美铁之战系列 第三卷 铁领主 第17部分

thewoods,firingvolleysofarrowsacrossthegorgeastheygalloped

downtowardsthehighway.

Andscoringhits.Ouch!Ahorserearedupandfellbackwardsontop

ofitsrider.Steveacceleratedrapidly.

Therewasnopointingettingcaughtinthecrossfire.Hisfrantic

dashthroughthetreesremindedhimoftheafternoonhehadbeenchased

throughanotherforestbyaposseofMutes.Hehadgiventhemtheslip

bydivingintoarockpoolandhidingclosetothebankamongthe

reeds.

Giventhechancehe'dhavedonethesamethingnowbuthewastoohigh

up.Everystreamhecameacrosswasnomorethanankle-deep.Theonly

thinghecoulddowaskeepgoing.Hesettleddownintotheloping

stridehe'dpickedupfromrunningwiththeM'CallBears.The

accumulatedachesandpainsofthepastweeksmerged,becomingan

exquisiteburningsensationthatenvelopedhimfromheadtofootashe

pushedhisbodytothelimits.

Itwentpastthepointofbeingunbearableandinducedastrangekind

ofeuphoriathatdampeddownallphysicalsensation.Hecouldbarely

feelhisfeetthuddingagainsttheground,orhispain-wrackedlungs

that,onlymomentsbefore,hadfeltasiftheywereabouttoexplode

insidehischest.Hewasconsciousofbeingoutsidehimself.Itwas

asifhisbrainhadpartedcompanywithhisbodyandwasfloatingjust

aboveandbehindhim,saying,'Yougorightaheadanddowhatyouhave

todo,fella.Don'tworryaboutme.Ican'tfeelathing."

Stevehadbeentherebeforeandknewfromexperiencethathecould

maintainthesamerelentlesspaceforseveralhours.Buthecouldnot

outrunagallopinghorse-andthatwasfastbecominghismostpressing

problem.Hehadchangeddirectionseveraltimesbutwhicheverwayhe

turned,thefugitiveriderswhowereobviouslyasconfusedashewas

always'seemedtoendupheadinginthesamedirection!

Theonlysolutionwastotaketothetreesandstaytheretillthe

excitementdieddown.Butwhatwouldhedoifthehometeamspotted

himandtookhimforoneoftheopposition?Hewouldbetrapped,out

onalimblikeatreedmountain-cat.Butthen,iftheycaughthimit

wouldn'tmatterwhotheythoughthewas.Thejigwouldbeup.Itwas

achancehe'dhavetotake.Heshinneduptheleafiesttreehecould

find,pullinghislegsupoutofsightasthegroundshookunderthe

hoovesofthefrontrunners.

ThegapsintheleavesprovidedStevewithafewbriefsnapshotsofthe

ridersastheyspedby,crouchedlowovertheirhorses.Theirfaces

andarmsweresmearedwithdirt,andtheirdresswasasvariedasthe

ragtaguniformswornbyMalone'srenegades.Someworearmour,but

nobodyseemedtoownafullset.Twoorthreehadsmallsquareshields

fixedtotheirshoulders.Mosthadhelmetsofonesortoranother,

somewithwidesweepingbrimsandwhatlookedlikemetalhornsor

crescentmoonsattachedtothefront.Afewhadatangledmessof

shoulder-lengthhairstreamingoutfromunderheadbandsofcloth.All

theridersStevecaughtaglimpseofworecurvingswords-themarkof

samurai-plusavarietyofotherweapons:spears,halberds,two-bladed

axesandbowsandarrows.Weretheseoutlaws?DidtheIronMasters

havetheirownbrandofbreakers?

Movingtoahigherbranch,Stevesawanothersizeablebunchgallop

throughthesmallclearing,followedashortwhilelaterbyahandful

ofstragglers.Thelastonehadturnedroundinhissaddleandwas

shoutinghoarselyintheIronMasters'nonsenselanguage.Fromhis

gesturesitwasclearhewasurgingonsomeonewhohadfallenbehind.

Hepausedbriefly,hissweatinghorsepawingthegroundnervously,then

rodeon.AfewsecondslaterStevecaughtsightofanotherrider.But

thisguywasintrouble.Hishorsehadslowedtoatrotandhewas

hunchedupinthesaddlewithtwoarrowshaftsstickingoutofhis

back.

Nowthat,thoughtSteve,musthurt.Helostsightoftheriderashe

crossedtheclearing,thenheardasharpcrackandadullthudrolled

intoone.

Peeringdownthelineofthetrunk,Stevesawthattheguyhadfallen

offandnowlayatthefootofthetree.Hiswide-brimmedhelmetand

theshanksoflonghairthatwentwithithadrolledtooneside,

revealingaheadthatwascompletelybald.Theriderlesshorsemoved

restlesslybackandforthnearby,snatchinghurriedmouthfulsof

grass.Stevewasfilledwithastrangefeeling.Thishastobefate,

hethought.Itwastotallymad.Insane.Butavoicethatwasnothis

ownurgedhimon.Quickly!Beforeit'stoolate!Hismind

resisted.

ButIdon'tknowhowtoridethesethings!Nevermind,saidthe

voice.

Justdoit/Hedroppedoutofthetreeandtookaquicklookatthe

fallenIronMaster.Hehadlandedonhisback,flatteningthe

lacqueredwoodenarrowshaftsbeneathhim.Theimpacthaddriventhe

bladedpointsoutthroughhischest.

Hewasn'tdead,buthesoonwouldbe.Steverelievedhimofhissword,

thenscoopedupthelong-hairedhelmetandputitonhishead.Pulling

theplaitedstrapfirmlyunderhischin,hegatheredupthereinsof

thehorse,tookadeepbreathandhauledhimselfaboard.

Okay,sweetSky-Mother,let'sgo.tThehorsetookoffwithSteve

bobblingaroundinthesaddlelikeaping-pongballinashooting

gallery.ButMo-Town-orsomeotherbenigndeity-kepthiminhis

seatuntilhisfeetfoundthestirrupsandsomeinnatesenseofrhythm

broughthisundulatingbacksideintopartialphasewiththeriseand

fallofthehorsebeneathhim.WhatStevewantedtodomostofallwas

stopandgetoff,buthedidn'tknowwhichbuttonstopress.The

alternativewastothrowhimselfoff,buthewastooscaredtotry.

Thehorsewasgoingtoofastandhewastoohighofftheground.Ifhe

failedtogetclearandfellunderitshooves...

Stevedrovethethoughtfromhismind.Itwasclearhehadmadea

serioustacticalerror.Hehadshinnedupthe

?

treetogetoutofthewayofthewildbunch-andherehewashardon

theirheels!Infairness,ithadtobesaiditwasnotofhisown

volition.Hisentireenergieswereconcentratedonstayinguprightin

thesaddleandavoidinggettinghisbrainsknockedloosebylow-hanging

branches.Therewasnowayhecouldsteeratthesametime-evenif

hehadknownhow.Stevehad,infact,lostthereinsandwashanging

on,white-knuckled,tothefrontedgeofthesaddle.Hisfeetkept

springingoutofthestirrupsandeverytimetheybangedagainstthe

horse'sribs,ittensedupandmadeanotherwildsurgeforward.

Christo!WhatonearthhadpersuadedtheIronMasterstousesucha

capriciousmeansoftransportation?Nowondertheyhadnohair.They

musthavetornitallouttryingtofigureouthowtostayontopof

thegoddamnedthings.

Stevecouldseethatahorseofferedcertainadvantages:ifyouhada

lotofgroundtocoveritwastheanimalthatdidmostoftheworkin

gettingyouthere.

Butjeeezzz-thepain!Thesinewsinhisthighswerezinginglike

overstretchedriggingwires,andeverytimehisasscollidedwiththe

horseitfeltasifared-hotknifehadbeendrivenintothebaseof

hisspine.Thediscomfortwassomethinghecouldcopewith.What

worriedhimmostwasthefacthewasnowthemeatinthesandwich:if

hetriedtoslowthehorsedownthehometeammightcatchupwithhim;

ifitwenttoofast,hecouldlandhimselfinthearmsofthewild

bunch.

Unawareoftheproblemsitwascausingitsrider,thehorsegalloped

on,weavingitswaythroughthetreeswithouttheslightest

hesitation.

Sincetherewasnotrailbeneathitsfeet,itmusthavebeenfollowing

aninternalroutemap.Whichindicatedtheanimalwasnotasstupidas

itlooked-eveniftheroutedidnotalwayscontainsufficient

headroomforthepersononitsback.Withinashorttime,Steve'sface

andlimbswerestriped,bruisedandbleedingfromthesearing

whiplashesdeliveredbybushandbranchalongtheway.Theheadlong

dashforfreedomwasalsotakingitstollofthehorse.Itsbreathing

washarshandlaboured,anditsquiveringflankswerecoveredwitha

soapylather,butsomehowtheanimalfoundthestaminatokeepgoing

mileaftermile,drivenonbythesameherdinstinctStevehadseen

demonstratedbyfast-footandbuffalo.Riderandmountwerepossessed

bythesameurgentneedtoreachsomeplaceofsafety.Butwheremight

thatbe?Itwasthekindofsituationhealwaysdidhisutmostto

avoid.

Sowhat'shappeninghere,Brickman?Imean,aren'tyoutheguythat

likestoplanahead?Y'know-figureoutalltheangles...?

Yeah,right,but,Nevermindthe'buts'!Comeon!it'Sabouttimeyou

gotahandleonthissituation.Let'sseesomepositiveactionhere!

Easiersaidthandone.Stevewasstilltheguywholikedtofigureout

alltheangles,buthehadnoticedthateversinceClearwaterhad

crossedhispathhehadbecomepreytosudden,dangerousimpulses.The

off-the-cuffdecisiontostowawayonboardoneofYama-Shita's

wheelboatswithoutaskingeventhemostelementaryquestionsaboutwhat

hemightfindwhenhegottowherevertheyweregoingwasaprime

example.

Leapingastridethisanimalwasanother.Itwasjustnotlikehim.Or

wasit?

Fromtheverybeginning,enteringthebluesky-worldwaslikecoming

home.Whathehadexperiencedrancountertoeverythinghehadbeen

taught.Itwaslikebeingtornintwo.Hehadbecomeimpatientand

increasinglyrebellious,haddiscoveredfeelingshecouldnotputinto

wordsandwasnowdrivenbytheneedtofindhisrightfulplaceinthe

wholegreatschemeofthings.Thisinnerconflicthadgivenbirthto

thesureandcertainfeelingthatitwastheovergroundthatheldthe

keytothequestionswhichplaguedhim.Itwasherethathewould

discovernotonlythetruthabouthimselfbutalsothedarksecretsso

jealouslyguardedbytheFirstFamily.Perhaps,inallowingthehorse

tocarryhimwhereverithadamindto,hewasbeinggivenasign.A

gentlewarningtostoptryingtomanipulatepeople,toalwaysbein

control.Perhapshewasbeingaskedtoputhislifeinsomeoneelse's

hands-toallowthemtomanipulatehim.Itwasaninteresting

proposition,andonehewoulddefinitelygivesomeseriousthought

to.

Butnotrightnow.

Theshoutsandtrumpetcallsofhispursuersslowlydiedaway,and

therewasnosignofthewildbunchupfront.Thefearthathadturned

Steve'sballsintofrozenwalnutsslowlymeltedaway.Afterawhile,

theforestbegantothin.Soonthereweremorebushesthantherewere

trees,moreskythanleaves,andtheonlythingsmackinghiminthe

facewasfreshair.Aheadofhimwasariseintheground.Steve

gatheredupthereinsandmanagedtogetthehorsetostopshortofthe

crestsothat,bystandingupinthestirrups,hecouldtakeapeekat

whatlayontheotherside.

Thegroundfellawayunevenlyintoarock-strewnrivervalley.Onthe

farsidetherewasmorebrokengroundrisinguptomeetaheavily

forestedslopewhichringedamountainous,flat-toppedchunkofbare

rock.

Itsdeeplyfissuredsideswereonlyafewdegreesofftheverticaland,

fromadistance,itlookedlikethestumpofagiantstonetreerooted

inamoundofredmoss;afossilizedrelicofsomebygoneage.

Anxioustoreachitschosendestination,thehorsemovedforward,

strainingatthebit.Atthesameinstant,thewildbunch-orat

leastsomeofthem-madetheirsecondappearanceoftheday.This

time,however,theywerenotheadingtowardshim-atleastnotyet.

Theycameoutbetweenthetreesonthefarsideoftheriver,angling

downfromlefttorightacrosshisfront.Onceagaintheywereclosely

pursuedbyflag-carryingcomrades,althoughnowthenumberslooked

roughlyequal.

Stevehauledbacksavagelyonthereins,pullingthehorse'sheadround

totheleft.Theanimalcircled,stampingitshoovesnervouslyand

tossingitsheadinanefforttotearthereinsfromhisgrasp.Steve

foughtback,cursingthewretchedbeastformakinghimdividehis

attentionatsuchacrucialmoment.

Twistingfromsidetosideinhissaddle,hecaughtbriefglimpsesof

thewildbunchastheyracedalongtheriverbanktowherethebroad,

placidcurrentrippledoverapebblebed.Hefeltasuddenpangof