Breed to Come (9 page)

"I—" Furtig tried to find the proper words. "I triedhunting search—"

"The person tie!" Foskatt's eyes grew even wider."But you did not know Gammage, had no tie withhim."

"None except that I am of his blood kin in directdescent," Furtig agreed. "I do not know how I wasable to do this thing, but I did. Had I not, neither oneof us would be standing here now." He added to histale the finding of the moving table, their arrival atthe shaft, rising to the right level via that.

"Has Gammage heard this?" demanded Foskattwhen he had done.

"No one has asked how we got here. They probablythink you played guide." For the first time Furtig realized this. He had been overwhelmed by the wondersof the lairs, yet no one had asked him questions in return.

"But he must be told! Only a few of us can so depend upon hunting search." Foskatt's moving tail betrayed his excitement. "And never have I heard of acase wherein it could be used if the two involved werenot close. This may mean that there are otherchanges in us, ones which are important." He startedfor the door as if to hunt immediately for Gammage.Furtig moved to intercept him.

"Not yet. Not until we are sure."

"Why not? Gammage must hear, must test—"

"No!" That was almost a warning growl. "In thisplace I am a youngling, fit only for lessoning with those still warm from their mothers' nests. If I claimsome talent I do not have, then I shall be rated even less. And that I will not have!"

"So once did I believe also," Foskatt answered."But all that matters is learning something to add tothe knowledge of all."

Now it was Furtig's turn to stare, for it seemedFoskatt meant that. Of course a warrior stood ready to defend his home cave. But, except when pressed bybattle, a warrior was concerned not with others butwith himself, his pride. And to keep that pride, thosewho lost at the Trials wandered. If he had not done sohimself, he would have been less than an untriedyoungling in the eyes of his own clan. Yet now Foskatt calmly said that he must risk the jeers of strangers for no good reason—for to Furtig the reason he offered was far from good.

"Do you think I was welcomed here, by any butGammage?" Foskatt asked then. "To stand as a warrior in the lairs one must have something to givewhich others recognize as worthy of notice. And since the In-born have always had the advantage, that isdifficult. It is a Trial in another fashion from ourown."

"How did you then impress them with yourworth?"

"By doing what I was doing when the Rattons tookme. It would seem that the gain of one kind of knowledge is sometimes balanced by the loss of another.How learned you the hunting lands of the caves, brother?"

"By running them, putting them in my mind so Icould find them day or night."

"Yes, we have a place here"—Foskatt tapped hisforehead with one stub finger—"to store that knowledge. Having once traveled a path we do not mistakeit again. But the In-born, they do not possess so exacta sense of direction. If they go exploring they mustmark that trail so that they will know it again.

Andwith the Rattons invading, that is the last thing wewant, trails to direct the enemy into our territory.

Therefore we who have not lost that inner sense ofhoming, we do the scouting. Look you, Furtig, do younot see that you have something more of benefit eventhan that which is common to all of us? If we can findout how you are able to fix upon one you have neverseen, use him as a guide, then we shall be even morefree to explore."

"Free to face Rattons? You can trace them by thestink alone."

"Rattans, no. Any one of us could spy upon Rattons. Nor does that duty need us going on two feet orfour, or will soon. For the In-born have recently foundanother device of the Demons that moves throughthe air—though it has no wings. As it moves so itgathers pictures of what lies beneath it and sends those back to be viewed at a distance—"

"If Gammage has such a thing, why did he not useit to see you taken by the Rattons and come to youraid?" Furtig interrupted. He had seen many marvelshere, but the idea of a flying picture taker—

Only,Foskatt was not making up a tale for younglings; itwas plain he meant every word.

"For two reasons. First it has not been tested to thefull. Second, it is again as with the other servants; these spy boxes fly only for a short space. Then theyground and there is nothing to be done to get themaloft again. Either the Demons had some way of infusing life into them at intervals, or they have growntoo old to be trusted.

"But what I went to find was knowledge. You haveseen the disks of tape which are fed into the learningmachines. It is from these that Gammage and othershave learned all they know about the machines andsecrets of the Demons.

"However these disks are not stored in one place.We have found them here, there, in many places.Though why the Demons scattered them about so is amystery. Gammage has a theory that all of one kindof learning was kept together, then the kinds separate. A little time ago he found what may be a guideto locate several different stores, but that was guessing. Much we learn here must be connected by guessing. Even when we hear the Demons' words, we knowonly perhaps half of them. Others, even though manytimes repeated, we are not sure of. When we can add anew word, be sure of its meaning, it is a time of joy.

"It has long been Gammage's hope that if we uncover all the tapes, use them together, we can learnenough to run all the servants of the Demons withoutthe failures that now make them unreliable. And withsuch servants, is there any limit to what we may do?"

"Some, perhaps," Furtig said. "Did the Demonsnot think that once also? And they were limited in the end. Or so it seems."

"Yes, there is that danger. Still—what if the Demons return, and we are again their playthings—aswe were before? Do you wish that, brother?"

"Playthings?"

"So they have not shown you that tape yet?" Foskatt's tail twitched. "Yes, brother, that we were—playthings of the Demons. Before the time when theybegan to use us in other ways—to learn from our torments of body what some of their discoveries would doto living creatures. Do you wish those days to return?"

"But this feeling Gammage has, that they will return—why is he so sure?"

"At the centermost point in the lairs there is a device we cannot begin to understand. But it is sendingforth a call. This goes to the skies. We have tried todestroy it, but it is safeguarded too well to let us near.And it has been going so since the last Demon died.

"We have discovered the records of those Demonswho took to flight when the last days came. If theyescaped the disease which finished their tribe here,then that device may call them back."

So serious was Foskatt's tone that Furtig's earsflattened a little to his skull, his spine fur ridged.

AsGammage had the power to enthrall when one listened to him, so did Foskatt now impress his companion with his conviction of this truth.

"But Gammage believes that if he has the Demons'own knowledge he can withstand them?"

"It will be a better chance for us. Which would youchoose to be in battle, a warrior with claws or without?For weapons support one at such times. Thus we seekall these stores of disks to learn and learn.

It may beeven the next one we find which will teach us how tokeep the servants running. But, as I said, Gammagethought he had heard such a store place described,and I went to seek it. The Rattons took me.

Theywork with traps, brother, most cunningly. Since it wasnot known they were in that part of the lairs, I wastaken. Nor can I hold my head high, for I was thinking more of what I hunted than the territory I movedthrough. So I suffered from my own carelessness, andwould have paid full price if you had not come."

"But you would go again?"

"I will go again when I am needed. Now do you see,Furtig, what we have to offer here? We can be the seekers, using all the craft of the caves. And if it happensthat you have something to better that seeking—"

Furtig remained unconvinced. "Not until I haveproven it for myself," he repeated stubbornly.

"Prove it then!" Foskatt retorted.

"How can I? If I trail through Gammage again,"Furtig pointed out, "then I am doing no more than our people have always been able to do."

"Not all our people. You know that well. It is a talent which varies."

"But it is not uncommon. I could fasten on you, onGammage—and it would not be extraordinary.

Youfound my sensing strange because I used the Ancestorwhen I had never seen him."

Foskatt limped a little as he strode back and forth,as if his wound plagued him somewhat. Now he satdown on the bed place.

"Let me tell Gammage, or better still, tell himyourself. Then perhaps he can see a way to test this—"

"I will think about it." Furtig held stubbornly tohis own will. He was interested by all Foskatt had told him, impressed by the other's belief in the Ancestor and what he was doing here. But he wanted a chance to prove to himself that he need not fear thescom of the In-born before making a bold claim.

"Did you know really what you sought when youfell into the Ratton trap?"

"A secret place holding learning tapes—but this,Gammage thought, was larger than most by the reference to it which he had discovered. He wanted to findmore dealing with the skyward-call. We had avoidedthat section, for twice we lost warriors to the protective devices of the Demons. Only at this new hint ofthe store place Gammage asked for volunteers, and Isaid I would go. For we of the caves have keenersenses to detect what may lie in wait in places ofdanger. I was passing through what we thought a safesection when I was entrapped."

Foskatt seemed convinced that the cave-born hadcertain advantages over the In-born. Or did he clingto that thought because he, too, smarted from the superior airs of the In-born? Was he convinced, or hadhe convinced himself? It did not matter; Furtig wasnot going to put himself on trial until he could prove that he had something to offer. Though it seemedthat Foskatt's story contained a clue as to how hemight do so.

"How close were you to this place you hunted whenthe Rattons took you?"

"Some distance. I was taking a circle trail becauseI was not sure of Demon traps. Part of the first waysfell in with a loud noise when I tried to reach the signal."

"Closing off that section of the passage?"

"No, only the main trail. Look—"

From his belt pouch Foskatt brought out a slenderstick. Its point, drawn along the floor, left a black lineeasy to see. With quick marks and explanations, hebegan to show Furtig the sweep of the undergroundways. Though Furtig had never seen such a way ofdisplaying a trail before, he grasped the advantages ofthis and commented on them.

"But this writing stick is nothing! Wait until yousee—no, better—come and see!"

He put the stick away, scrambled up, and made forthe door. Furtig, drawn along by his enthusiasm, followed Foskatt to his quarters.

Those were indeed different from the bare room inwhich Furtig had made his home since coming to thelairs. Here were two tables, their tops well burdenedby masses of things Furtig was unable to sort out inthe single glance or two he had time for before Foskattdrew him to the bed place, pushed him down to sit,and caught up a small box.

This was about as large as his two fists set together,and he pointed it at the wall. As with learning devicesthere appeared a picture there, but this was a series oflines only. However, after a long moment of studyFurtig began to recognize a resemblance betweenthem and the ones Foskatt had drawn.

Foskatt wedged the box steady beside Furtig onthe bed and then went to stand by the picture, thrusting his hand into it as he explained.

"We are here now!" An emphatic scrape of claw onthe wall distorted the picture. Beginning so, helaunched into a description of this corridor and that,up and down.

"If you have such as this," Furtig asked when hewas done, "why do you need to search out these newtrails in person?"

"Because these"—Foskatt came back and gave thebox a tap and the picture disappeared—"are limitedin what they show—each one portrays only a smallsection of the lairs. And if you cannot find the rightbox you have no guide."

"All this—" Furtig.pointed to the mass of things onthe tables. "What have you here?"

"Many things of worth for a scout. See, with this,one can carry food which is hot, and later open it andfind the food still hot."

He turned a thick rod around in his hands. It splitin two neatly.

"Food hot? But why should food be hot?""Wait and see!"

Foskatt put down the two pieces of rod and went toanother box, much larger than that which had giventhe wall pictures. He took up a bowl in which Furtigcould see a strip of meat, scooped the meat out,placed it within a mouth opening on the box, andsnapped the opening shut.

Within seconds Furtig sniffed such an odor as hehad never smelled before. It was enticing and his mouth watered. Before he knew it he had given one ofthe small mews a youngling utters when he sees a filled food bowl. And, startled, he was ashamed.

Foskatt might hot have heard. He opened oncemore the mouth of the box. The meat he took out wasnow brown and the odor from it was such that Furtighad to force himself to sit quietly until his tribesmanoffered it to him. It tasted as it looked, different fromany meat he had ever mouthed, but very good.

"It is cooked," Foskatt said. "The Demons did soto all their food. When it is so treated and put intocarrying things such as these"—he picked up the rodagain—"then it does not turn bad for a long time.

One can carry it and find it as hot as when it camefrom the cooker. Then there is this—" He picked up a band which went around his middle like a belt. It had been rather clumsily altered to fit Foskatt, and at thefront was a round thing, which, at his touch, blazed with light.

"This can be worn in a dark place to make light."

There seemed to be no end to Foskatt's store ofDemon-made treasures. There were slender, pointedrods one could use for a multitude of purposes. Something he called a knife—like a single straight clawmounted on a stick—which cut cleanly.

In fact Furtig was shown so many different devicesso hurriedly that he lost count, and it all became justa whirling mass of strange but highly intriguing objects.