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"Ahem," said Magnus Ridolph. "A pity."
"Fred Exman was adjutant here then. On his own authority he ordered the ban removed, told them to fight till they were blue in the face. The wars began half an hour later, and the natives have been happy and healthy ever since."
"If what you say is true," Magnus Ridolph remarked mildly, "I have fallen into the common fault of wishing to impose my personal tenor of living upon creatures constitutionally disposed to another."
Clark said emphatically, "I don't like to see those sadistic bounders at the hotel capitalizing on the wars, but what can I do about it? And the tourists are no better: morbid unhealthy jackals, enjoying the sight of death..."
Magnus Ridolph suggested cautiously, "Then it would be safe to say that, as a private individual, you would not be averse to a cessation of the gambling at Shadow Valley I
"Not at all," said Everley Clark. "As a private citizen, I've always thought that Julius See, Bruce Holpers and their guests represented mankind at its worst."
"One more detail," said Magnus Ridolph. "I believe you speak and understand the Kokod language?"
"After a fashion - yes." Clark grimaced in apprehension. "You realize I can't compromise Control officially?"
"I understand that very well."
"Just what do you plan, then?"
"I'll know better after I witness one or two of these campaigns."
III
SOFT CHIMES roused Magnus Ridolph; he opened his eyes into the violet gloom of Kokod dawn. "Yes?"
The hotel circuit said, "Five o'clock, Mr. Ridolph. The first party for today's battle leaves in one hour."
"Thank you." Ridolph swung his bony legs over the edge of the air-cushion, sat a reflective moment. He gained his feet, gingerly performed a set of calisthenic exercises.
In the bathroom he rinsed his mouth with tooth-cleanser, rubbed depilatory on his cheeks, splashed his face with cold water, applied tonic to his trim white beard.
Returning to the bedroom, he selected a quiet gray and blue outfit, with a rather dashing cap.
His room opened upon a terrace facing the mountainside; as he strolled forth, the two women whom he had encountered in the charabanc the day previously came past. Magnus Ridolph bowed, but the women passed without even a side glance.
"Cut me dead, by thunder," said Magnus Ridolph to himself. "Well, well." And he adjusted his cap to an even more rakish angle.
In the lobby a placard a
IVORY DUNE TUMBLE vs. EASTERN SHIELD TUMBLE at Muscadine Meadow.
All bets must be placed with the attendant.
Odds against Ivory Dune - 8:13
Odds against Eastern Shield - 5:4
In the last hundred battles Ivory Dune has won 41 engagements, Eastern Shield has won 59.
Excursions leave as follows:
For deployment: 6:00 a.m.
For onslaught: 7:00 a.m.
For battle proper: 8:00 a.m.
It is necessary that no interference be performed in the vicinity of the battle. Any guest infringing on this rule will be barred from further wagering. There will be no exceptions.
At a booth nearby, two personable young women were issuing betting vouchers. Magnus Ridolph passed quietly into the restaurant, where he breakfasted lightly on fruit juice, rolls and coffee, finishing in ample time to secure a place with the first excursion.
The observation vehicle was of that peculiar variety used in conveying a large number of people across a rough terrain. The car proper was suspended by a pair of cables from a kite-copter which flew five hundred feet overhead. The operator, seated in the nose of the car, worked pitch and attack by remote control, and so could skim quietly five feet over the ground, hover over waterfalls, ridges, ponds, other areas of scenic beauty with neither noise nor the thrash of driven air to disturb the passengers.
Muscadine Meadow was no small distance away; the operator lofted the ship rather abruptly over Basalt Mountain, then slid on a long slant into the northeast. Pi Sagittarius rolled up into the sky like a melon, and the grays, greens, reds, purples of the Kokod countryside shone up from below, rich as Circassian tapestry.
"We are near the Eastern Shield," the attendant a
Bending forward studiously, Magnus Ridolph noticed a brown and yellow column winding across the mountainside. To their rear he saw first the tall stele, rising two hundred feet, spraying over at the top into a fountain of pink, black and light green foliage; then below, the conical tumble.
The car sank slowly, drifted over a wooded patch of broken ground, halted ten feet above a smooth green meadow.
"This is the Muscadine," a
A woman's voice said peevishly, "Can't you take the car up higher so we can see everything?"
"Certainly, if you wish, Mrs. Chaim."
Five hundred feet above, copter blades slashed the air; the car wafted up like thistledown.
The guide continued, "The Eastern Shield warriors can be seen coming over the hill... It seems as if they surmise the Ivory Dune strategy and will attempt to attack the flank... There!" His voice rose animatedly. "By the bronze tree! The scouts have made a brush... Eastern Shield lures the Ivory Dune scouts into ambush... They're gone. Apparently today's code is 4, or possibly 36, allowing all weapons to be used freely, without restriction."
An old man with a nose like a raspberry said, "Put us down, driver. From up here we might as well be back at the i
"Certainly, Mr. Pilby."
The car sank low. Mrs. Chaim sniffed and glared.
The meadow rose from below; the car grounded gently on glossy dark green creepers. The guide said, "Anyone who wishes may go further on foot. For safety's sake, do not approach the battle more closely than three hundred feet; in any event the i
"Hurry," said Mr. Pilby sharply. "The onslaught will be over before we're in place."
The guide good-naturedly shook his head. "They're still sparring for position, Mr. Pilby. They'll be dodging and feinting half an hour yet; that's the basis of their strategy - neither side wants to fight until they're assured of the best possible advantage." He opened the door. With Pilby in the lead, several dozen of the spectators stepped down on Muscadine Meadow, among them Magnus Ridolph, Mrs. Chaim and her peacock-shaped friend whom she addressed as "Mrs. Borgage."
"Careful, ladies and gentlemen," called the guide. "Not too close to the battle."
"I've got my money on Eastern Shield," said Mrs. Borgage with heavy archness. "I'm going to make sure there's no fu
Magnus Ridolph inspected the scene of battle. "I'm afraid you are doomed to disappointment, Mrs. Borgage. In my opinion, Ivory Dune has selected the stronger position; if they hold on their right flank, give a trifle at the center, and catch the Eastern Shield forces on two sides when they close in, there should be small doubt as to the outcome of today's encounter."
"It must be wonderful to be so penetrating," said Mrs. Borgage in a sarcastic undertone to Mrs. Chaim.
Mr. Pilby said, "I don't think you see the battleground in its entire perspective, sir. The Eastern Shield merely needs to come in around that line of trees to catch the whole rear of the Ivory Dune line - "