Rebels of Gor by John Norman Page B

found others,” said Nodachi. “I then let them find you. I followed.”
    “There were twelve men, and an officer,” I said.
    “Paths were narrow, and the night was dark,” he said.
    “One by one,” I said.
    “Hunters,” he said, “did not know themselves hunted.”
    “I take it you will gather heads,” I said. It is commonly done, that they may be presented to a daimyo, or shogun. Land, position, and authority may be attendant upon the presentation of such trophies.
    “No,” he said.
    “Not even that of the officer?” I asked.
    “I found it unworthy,” he said.
    “You have risked much coming here,” I said.
    He did not respond.
    “How is it that you came alone into the mountains?” I said.
    “I sought Tajima, tarnsman,” he said.
    “Why?” I asked.
    The snow continued to fall, softly.
    “He is my student,” he said.
     
     

 
    Chapter Five
     
    Report of a Brief Conversation;
    This Took Place in the New Encampment
     
     
    I blocked the swift, lashing, whiplike blow of the supple bamboo.
    Se’Var had passed, and it was now the second day of the tenth passage hand.
    “That was quick,” I said to Tajima, “but you are still weak.”
    Twice more I blocked the blows of the lashing, cord-wound bamboo. “Enough, enough!” I said. “You must rest.”
    “I am recovered, Tarl Cabot, tarnsman,” said Tajima, anxiously.
    “You are not,” I said.
    “I am ready once more for the reins of the tarn,” he said.
    “The tarn may not think so,” I said.
    “I do not understand,” he said.
    “It is nothing,” I said. Even the kaiila can sense trepidation, or hesitation, when it is approached, and may shy about, distressing, even resisting, a rider. The tarn, a dangerous beast, half domesticated at best, can be even more skittish or dangerous. It is one thing to train a tarn to accept an unfamiliar rider and another to reduce its predatory instincts, which are often elicited by an appearance of fear, uncertainty, or weakness. What if Tajima might be unsteady, or falter? What if his foot should slip at the stirrup? What if his hands were not sure on the reins?
    “I am ready, Tarl Cabot, tarnsman,” he said.
    “No,” I said.
    “Now, Commander,” he said.
    “Be patient,” I said. “You may soon return to your post of spy for Lord Nishida, monitoring the whereabouts and behaviors of Tarl Cabot.”
    “I have my office,” he said.
    “I do not object,” I assured him. “Indeed, I may soon give you interesting things to report.”
    “But if I may not ascend the tarn?” he said.
    “True,” I said. “It would then be difficult to report.”
    “I have learned,” he said, “here in the camp, from those in communication with the holding, Pertinax and others, that suspicions have fallen upon you, that you are suspected of treachery.”
    “Or worse,” I acknowledged. “My own suspicions,” I said, “fall on Lord Okimoto.”
    “But he has an exquisite hand,” said Tajima. “Have you not seen his calligraphy?”
    “Even so,” I said.
    “He is a daimyo,” said Tajima. “One might as well suspect Lord Nishida.”
    “I do not think so,” I said.
    “There could be treachery in many places,” said Tajima, “in the holding, in the fields, on the roads, here in the camp.”
    “Next you will be thinking of the cooks and smiths, the readers of bones and shells,” I said.
    “It is in high places,” he said.
    “It must be,” I said.
    “You are in such a place, Tarl Cabot san ,” he said.
    “That is true, Tajima san ,” I said.
    “Many suspect you,” he said.
    “And I suspect many,” I said.
    “What am I to do?” he asked.
    “Recover your strength,” I said.
     
     

 
    Chapter Six
     
    The Dais
     
     
    “I bring you words of conciliation, of forgiveness, and joy from your lord, Lord Yamada, Shogun of the Islands,” said Tyrtaios.
    It was now in the holding of Lord Temmu.
    “Put aside your doomed rebellion, and attend to the words of your lord,” said