Descendants of the Scythians - Страница 65

So there was only one thing over which they had no control: whether or not Lida and Ivan Semenovich would come to any harm at Dorbatay’s hands before the journey ended and the uprising began. Was there any hope that their friends would be safe until then?

As though in response to the worried thoughts of the young man, Ronis spoke again in the same deliberate, convincing manner:

“I think this funeral journey will keep Dorbatay, as the head priest, very busy. He won’t have time to do any harm to your friends. As far as the girl is concerned, I think she is quite safe anyway, considering Hartak’s intention to marry her. And your other friend is also relatively safe from any immediate danger.”

“And why is that?”

“Well, there are some reasons to think so. Suppose Dorbatay intends to kill your friend…”

“A very nice thing to suppose, and very comforting too!” Dmitro Borisovich could not help exclaiming.

“But even if Dorbatay does have such an intention, he will not have time to deal with your friend until the actual burial of Skolot, because it would be more useful to sacrifice your friend during the funeral rites to lend the ceremony more solemnity.”

Ronis presented his reasoning calmly, not overlooking a single detail. On the one hand, Artem and Dmitro Borisovich were somewhat put off by the callousness of his wording as though he were speaking about something inanimate rather than the fate of a human being, the way a chessplayer would speak of a pawn. On the other hand, they felt reassured by his determination and resoluteness. They saw in Ronis a person who wanted to plan everything carefully, taking into consideration every detail to arrive at the proper conclusions and bring the affair to the desired end. Varkan put away the arrows he had been working on and rose to his feet, his questioning gaze resting on Ronis.

“Our conversation seems to be coming to an end,” he said to his friend.

“Yes, so it seems,” Ronis replied quietly.

“Then I have just one more question for you. Do you still think that I should not appear in the camp? Is it better for me to stay here in the forest?”

“Yes, you should stay here,” Ronis said without the slightest hesitation. “Everything that need to be done at this stage can be done without you. Believe me, I have weighed everything carefully. There is no need for you to risk your life now, and if you go there you could easily walk into some trap. You know perfectly well what will happen if you are seized, do you not?”

Varkan nodded his head.

“Besides,” Ronis continued, “all those who feel they are in danger will be coming here to join you. I, for my part, will be sending you weapons via my men. Our weapons must not be seized by Dorbatay. Also, when the Scythians break camp and start their funeral journey you and your men should follow them, making sure they do not see you. You should arrive in Gerrhus along with the main body of the Scythians. I will contrive some means of letting you know of any new developments and of the state of readiness for our final move. All right?”

“Yes, I think that is the best way,” Varkan said without hesitation.

Barely audible sounds of tambourines and fifes drifted their way from far across the steppe; they all fell silent and listened. The Scythians dozing beside the horses, got up, alerted. Diana also pricked up her ears: she had already learnt to react to these sounds as to a potential menace.

“They have begun to perform the necessary rites to make sure the journey will be favored by the gods,” Ronis said gloomily. “There will probably be some sacrifices, too… Dorbatay will try very hard to re-establish a firm grip on the Scythians… with the gods supposedly speaking through him, to make their will known to the Scythians… What rubbish!”

Without saying anything else, he leapt onto his horse and disappeared among the trees. Artem stared after Ronis, listening to the distant tambourines and fifes. Rites with sacrifices, Ronis had said… And Lida and Ivan Semenovich were in the hands of the priests!.. He was powerless to do anything to rescue them… He did not even have any means of communicating with them to inform them of their new plan and find out what kind of conditions they were being kept in, of their moods and thoughts…

Wasn’t it just awful?

Diana came up to the young man, put her head in his lap, and began whining. Had the dog sensed his mood or did she want to show she was sorely missing Ivan Semenovich and Lida?

“Yes, my Diana, you’re not the only one who is in low spirits… I wish we could all see each other again, speak to each other…” said Artem, stroking the dog’s head. At that very moment, an idea dawned upon him. Who said he couldn’t communicate with his friends? Of course he could! He should have thought of it earlier!

Artem pulled a pencil out of his pocket, then his notebook, and began writing something hurriedly. Dmitro Borisovich stared at him in surprise; then, as he could not restrain his curiosity any longer, he walked up to the young man and peeped over his shoulder. Artem wrote:

Lida, we have successfully escaped and are safe now. We have not been injured or wounded and feel quite well. Dmitro Borisovich and I are in the forest planning your escape. We are worried lest some harm be done you, but we were told that Dorbatay has put you off limits by making you taboo for the other Scythians, and though he keeps you under lock and key, no one will dare to touch you. I think this taboo is a very helpful thing now. Ronis tells us that neither you nor Ivan Semenovich are in any immediate danger, at least for the time being. This is what sustains our hopes for the moment. Write back to me and tell me how you are. With Diana as the bearer of our messages you can feel free to write in detail. Ronis told us that the Scythians would soon start on the funeral journey to the sacred land of Gerrhus where Skolot is to be buried. It is there, in Gerrhus, that we are planning to set you free, for we cannot possibly dp so at the moment. Ronis and Varkan told us there was a great discontent among many Scythians which will surely end in an uprising. We cannot remain passive observers, that much is clear. In my next message, I will give you more details. By the way, I want you to know that the slaves are on our side. Write back immediately upon receiving this. Love, Artem.

When Artem had finished writing, he neatly folded the paper. Dmitro Borisovich, looking somewhat skeptically upon what Artem was doing, asked at last:

“And what is the means, if I may inquire, by which you think you can convey your message? And through what channel do you plan to receive an answer? Ronis is gone… besides, I doubt he would be able to pass the message on: he himself told us about the guard mounted outside the kibitka where Lida and Ivan Semenovich are being kept. You remember that, don’t you?”

Artem smiled cunningly and winked at Dmitro Borisovich: “I did not plan to ask Ronis. I’ve got another postman, even more reliable. This one will be able to slip past any guards, and I don’t think there’s anything or anybody that will stop my messenger. And I’ll get my reply in the same manner. I’m a little annoyed with myself for not having thought of it earlier. It’s so simple!”

“I’m afraid I don’t follow you, my young friend.”

“Oh, now you’ll understand everything. Diana, come here, my dear, wonderful dog, come here!”

Dmitro Borisovich and Varkan, very much intrigued, watched Artem adjust Diana’s collar and put the folded paper between the overlapping leather straps.

“Aha,” the archeologist exclaimed, “that’s an interesting idea!”

Then Artem gently pushed the dog, saying:

“Go, Diana, go, quickly! Go to Lida! Understand? Go to Lida, find Lida, quick!”

The dog wriggled her stubby tail, evidently much pleased with her new task; then she gave a short and cheerful bark as if to say: I understand. No sooner said than done! But Artem told her several more times:

“Go to Lida, Diana, find Lida! Run quickly, very quickly! Yes, what a good dog!”

The dog gave another bark as though to indicate that she understood everything and took off at a great speed. In a few seconds, she disappeared among the trees, headed for the Scythian camp which was situated a considerable distance away across the steppe. Artem turned to the two men watching him, his face aglow with pleasure:

“It’s all very simple,” he said. “Diana carried our letters back and forth when we were working at the foot of the Sharp Mount. In fact, Lida and I worked a considerable distance away from each other, as you may remember, Dmitro Borisovich. Well, sometimes, you get bored a little, you know, so once just for the fun of it, I put a piece of paper with a message to Lida into Diana’s collar, and told the dog to run to Lida. Frankly, I didn’t think anything would come out of it. I wasn’t even sure Diana would understand the command correctly and go to Lida. And then, of course, I wasn’t sure Lida would notice my message in the dog-collar. But she did! When Diana came back I saw a piece of paper in her collar, and could tell at once it wasn’t mine, but Lida’s. That’s how we began corresponding via Diana. Diana learnt very quickly what she was expected to do. Now, some time has passed since our last exchange of letters, and she may have forgotten the game, but I hope not. And the Scythians will not harm our good dog, our dear poskina, as they fear her greatly. So, I believe a line of communication has been opened. What do you think, Dmitro Borisovich?” The archeologist indicated that it was an excellent idea, very simple and effective.