354
“Mutiny,” said the mate. “I gave the rat a task to do, which he flatly refused.”
The well-dressed man said; “It is Dossolan law that cases of mutiny at sea be tried by the captain of the ship, who bears judicial7 powers for this purpose; else mutiny would spread through a ship. I would have your writer here record that I make formal demand for the body of this criminal, in accordance with the treaty of amity8 and respect between your nation and the Queen, my mistress.”
One of the grey men said calmly; “Be it recorded. Record also that the treaty declares none shall be delivered before the adjudgment of guilt9, for though we be all criminous, it is not love’s desire that men shall exploit each other for anything but sins determined10 as such by the word of human law.”
(The well-dressed man’s eyes said utter disgust.) His lips said; “How can there be an adjudgment before trial? It is to try him that we demand him.”
The second Initiate5 spoke11. “This young man has placed himself in the protection of the domain12 of Mancherei. Before he is delivered for trial there is required proof of a wrong-doing that would merit sentence. Is there such proof?”
“Why, damme, yes!” said the mate. “I saw the fellow do it; I heard him refuse my order. Here are two of my crew to say as much.” He swept a hand toward the Kjermanash, who began to cackle at once, but the first Initiate merely nodded to the writer, who laid the pen down and clicked at the pair in their own tongue. When they had answered, he said; “They declare it is true that Ser—” he consulted his sheet “—Bergelin was ordered to repair a mast, and he refused.”
The Initiate looked at Rodvard (and not a thing could he read behind those cold eyes, though they seemed to pierce him through), saying, “The evidence is sufficient for a trial unless you can contradict it.”
Said Rodvard; “I could not make the repair. I did not know how.”
The Initiate; “That is a question for the trial to determine; no reason for not hearing the case.”
The mate guffawed13. Cried Rodvard, in despair; “But sers, this captain—I pray you . . . it is not for this . . . he is . . .”
355
“You shall clearly speak your trouble; for it is the will of love that nothing is to be hidden.”
Rodvard felt the rosy14 flush light up his cheek. “Well, then, it is not for any failure of duty that this captain pursues me, but because I would not be the partner of his unnatural15 lust16.”
With an exclamation17, the ambassador of Dossola brought his hand down on the table, and the hard-faced mate gave a growl18, but the Initiates were as unmoved as mountains. One of them said; “No lust is more natural or less so than another, since all are contrary to the law of love, and the soul in which love runs full tide may and should give to this unreal world of matter all that it desires, without imputation19 of sin. Yet we do find that if the wrong cause for this trial has been stated, there is a basis of appeal to our law. We would hear of this further.”
He signed; the writer spoke to the Kjermanash, while the mate glared venom20 at them, his glances darting21 from one to the other. The seamen22 seemed hesitant, especially the fat young one, to whom the writer chiefly addressed himself. Though Rodvard could not understand a word, the voice-lilt told clearly enough how the tale was going. Now the lad began to catch at his breath and sniffle, saying a few more words. The mate’s head turned slowly round (hardest murder staring from his eyes), while his hand slid, slid toward belt and knife—
“No!” cried Rodvard. “He’s going to kill him!” The mate leaped snarling23 to his feet, bringing out the knife with the same motion, but Rodvard’s shout had quickened the guards. One stepped forward, striking with his truncheon, while the other seized his man from behind, arm around neck. A roar from the mate, squeaks24 from the Kjermanash, and with a crash of heavy bodies, the big man was down and firmly held, cursing and trying to wring25 a broken hand. One of the Initiates said serenely26; “This is an act of self-accusation”; then to the writer; “Do these also accuse?”
“Yes, Brother. The lesser27 one says that he has been this captain’s catamite and that Ser Bergelin was cabin-keeper to the captain and must have been solicited28 to such purpose, for this was his custom with all. They say further that an order was given to throw Ser Bergelin into the sea. Further, they say they were instructed as to what they should report on the repairing of the mast.”
356
“Love is illumination,” said the Initiate. His companion; “Our decision is that this mate shall pay a fine of ten Dossolan scudi for ruffling29 the peace of this court; but for having brought false accusations30 against one under the protection of the Prophet, he shall be submitted to detention31 of the body and instruction in doctrine32 until such time as the court shall release him.”
The mate gave a yell. “I protest,” said the well-dressed ambassador, “against the condemnation33 of one of our gracious Queen’s subjects on perjured34 evidence and as the result of the actions of one who is not only himself a criminal, but a provocator of others.”
“Your protest is recorded. We declare the business of this case has been dispatched.” The two Initiates rose as though their muscles were controlled by a single mind, but as the Dossolan rose also and the guards frogmarched their prisoner out, one of them looked at Rodvard. “You will remain, young man,” he said.
II
They sat down again. One of them said; “Be seated,” and the pair stared at him unmoving with those impassive eyes. The inspection35 lasted a good three or four minutes; Rodvard itched36 and hardly dared to squirm. One of them addressed him:
“You bear a Blue Star.”
(It was not a question, but a statement; Rodvard did not feel an answer called for, therefore made none.)
“Be warned,” said the second Initiate, “that it is somewhat less potent37 here than elsewhere, since it is the command of the God of love that all shall deal in truth, and therefore there is little hidden for it to reveal.”
“But I—” began Rodvard. The Initiate held up his hand for silence:
“Doubtless you thought that your charm permitted you to read all that is in the mind. Learn, young man, that the value of this stone being founded on witchery and evil, will teach you only the thoughts that stem from the Evil god; as hatred38, licentiousness39, cruelty, deception40, murder.”
Now Rodvard was silent (thinking swiftly that this might be true, that although he was no veteran of this jewel, it had never told him anything good about anyone).
“Where is your witch?” said one of the Initiates.
“In Dossola.”
“It will be impossible for you to return there with the case of today’s court standing41 against you, and the mate of your ship in our detention, by our necessary action.”
“Perhaps, in time—” began Rodvard.
357
“Nor can you well bring her here,” said the other Initiate. “The practice of witchery is not forbidden among us as it is by the laws of your country. But we hold it to be a sin against the God of love, and it is required that those found in witchery undergo a period of instruction in the couvertines of the Myonessae.”
(A wild wave of longing42 for Lalette swept across him, drowning the formless regret of leaving behind the Sons of the New Day—a new life—an empty life—“No spirit in it,” the old man had said.) Before Rodvard could think of anything to say, one of the Initiates spoke again:
“All life in this material world is a turning from one void to another, and shall be escaped only by filling the void with love. And this is the essence of Spirit.”
(A jar like a fall from a height told him that he was facing men who could follow his thought almost as clearly as he could that of others, and Rodvard half thought of how the butler at Sedad Vix had said it was possible to conceal43 one’s thoughts; half wondered what these strange men wanted with him.) The strong, resonant44 voice went on; “It is not the thought of the mind, but the purpose of the heart for which we seek; for the mind is as material as the world on which it looks—a creature of evil—while the other is arcane45.”
Said the second Initiate, as though this matter had now been settled; “What is your profession?”
“I am a clerk. I was in the Office of Pedigree at Netznegon.”
“Here we have no pedigrees. Soil-tillers are needed; but if you lack the skill or desire for such labor46, you may serve in the commercial counter which places for sale the products of the Prophet’s benevolence47.”
“I think I would prefer the second,” said Rodvard (not really thinking it at all; for tillage and commercial clerkship, he held to be equal miseries48, yet the latter might offer a better chance of release).
The Initiates stood up. “We will inform the stylarion at the door, who will find you harborage and instruct you where you are to report for work. You must give him your money of Dossolan coinage, which he will replace with that of ours.”
“But I have no money of any coinage, none at all,” said Rodvard.
The two stopped in their progress toward the door and turned on him faces which, for the first time, were struck with frown. One of them said severely49; “Young man, you have evidently been under the control of the god of Evil. Unless this financial stringency50 disappears, we shall be required to order that you take doctrinal instruction; and it were better if you did so in any case. The stylarion will give you a warrant for new garments and your other immediate51 needs, but all must be strictly52 repaid, and within no long time.”
358
They left. Rodvard thought their final remarks a very strange pendant to the generosity53 they had otherwise shown; and wondered unhappily whether he would ever see Lalette again.
III
The lodging54 assigned was in a room over the shop of a tailor named Gualdis, at a corner where three streets ran together. The man had a fat wife and three daughters, one of whom brought from a cookshop on the corner a big dish of lentils and greens with bits of sausage through it, from which they all ate together. The girls chartered profusely55, curious as so many magpies56 about Rodvard and how life was lived in Dossola, for they were too young to remember when Prince Pavinius had turned from Grand Governor to Prophet and the Tritulaccan war began.
Rodvard liked the middle one best; called Leece. She had thick and vividly57 black eyebrows58 that gave her eyes a sparkle when she laughed, which was frequently. (The Blue Star told him that behind the sparkle crouched59 a kind of dumb question whether he might not be the destined60 man, and the thought of being sought by her was not unpleasant to him, but she turned her head so rapidly and talked so much that he could make out no more.)
After he had been shown to his bed, the usual sleeplessness61 of a changed condition of life came to him, and he began to examine his thoughts. He felt happy beneath all, and doubting whether he were entitled to, searched for some background of the sense of approaching peril62 which had held him the night Lalette came to his pensionnario door, and again when he spoke with Tuolén the butler. But it was nowhere; all seemed well in spite of the fact that he was more or less a prisoner in this land. The common report had it that this was not an unusual experience, that Amorosian agents circulated all through the homeland, recruiting for their own purposes especially those with any touch of witchery, and he thought that might be true. The Initiate on the ship had taken him very readily into protection, and if he were like those in the court, must have known that Rodvard bore a Blue Star.
359
Yet it seemed to him that these Amorosians were so well disposed toward each other that one might do worse to live out a life among them, in spite of a certain unearthliness among their Initiates. Now also he began to look back toward Dossola and to understand why it was that Mancherei should be so hated, most particularly by the upper orders. For it seemed that if he could but return, persuade Remigorius, Mathurin and the rest how the people of the Prophet lived among themselves, the Sons of the New Day might fulfill63 their mission by striking an alliance in Mancherei. No, never (he answered himself); that would be to set the son above the parent, the colony over the homeland, and politic64 would never permit it.
Yet was it not cardinal65 in the thinking of the Sons of the New Day that to hold such a thing wrong was in itself wrong? The evil in the old rule was that it set one man above another for no other reason but his birth. Was not Pyax the Zigraner, with his odd smell and slanted66 eye, entitled to as much consideration as Baron67 Brunivar? Why not then, up with the standard of Mancherei and its Prophet? For that, what had Pavinius found so wrong in this place that he had deserted68 the very rule he founded?
Rodvard twisted in his bed, and thought—of course; I have been slow indeed to miss the flaw. For though there were no episcopals here, the Initiates surely filled their office. If freedom from tyranny were won only by making episcopals into judges, then it was only a viler69 slavery. Was life, then, a question of whether spirit or body should be free? But on this question Rodvard found himself becoming so involved that he went to sleep, and did not wake till day burned behind the shutters70.
Leece brought him his breakfast on a tray and wished him a merry morning, but when he would have spoken to her, said she must hurry to her employ. (Her eyes had some message he could not quite read; if the Initiates were right, it would be a gentle one, and kindly71.) His mind was more on her than on his new fortune as he went forth72, and he missed a turning in the streets, so that his task began badly with a tardy73 arrival.
The building of his toil74, like so many in Charalkis, was new and of brick, with mullioned windows along the street front and a low, wide door at one side, through which carts passed empty to pick up bales at a platform within. Rodvard entered to see a row of clerks on stools sitting before a single long desk and writing away as though for dear life. A short, round man paced up and down nervously75 behind them, now and again speaking to one of the writers, or hearing a question from another.
This short man came over to Rodvard and looked up and down his length. “I am the protostylarion,” he announced. “Are you Bergelin, the Dossolan clerk? You are in retard76 by a third of a glass. The fine is two obulas. Come this way.”
360
He led down to the inner end of the desk, where under the least light stood a vacant stool. “Here is your place. For the beginning, you have the task of posting to the records of individual couvertines from those of the general sales by ships. Here—this is a ship’s manifest from a voyage to Tritulacca. Three clocks from the couvertine Arpik, as you see, have been sold for eight reuls Tritulaccan. You will open a sheet for Arpik, on which noting this fact, one sheet for each couvertine, then place a mark here to show that the matter is cared for, not pausing to translate—yes, Ivrigo?”
The interrupter held his ledger77 in hand and diddled from foot to foot, as though being held from a cabinet of ease. “Oh, Ser Maltusz, I crave78 pardon, but I cannot carry through this posting according to system until I have a ruling on where falls the sea-loss in such a case.”
“Hm, let me see—why, stupidity, look there! It is plainly stated that no offer had been made on the said lost bales. They were therefore couvertine goods still, and not regarding whether the loss were caused by piracy79 or not, it must fall there.” He turned back to Rodvard. “Do not try to translate into our money, for that is the function of another. You are expected to finish this manifest by evening.”
“I have never done this—”
“Work is prayer. There is the lamp.”
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daggers
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| 匕首，短剑( dagger的名词复数 ) | |
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truculent
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| adj.野蛮的，粗野的 | |
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negligent
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| adj.疏忽的；玩忽的；粗心大意的 | |
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proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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initiate
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| vt.开始，创始，发动；启蒙，使入门；引入 | |
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initiates
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| v.开始( initiate的第三人称单数 )；传授；发起；接纳新成员 | |
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judicial
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| adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的 | |
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amity
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| n.友好关系 | |
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guilt
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| n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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domain
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| n.(活动等)领域，范围；领地，势力范围 | |
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guffawed
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| v.大笑，狂笑( guffaw的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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rosy
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| adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的 | |
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unnatural
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| adj.不自然的；反常的 | |
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lust
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| n.性(淫)欲；渴(欲)望；vi.对…有强烈的欲望 | |
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exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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growl
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| v.（狗等）嗥叫，（炮等）轰鸣；n.嗥叫，轰鸣 | |
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imputation
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| n.归罪，责难 | |
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venom
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| n.毒液，恶毒，痛恨 | |
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darting
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的现在分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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seamen
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| n.海员 | |
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snarling
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| v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的现在分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说 | |
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squeaks
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| n.短促的尖叫声，吱吱声( squeak的名词复数 )v.短促地尖叫( squeak的第三人称单数 )；吱吱叫；告密；充当告密者 | |
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wring
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| n.扭绞；v.拧，绞出，扭 | |
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serenely
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| adv.安详地，宁静地，平静地 | |
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lesser
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| adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地 | |
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solicited
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| v.恳求( solicit的过去式和过去分词 )；（指娼妇）拉客；索求；征求 | |
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ruffling
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| 弄皱( ruffle的现在分词 )； 弄乱； 激怒； 扰乱 | |
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accusations
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| n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名 | |
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detention
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| n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下 | |
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doctrine
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| n.教义；主义；学说 | |
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condemnation
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| n.谴责; 定罪 | |
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perjured
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| adj.伪证的，犯伪证罪的v.发假誓，作伪证( perjure的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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inspection
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| n.检查，审查，检阅 | |
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itched
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| v.发痒( itch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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potent
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| adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的 | |
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hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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licentiousness
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| n.放肆，无法无天 | |
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deception
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| n.欺骗，欺诈；骗局，诡计 | |
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standing
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longing
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| n.（for）渴望 | |
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conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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resonant
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| adj.(声音)洪亮的，共鸣的 | |
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arcane
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| adj.神秘的，秘密的 | |
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labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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benevolence
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| n.慈悲，捐助 | |
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miseries
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| n.痛苦( misery的名词复数 )；痛苦的事；穷困；常发牢骚的人 | |
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severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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stringency
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| n.严格，紧迫，说服力；严格性；强度 | |
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immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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strictly
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| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
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generosity
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| n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为 | |
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lodging
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| n.寄宿，住所；(大学生的)校外宿舍 | |
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profusely
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| ad.abundantly | |
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magpies
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| 喜鹊（magpie的复数形式） | |
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vividly
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| adv.清楚地，鲜明地，生动地 | |
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eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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crouched
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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sleeplessness
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peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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fulfill
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| vt.履行，实现，完成；满足，使满意 | |
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politic
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| adj.有智虑的；精明的；v.从政 | |
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cardinal
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| n.(天主教的)红衣主教；adj.首要的，基本的 | |
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slanted
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| 有偏见的； 倾斜的 | |
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baron
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| n.男爵；(商业界等)巨头，大王 | |
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68
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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69
viler
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| adj.卑鄙的( vile的比较级 )；可耻的；极坏的；非常讨厌的 | |
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70
shutters
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| 百叶窗( shutter的名词复数 )； （照相机的）快门 | |
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71
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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72
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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73
tardy
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| adj.缓慢的，迟缓的 | |
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74
toil
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| vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事 | |
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75
nervously
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| adv.神情激动地，不安地 | |
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76
retard
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| n.阻止，延迟；vt.妨碍，延迟，使减速 | |
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77
ledger
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| n.总帐，分类帐；帐簿 | |
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78
crave
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| vt.渴望得到，迫切需要，恳求，请求 | |
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79
piracy
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| n.海盗行为，剽窃，著作权侵害 | |
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