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Torches and fires blazed on the leach near the jutting pontoon, for Thane had sent a division of engineers, guarded by foot soldiers, to begin the work. Blade, accompanied by his two Captains, walked briskly through the encampment. He spoke to wren and inquired of their health and the quality of the food, made a joke here and there and let himself be seen by as many as possible. When they retired to his tent for tree evening meal, Blade said, «They seem in good enough spirits. How does the work go, Thane?»
The big Hitt, soured at being denied wine, was in a grumbling mood, although this was not unusual in him.
«Slowly» he said, «for I must use the dregs for this first bridge. They are slow and clumsy and must be whipped to their work. There is no help for it-I must save my best men to work at night and build the secret pontoon under water. Even I will not ask a man to work both day and night.»
Blade gnawed the last meat from a bone and cast it to one of the great Zirnian hounds favored by Ogier. «Where do you build this secret pontoon, and how soon?»
Thane unrolled a map on the table and pointed with a finger. «Here. Half a mile to the east of this place. The water is as narrow there as here, and there is a large cove just opposite, a break in the cliffs, with meadows leading inland. There is perhaps a mile of this easy ground before the mountains begin-not much, but it will give us a foothold if we ever get across.»
«Aye,» said Ogier. «A big if.»
«You two are skeptics,» gri
Thane chuckled. «Not even you, Blade, can stop soldiers from grumbling.»
Blade shrugged and assented. «I know. But see that they grumble in low tones. Now you, Ogier, must assemble boats and begin raids over the water. Always to the west, remember. We will lose men and boats, but it will be worth it. Your men must strike fast and hard, raid inland and kill as many Hitts as possible and burn villages. They have permission to loot, if there is time. This will serve to draw the Hitts to the west, where we must keep them. We will raid day after day, a steady pressure, and each raiding party will stay for only an hour before withdrawing. By this we may cut our losses somewhat.»
«Not by much,» said Ogier. «I have told you-the Hitts fight like devils, even the women and children, and it is easier to raid in than to get out again. We will lose many men and boats.»
«Then build more boats and find more men.» Blade stabbed a finger at the map. «It is essential that we keep them so busy that they have no time or thought to look eastward.»
Thane said, «There is one thing we have not taken into consideration, Blade. The leather-men. The winged ones. They ca
Blade nodded. «I have given that thought and I see no real danger. They must leap from their crags and their glide path is down. If they succeed in crossing the water, it will be easy to find and kill them.»
He had not quite believed in the leather-men at first, not until Thane had sworn it so and drawn him sketches. The Hitts trained certain men, built batlike wings of leather on light wood frames, and used them to glide among their mountains. Blade had made a thorough study and was convinced that the Hitts knew nothing of thermals or air currents and thus could not soar as could a glider back in HD. The wings were crude and permitted only a downward glide from a high peak to a lower one. Blade was impressed but not fearful. The leather-men would be only a minor headache.
Ogier, who was against the whole project, was not so sure. «They have already attacked the pontoon,» he said. «They launch from their cliffs and fly over my men working and drop stink-fire. The first attack caused a panic.»
Blade eyed him. «How many men did you lose?»
«Four only, and they became frightened and fell into the water and drowned.»
«And the leather-men-what happened to them?»
Ogier gri
«You see. Was the pontoon damaged by fire?»
«No. They missed it. But they will try again.»
Blade yawned and stretched. «I am sure they will. Good. Let them try and be killed. As long as they concentrate only on this pontoon and do not know of the one under water, I am content. We will mislead them and take them by surprise and beat them. Now let us sleep. There is much to do tomorrow.»
Thane yawned. «I agree to that. But I could sleep the better with a single cup of wine.»
«No'» said Blade. «Go to bed and dream of that pontoon you will build for me. Remember that it must be exactly one foot beneath the water.»
«I should have been a fish,» grimaced Thane as he left the tent.
The next morning they rode into the dunes and circled to the east and came to where Thane's best labor battalions were camped. Here were great stocks of pilings and planks and tools, all scattered and covered with sand. There were no fires, and Blade had lent Thane his personal Guard for security. He made a rapid inspection of the camp and was satisfied for the moment. He was sure that Loth Bloodax and the Hitts had no inkling of this place, nor of his plan. The problem was to keep it so.
There were other problems too. Thane pointed out one in particular. «We must work in the dark and in silence, Blade, and that is hard enough. But we must also work under water and that greatly slows us-I have recruited the best swimmers and those with the strongest lungs, but no man can stay under for long. So do not count on a speedy job-this bridge will be a long time building.»
«That is not good enough,» Blade complained. «The underwater pontoon must be completed just as the other one pushes near the Hitt shore-that is my whole plan, that they be drawn there and contest me fiercely. By the time they see us walking on the water, so they will think, it will be too late. That in itself will be a shock and before they recover their wits we will be ashore in strength.»
«Then teach my men to breathe under water,» said Thane in a surly tone, «and give them gills.»
Blade stroked his beard for a moment in deep thought, then gri
«Of course. Do you think to fashion gills of iron?»
«You will see. Fetch me tent cloth and needles and twine or heavy thread.»
When this was done Blade had the cloth cut into strips and rolled into tubes and stitched up. «Smear them with tar on the outside,» he ordered. «It will make a tighter seal. Now to your smithy.»
The armorers were working in a pit dug underground to lessen the noise, and their chief gaped in amazement when Blade explained what he wanted. He found a stick and drew a diagram in the sand for them.
«You have made helmets,» he told them, «and this is naught but another helmet. But large-to fit over the head and rest on the shoulders. There must be a hole in the back for the tube and a small plate of glass in the front.»
By this time, Thane had grasped the idea and swore joyously. «By the gods, Blade, you do work miracles. But one thing-how are we to force the air down to them?»