more to pole them down the river, some to run the mill itself and maybe one to sell the lumber15 in Landing City. Can't do it all myself."
He paused a moment, thinking over something that had just occurred to him.
"I've been thinking of your plans for a garden, Karl. Maybe I ought to have one for my wife to take care of, too."
Karl chuckled16. "I don't think she'll have the time!"
They left the leafy expanse of the forest and entered the grasslands17 that sloped toward Landing City. He could even see Landing City itself on the horizon, a smudge of rusting18, corrugated19 steel shacks20, muddy streets, and the small rocket port—a scorched21 thirty acres or so fenced off with barbed wire.
Karl looked out of the corner of his eye at Hill and felt a vague wave of uneasiness. Hill was a big, thick man wearing the soiled clothes and bristly stubble of a man who was used to living alone and who liked it. But once he took a wife, he would probably have to keep himself in clean clothes and shave every few days. It was even possible that the woman might object to Hill letting his yllumph share the hut.
The path was getting crowded, more of the colonists22 coming onto the main path from the small side trails.
Hill broke the silence first. "I wonder what they'll be like."
Karl looked wise and nodded knowingly. "They're Earthwomen, Joe. Earth!"
It was easy to act as though he had some inside information, but Karl had to admit to himself that he actually knew very little about it. He was a Second System colonist23 and had never even seen an Earthwoman. He had heard tales, though, and even discounting a large percentage of them, some of them must have been true. Old Grundy at the rocket office, who should know about these things if anybody did, seemed disturbingly lacking on definite information, though he had hinted broadly enough. He'd whistle softly and wink24 an eye and repeat the stories that Karl had already heard; but he had nothing definite to offer, no real facts at all.
Some of the other colonists whom they hadn't seen for the last few months shouted greetings, and Karl began to feel some of the carnival25 spirit. There was Jenkins, who had another trapping line fifty miles farther up the Karazoo; Leonard, who had the biggest farm on Midplanet; and then the fellow who specialized26 in catching27 and breaking in yllumphs, whose name Karl couldn't remember.
"They say they're good workers," Hill said.
Karl nodded. "Pretty, too."
They threaded their way through the crowded and muddy streets. Landing City wasn't big, compared to some of the cities on Altair, where he had been raised, but Karl was proud of it. Some day it would be as big as any city on any planet—maybe even have a population of ten thousand people or more.
"Joe," Karl said suddenly, "what's supposed to make women from Earth better than women from any other world?"
Hill located a faint itch8 and frowned. "I don't know, Karl. It's hard to say. They're—well, sophisticated, glamorous28."
Karl absorbed this in silence. Those particular qualities were, he thought, rather hard to define.
The battered29 shack that served as rocket port office and headquarters for the colonial office on Midplanet loomed30 up in front of them. There was a crowd gathered in front of the building and they forced their way through to see what had caused it.
"We saw this the last time we were here," Hill said.
"I know," Karl agreed, "but I want to take another look." He was anxious to glean31 all the information that he could.
It was a poster of a beautiful woman leaning toward the viewer. The edges of the poster were curling and the colors had faded during the last six months, but the girl's smile seemed just as inviting32 as ever. She held a long-stemmed goblet33 in one hand and was blowing a kiss to her audience with the other. Her green eyes sparkled, her smile was provocative34. A quoted sentence read: "I'm from Earth!" There was nothing more except a printed list of the different solar systems to which the colonial office was sending the women.
She was real pretty, Karl thought. A little on the thin side, maybe, and the dress she was wearing would hardly be practical on Midplanet, but she had a certain something. Glamour35, maybe?
A loudspeaker blared.
"All colonists waiting for the wife draft assemble for your numbers! All colonists...."
There was a jostling for places and then they were in the rapidly moving line. Grundy, fat and important-looking, was handing out little blue slips with numbers on them, pausing every now and then to tell them some entertaining bit of information about the women. He had a great imagination, nothing else.
Karl drew the number 53 and hurried to the grassy36 lot beside the landing field that had been decorated with bunting and huge welcome signs for the new arrivals. A table was loaded with government pamphlets meant to be helpful to newly married colonists. Karl went over and stuffed a few in his pockets. Other tables had been set out and were loaded with luncheon37 food, fixed38 by the few colonial women in the community. Karl caught himself eyeing the women closely, wondering how the girls from Earth would compare with them.
He fingered the ticket in his pocket. What would the woman be like who had drawn39 the companion number 53 aboard the rocket? For when it landed, they would pair up by numbers. The method had its drawbacks, of course, but time was much too short to allow even a few days of getting acquainted. He'd have to get back to his trapping lines and he imagined that Hill would have to get back to his sawmill and the others to their farms. What the hell, you never knew what you were getting either way, till it was too late.
"Sandwich, mister? Pop?"
Karl flipped40 the boy a coin, picked up some food and a drink, and wandered over to the landing field with Hill. There were still ten minutes or so to go before the rocket landed, but he caught himself straining his sight at the blue sky, trying to see a telltale flicker41 of exhaust flame.
The field was crowded and he caught some of the buzzing conversation.
"... never knew one myself, but let me tell you...."
"... knew a fellow once who married one, never had a moment's rest afterward42...."
"... no comparison with colonial women. They got culture...."
"... I'd give a lot to know the girl who's got number twenty-five...."
"Let's meet back here with the girls who have picked our numbers," Hill said. "Maybe we could trade."
Karl nodded, though privately43 he felt that the number system was just as good as depending on first impressions.
There was a murmur44 from the crowd and he found his gaze riveted45 overhead. High above, in the misty46 blue sky, was a sudden twinkle of fire.
He reached up and wiped his sweaty face with a muddy hand and brushed aside a straggly lock of tangled47 hair. It wouldn't hurt to try to look his best.
The twinkling fire came nearer.
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1
grunted
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| （猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说 | |
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2
balk
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| n.大方木料；v.妨碍；不愿前进或从事某事 | |
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3
grove
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| n.林子，小树林，园林 | |
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4
nibbled
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| v.啃，一点一点地咬（吃）( nibble的过去式和过去分词 )；啃出（洞），一点一点咬出（洞）；慢慢减少；小口咬 | |
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5
puffed
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| adj.疏松的v.使喷出( puff的过去式和过去分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
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6
wheezed
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| v.喘息，发出呼哧呼哧的喘息声( wheeze的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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7
hitch
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| v.免费搭(车旅行)；系住；急提；n.故障；急拉 | |
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8
itch
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| n.痒，渴望，疥癣；vi.发痒，渴望 | |
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mightily
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| ad.强烈地；非常地 | |
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10
untied
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| 松开，解开( untie的过去式和过去分词 )； 解除，使自由； 解决 | |
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11
curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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12
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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14
shack
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| adj.简陋的小屋，窝棚 | |
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15
lumber
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| n.木材，木料；v.以破旧东西堆满；伐木；笨重移动 | |
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16
chuckled
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| 轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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17
grasslands
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| n.草原，牧场( grassland的名词复数 ) | |
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18
rusting
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| n.生锈v.（使）生锈( rust的现在分词 ) | |
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19
corrugated
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| adj.波纹的；缩成皱纹的；波纹面的；波纹状的v.（使某物）起皱褶(corrugate的过去式和过去分词) | |
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20
shacks
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| n.窝棚，简陋的小屋( shack的名词复数 ) | |
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21
scorched
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| 烧焦，烤焦( scorch的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（植物）枯萎，把…晒枯； 高速行驶； 枯焦 | |
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22
colonists
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| n.殖民地开拓者，移民，殖民地居民( colonist的名词复数 ) | |
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23
colonist
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| n.殖民者，移民 | |
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24
wink
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| n.眨眼，使眼色，瞬间；v.眨眼，使眼色，闪烁 | |
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25
carnival
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| n.嘉年华会，狂欢，狂欢节，巡回表演 | |
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26
specialized
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| adj.专门的，专业化的 | |
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catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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28
glamorous
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| adj.富有魅力的；美丽动人的；令人向往的 | |
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29
battered
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| adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损 | |
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30
loomed
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| v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的过去式和过去分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近 | |
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31
glean
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| v.收集(消息、资料、情报等) | |
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32
inviting
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| adj.诱人的，引人注目的 | |
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33
goblet
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| n.高脚酒杯 | |
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34
provocative
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| adj.挑衅的，煽动的，刺激的，挑逗的 | |
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35
glamour
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| n.魔力，魅力；vt.迷住 | |
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36
grassy
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| adj.盖满草的；长满草的 | |
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37
luncheon
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| n.午宴，午餐，便宴 | |
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38
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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39
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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40
flipped
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| 轻弹( flip的过去式和过去分词 )； 按（开关）； 快速翻转； 急挥 | |
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41
flicker
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| vi./n.闪烁，摇曳，闪现 | |
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42
afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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43
privately
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| adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地 | |
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44
murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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45
riveted
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| 铆接( rivet的过去式和过去分词 )； 把…固定住； 吸引； 引起某人的注意 | |
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46
misty
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| adj.雾蒙蒙的，有雾的 | |
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47
tangled
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| adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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