Spartan bullies kidnap him, if you like. When the work is done, you can throw him in the fire. Then he can’t tattle.”
I saw there was no reasoning with this madman and walked away. Then I had an idea. I journeyed half a day to the great smithy, which was in a cave in a hill near the palace. I entered that huge, smoky, clanking place and found my friend Rufus at an anvil, hammering on a red-hot bar of iron. He looked like a young fire demon in the flickering shadows. His red hair seemed to shoot sparks.
I was very glad to see him. He appeared to have grown since we had last met—seemed to have widened; his arms and legs were ridged with muscle. He was bare-armed in a leather apron. His left hand held the tongs that clamped the bar; his right hand held a mallet.
He dropped the sledge, took the tongs in both hands, and lifted the red-hot bar off the anvil. He dropped it into a bucket of water, and steam hissed out. He still hadn’t seen me standing there. He poured the steaming water into a trough, poured in cold water from another bucket, and left the bar to cool.
He raised his head. His smile flashed. My heart danced. He liked me! Suddenly, to my enormous surprise, he embraced me. I was unused to this. The clanging of many hammers became a music of rejoicing. I smelled burning charcoal, leather, steam, hot iron, sweat. My cold heart warmed enough to take in the strange idea of friendship. This made me shy. I pushed him away.
“I must talk to you,” I said. “It’s important.”
“Wait for me at the foot of the hill.”
This day gulls had flown inland. Their screeching sounded pure as song after the clanging of metal in the cave. And the fresh golden air was intoxicating. I saw Rufus bounding downhill like a goat.
We walked toward the woods. “Well, tell,” he said. “I haven’t heard anything important for a long time.”
“Wait till we get into the woods.”
“Is it very secret?”
“Dead secret.”
“Well, tell me something. Tell more lies about your relatives on Olympus.”
“Some of them are down here,” I said. “I just met two cousins. The Dioscuri.”
“Who?”
“The twin sons of Zeus. Also princes of Sparta.”
I described Castor and Pollux, and how they had saved Autolycus from the bear. Then I realized he didn’t know who Autolycus was, or Daphnis, and I told about them, too, and about Jason. Then about Argos and Idas. And before we had reached the great oak, I had told him all about what we were doing and why. I had not meant to tell so much. But, seeing the wonder on his face, I couldn’t help myself.
Then I realized I had done the right thing. He turned away from me and spoke in a strangled voice. “I’d like to join your company,” he said.
“A novice in the high service of the smith-god. Are you permitted to resign?”
“Of course not. I’ll simply vanish.”
“They’ll be after you hammer and tongs.”
“Why should they find me? I’ll be on that wild east shore with you. Then we’ll be out to sea. And we shall either die gloriously or return as heroes.”
I wanted to say yes. Argos would have someone to work his metal, and I would have a friend of my own for the voyage. But I was afraid to consent. A runaway novice would infuriate the entire guild and start a great manhunt. It was a terrible risk. What I had hoped was that he would be able to do our work secretly at his own forge.
“I can make myself useful,” he said. “You must have a lot of ironwork to do: the beak for your ship, swords, daggers, spearheads, armor. I also work in copper and brass. And if you have gold and rubies and such, I’ll whip up some baubles to win the hearts of maidens at every landfall. In fact, I’ll bring gold and diamonds with me. They keep them in a vault, but I can cast keys, too.”
“My brother the thief will have much employment for you.”
“Then I may join?”
“Yes.”
SEVENTEEN
E KION
T HE SHIP STOOD COMPLETE except for painting and tarring. It was
I saw there was no reasoning with this madman and walked away. Then I had an idea. I journeyed half a day to the great smithy, which was in a cave in a hill near the palace. I entered that huge, smoky, clanking place and found my friend Rufus at an anvil, hammering on a red-hot bar of iron. He looked like a young fire demon in the flickering shadows. His red hair seemed to shoot sparks.
I was very glad to see him. He appeared to have grown since we had last met—seemed to have widened; his arms and legs were ridged with muscle. He was bare-armed in a leather apron. His left hand held the tongs that clamped the bar; his right hand held a mallet.
He dropped the sledge, took the tongs in both hands, and lifted the red-hot bar off the anvil. He dropped it into a bucket of water, and steam hissed out. He still hadn’t seen me standing there. He poured the steaming water into a trough, poured in cold water from another bucket, and left the bar to cool.
He raised his head. His smile flashed. My heart danced. He liked me! Suddenly, to my enormous surprise, he embraced me. I was unused to this. The clanging of many hammers became a music of rejoicing. I smelled burning charcoal, leather, steam, hot iron, sweat. My cold heart warmed enough to take in the strange idea of friendship. This made me shy. I pushed him away.
“I must talk to you,” I said. “It’s important.”
“Wait for me at the foot of the hill.”
This day gulls had flown inland. Their screeching sounded pure as song after the clanging of metal in the cave. And the fresh golden air was intoxicating. I saw Rufus bounding downhill like a goat.
We walked toward the woods. “Well, tell,” he said. “I haven’t heard anything important for a long time.”
“Wait till we get into the woods.”
“Is it very secret?”
“Dead secret.”
“Well, tell me something. Tell more lies about your relatives on Olympus.”
“Some of them are down here,” I said. “I just met two cousins. The Dioscuri.”
“Who?”
“The twin sons of Zeus. Also princes of Sparta.”
I described Castor and Pollux, and how they had saved Autolycus from the bear. Then I realized he didn’t know who Autolycus was, or Daphnis, and I told about them, too, and about Jason. Then about Argos and Idas. And before we had reached the great oak, I had told him all about what we were doing and why. I had not meant to tell so much. But, seeing the wonder on his face, I couldn’t help myself.
Then I realized I had done the right thing. He turned away from me and spoke in a strangled voice. “I’d like to join your company,” he said.
“A novice in the high service of the smith-god. Are you permitted to resign?”
“Of course not. I’ll simply vanish.”
“They’ll be after you hammer and tongs.”
“Why should they find me? I’ll be on that wild east shore with you. Then we’ll be out to sea. And we shall either die gloriously or return as heroes.”
I wanted to say yes. Argos would have someone to work his metal, and I would have a friend of my own for the voyage. But I was afraid to consent. A runaway novice would infuriate the entire guild and start a great manhunt. It was a terrible risk. What I had hoped was that he would be able to do our work secretly at his own forge.
“I can make myself useful,” he said. “You must have a lot of ironwork to do: the beak for your ship, swords, daggers, spearheads, armor. I also work in copper and brass. And if you have gold and rubies and such, I’ll whip up some baubles to win the hearts of maidens at every landfall. In fact, I’ll bring gold and diamonds with me. They keep them in a vault, but I can cast keys, too.”
“My brother the thief will have much employment for you.”
“Then I may join?”
“Yes.”
SEVENTEEN
E KION
T HE SHIP STOOD COMPLETE except for painting and tarring. It was
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