The Privateer 2: AN HONEST LIVING Read online

  Cale raised the skin to his nose. There was a chemical smell, but no sourness or spoiled-meat smell. He smiled at the man. "My compliments. Your furs are well-prepared."

  The gap-toothed grin reappeared. "Oh, aye. We know what we're about, here. That's a prime dino pelt, and I've a dozen more. But look at this one." He reached near the bottom, and pulled out a large skin that seemed to ripple with color. "Prime Rainbow cat. Bet you don't see many of those!"

  Cale smiled and examined the pelt. The hide was over two and a half meters long, and nearly two wide. The fur was only about two and a half cems long, but when he ran a hand over its smooth softness, an array of brilliant colors rippled across it. "You're right," he replied to the man. "In fact, this is the first I've ever seen."

  "Rainbow cat is an alpha predator on Jumbo," came Tess's voice. "According to the old records, they were rare, large and deadly. A rainbow cat hunt was the most expensive and most dangerous land safari Jumbo offered."

  "How many rainbow cat do you have?" Cale asked in a neutral tone.

  The man's smile turned proud. "I've two of them! Both prime and well-prepared. But you'll not have them cheap, trader."

  Cale smiled. So far, they seemed to have passed inspection. But this was the final test. A trader who did not know the value of his goods would generate suspicion and curiosity. But his smile never wavered as he led the hunter back to their cart.

  "I've no room in my cart for cheap," he replied in a tone he hoped conveyed professional pride. "I've only a prime selection that will bring pride to any house that possesses them."

  He and Dee began unfolding the cart, spreading its sides to better reveal their wares.

  "Interestin' cart you have there, Trader," the hunter said from behind him. "I've not seen its like before."

  Cale froze for a moment. Tess had only had a view of the outside of a cart at Valhalla. She had designed the cart to resemble the Valhalla cart, but had designed the remainder simply to be effective as a trader's cart.

  "Yah," he said casually. "She's a beauty. I bought it at Valhalla last year."

  The hunter nodded soberly. "Ah, Valhalla." He eyed the cart warily. "I'm told there's magic about at Valhalla."

  "No, no magic here," he replied. "I paid a mage to examine it, and he pronounced the cart free of spells or magic." He shuddered. "I'll have no truck with magic."

  The hunter nodded. "Aye, I know what you mean." He shook his head. "Too much risk of bad luck, like in the old time." He made an odd gesture, presumably to ward off evil.

  Cale was getting too close to a witchcraft charge. "Aye, but the old time had some marvelous things, once the bad magic is removed." He put some pride into his tone. "Costs me a fortune in mages and sages, but all of my trade goods have been pronounced magic-free." He flipped back a cover with a flourish.

  The hunter stepped forward, and his eyes widened as he took in the wealth of pre-collapse items on display. He picked up a hunting knife from the wildlife station. "It's a skinnin' knife," he said in a reverent tone. "Ye can see how the curve of the blade works." He waved the hand holding the knife in a circular motion, apparently mimicking a motion used in skinning animals. The hunter scraped a thumb across the blade. "Aye, 'tis from the Old Time. Not a tool mark nor a speck of rust." With a crafty glance at Cale he replaced the knife on the cart, and his eyes wandered the display. Another knife caught his eye, this one a large kitchen knife. He gave a slight nod, almost imperceptible. "Fer cuttin' up game," he muttered. Only Cale's implant enabled him to hear the man's comment.

  The big man replaced the kitchen knife, and then gasped and snatched a drinking glass from the cart. The hunter held it up to the light and admired the brilliant clarity, the lack of the distortion and discoloration so prevalent in current glass products. He reluctantly replaced it on the cart. A cooking pot caught his eye, and he examined it carefully. He turned to Cale.

  "Ye told me true, Trader." He said. "There is nothing cheap here. My congratulations on your great wealth." He shrugged. "I almost despair of finding something I can afford. Will you wait while I fetch my wifemate?"

  "Of course, Hunter," Cale replied. "though I fear we must leave in time to get to Ham's Town by dark." He shuddered. "I'll not spend another night in the forest!"

  The hunter hurried off. With the cart opened for display, it took only moments to attract several prospective customers. Nearly all simply looked, well aware the items were beyond their means.

  Cale did manage to trade a small kitchen knife for two dino pelts before the hunter returned, a large, heavy woman in tow. She looked reluctant, until she saw the wares on display.

  In the end, they traded the hunter the skinning knife, a cooking pot and a silver identification bracelet engraved with the previous owner's name that they had retrieved from the space station. To the illiterate villagers, of course, the name was merely a design.

  In return they received six dino pelts and the largest rainbow cat pelt. The hunter and his wifemate were delighted, as was Cale. Cale was happy to have trade items other than the Old Time metals, glass and plas. It would solidify his persona, and attract less attention.

  In the meantime, they had an excellent excuse to avoid the hospitality of the villagers. They folded the cart and left the village, to cheerful waves.

  They felt they had passed their first test. As they struggled to pull the cart down the rutted dirt road, Cale said, "Well, it looks like we managed to pass. I wish we could have traded for some clothing, but all they had was furs."

  "All they had?" Dee protested. "Those furs were magnificent. Especially that rainbow cat. I wonder how they make them."

  Cale looked surprised. "Make them? They don't make them, Dee, they hunt them! Don't you realize that those are the skins of animals?"

  Dee froze, and Cale struggled to stop the cart before it hit her in the back.

  "Animals? Real animals? You . . . you mean they killed animals?"

  Cale suppressed a smile, but he realized how emotional this was for Dee. She had been raised on a "civilized" planet, where meat and furs came from stores. Not from real animals!

  He sighed. "I'm sorry, Dee, I didn't realize you misunderstood. Those dino pelts you like so much? Those are the skins of dinos like the ones the nomads were riding." He shrugged. "Oh, these were wild ones, but that hunter went into the forest and killed them. He cut the skin off, and then cut up the carcass to feed his family. Remember when he called that knife a 'skinnin' knife'?"

  Dee was still shocked. "They eat animals?"

  Cale shrugged. "They eat what they have. They raise some vegetables in those little gardens you saw, and the hunter brings home the meat."

  Dee snorted. "'brings home'! You mean he kills things! He kills them and cuts them up – and those people eat them!" She looked furious.

  Cale was getting irritated. "And so do you. So do I. How many times have I heard the pride in peoples' tones when they order 'real meat'? I've heard you order it dozens of times." He shrugged. "'real meat' is animal flesh. Someone killed a living animal, skinned it, cut it up, and put it in neat little packages for you to buy at the store."

  Now, she looked troubled. "But that's different . . ."

  But Cale was shaking his head. "No. It's not different. The only difference is you pay someone else to do the killing, skinning, cutting up and packaging. That hunter does it all himself – except the packaging, of course. Actually, think about how lucky his family is; they get to eat real meat every day – no synthmeat for them!"

  Dee was silent, though she wore a slightly sick expression. But she picked up the cart's handle and helped Cale pull.

  "Anyway," Cale continued in an effort to change the subject, "We seem to have passed as traders. And we got some trading materials that aren't from the 'Old Time'. If tomorrow is market day at this 'Ham's Town', we should be able to learn a lot, and maybe locate the local 'king' or head man in this area."

  Dee frowned. "How does that help us? I mean, how much chance is there
that the king will visit the market? How do we get to talk to him?"

  "That's what I hope to find out tomorrow," Cale replied. "But we should at least be able to find out where his castle is, and get some genuine clothing. I'm glad we were able to get some furs to trade for clothing. This 'Old Time' stuff is too valuable. If we traded any of it for clothes, it would generate a lot of curiosity."

  "Well, you handle those . . . things. I don't think I'll ever touch a fur again. When I think of how many times I've wrapped myself in the skins of dead animals . . ." She shuddered.

  He shook his head. "It's time to grow up, Dee," he said harshly. "This is a primitive society, and you're going to have to grit your teeth and deal with it. By the way, ask Tess what 'genuine leather' means. You can go into a tizzy later, but at least while we're here, you're going to be eating 'real meat', and wearing 'real leather' and, yes, 'real furs' when it gets cold. Just like you did on Faith."

  Dee looked annoyed. "But, doesn't it even bother you?"

  He shook his head. "As long as it isn't human skin or human meat, no. Didn't anyone on Faith hunt for sport or meat?"

  "Yes, of course. Daddy hunted birds all the time. But somehow I never connected it . . ."

  "Well," he replied, "It's time you did. If people see you doing this sensitive act tomorrow, they'll think you're crazy or bewitched." He stopped as a thought occurred to him, and Dee stopped with him, of course. "Look, Dee," he said earnestly, "we just passed the flitter a few minutes ago. If you can't handle this culture without overreacting, we should head back to the flitter. I'll go on alone, and you can wait for me there. You'll be safe with Tess's 'bot."

  Dee's lips thinned and her expression hardened with determination. "No. No, I'll be all right. I'm not a child. I just hadn't made the connection before, and it will take me a few minutes to get used to the idea."

  Cale frowned. "Are you sure, Dee? If someone offers us food, we can't afford to refuse their hospitality. I suspect it would be a serious insult."

  She shook her head. "I'll be fine. You're right, it's childish. I've faced far more unpleasant facts in the past." A sudden smile broke through her stony expression. "Like my father wanting to use me to start a dynasty." She straightened and nodded. "I'll be all right. It's just another fact of life, one that many people ignore." The smile flared again. "Bring on the real meat steak! I'm ready!"

  Cale grinned. "You know it may be dino steak?"

  She shrugged. "Dino, or bovine or equine or, say, what is real steak from?"

  "Usually bovine, I think, on Faith and Santiago. Different animals taste different."

  "Really? That sounds interesting. Let's go see how many different animals we can taste while we're here!" She was her normal, cheerful self, and Cale was delighted.

  "What about the furs?" he asked.

  She looked thoughtful. "Cale, that dino fur is the most luxurious thing I've ever felt. It makes Pendragon Slith feel almost shoddy. This colony could export those things, if they start raising them. And the rainbow cat is incredible! I can see women throughout man-settled space lining up to throw money at anyone who can sell them one."

  Cale shook his head. "Rainbow cats are alpha predators. They can't be domesticated, and they'd probably die in captivity. They're rare because it takes a large territory to feed them. I'm going to see if I can get our hunter to trade me the other one he has, and I'll trade for any others I see, as well. I suspect they are the rarest furs in man-settled space. Certainly they're the most spectacular."

  They continued chatting as they walked, but pulling the cart on the rutted road was not easy, and the constant watchfulness for predatory animals and poisonous plants was wearing. As their weariness increased, the talk slowed. Finally, they plodded on, their panting the only sound.

  The road passed out of the forest, and into the late afternoon sun as they crested a small hill. Finally, they could see the smoke and roofs of Ham's Town. Cale guessed that 'town' was the appropriate term. Certainly Ham's Town was larger than the village they had just left. He estimated it contained more than fifty log houses, all larger than the huts in the forest village.

  On a small knob on the other side of the town sat a large log palisade, with a log building peeking over its top. At the base of the knob was a large open space. Evidently, this was the location of the market day. It appeared that traders were already staking out spaces to display their wares.

  Cale and Dee pushed their cart into an empty space, and gratefully lowered the front of the cart. Then they sank to the ground, panting with relief. Flying starships was no preparation for pulling a heavily-laden two-wheeled cart down a rutted dirt road.

  A small man in the next space was setting up an awning. It started to collapse, and Cale leapt to catch a falling pole and hold it as the man attached a guy line. "Thankee," the man said, and then appeared to see Cale clearly for the first time.

  "Never seen you before," the man said. "First time here?" Cale admitted that it was.

  The little man nodded. "Knew I'd never seen you. Need help with your canopy? Or will your woman help you?" Cale admitted he had no canopy.

  The man shook his head. "Sun's hot. By tomorrow evenin' you'll wish you had. I think I might have a spare, but I won't have poles. What've you got to trade?"

  Cale turned toward the cart, and the man said "NO!" in an urgent tone. "You're new here, fer sure. Don't open your cart until you open for trade tomorra. And don't leave it unguarded. That why you brought the woman?"

  Cale grinned. "Among other reasons."

  The little man smiled. "What you should do is send yer girl down t'the inn to buy a pot o'stew an' some beer, while you stay here an' guard. Y'got metal?"

  Cale looked puzzled, and the man frowned. "Where you from, boy? Aroun' here ever'body carries small bits of metal t'buy things like food an' drink. Silver's best, but iron an' steel 're good, too."

  Cale's grin flared again. "I've got plenty of iron and steel," he replied. "But it's all in Old Time trade goods. As for where we're from, I guess you could say 'Valhalla'."

  "Old Time stuff, huh? How 'bout I loan you a few ounces of steel, an' you make me a good deal tomorrow?" Cale paused, and the man continued, "I'll even throw in the loan of a pot fer the stew."

  Cale frowned. "Tell you what," he said. "Suppose you sell me that few ounces of steel, plus enough to buy poles with, and that spare canopy, and loan me the pot, and in the morning I give you a prime dino pelt."

  The man, whose face had begun to cloud up, suddenly smiled. "Dino pelt, eh? Prime, ya say?" he paused, looking pensive. "I'll give 'ee eight ounces and the spare canopy, an' loan you the pot."

  Cale's expression turned serious as he shook his head. "I don't know what the poles will cost, but I know a prime dino pelt is worth at least twelve ounces and a used canopy. And the loan of the pot, of course."

  The little man smiled broadly. "Done!" He said. He rose and walked over to his own cart. He carefully used his back to block Cale's view for a moment before rising, a small cast iron pot in his hand. His other hand contained a dozen small twisted pieces of steel.

  For the man's benefit, Cale made a show of examining each piece, favoring the man with a smile when he finished. "Tell me, how much is a pot of stew here, and where is the inn?"

  The man, smiling now, pointed out a largish log building. "Mind you don't pay more'n two ounces fer the stew and a tankard o' beer," he cautioned. "Ol' Tell will rob ye if ye let 'im, but if he gets away with it once, he'll keep tryin', an' next thing he'll be raisin' his prices. Mind, yer girl will have to go around to th' back door. No women allowed in th' main room 'cept the house girls."

  The man watched as Cale tossed two of the twisted pieces of metal to Dee and repeated the man's instructions in an imperious tone. "Tell 'ee what," he said. "If you'll keep an eye on m' stuff, I'll walk yer girl down there and see she don't have no trouble. I was goin' down there anyways."

  They started off, but suddenly the man stopped. "Almost forgot," he said. "I
n a little while, a skinny kid'll prob'ly come around, and tell ye I sent him to guard m'stuff. Give him a swift kick an' run him off. He tries that ever' time he see someone leave their stuff on market day. I heard it works sometimes. C'mon, girl." He strode off, followed by Dee, who paused long enough to give Cale a venomous look.

  She returned alone about twenty minutes later, carrying the pot by its bail in one hand, and a tankard in the other.

  Cale grinned wickedly. "I say," he said in a nasal, affected tone, "Aren't you the Lady Delilah Raum of Faith, on a tour of man-settled space?"

  Dee barely controlled a smile at his reminder of their visit to Freehold, the space station where they had exchanged diamonds for credits. With an effort, she was able to retain a scowl.

  "If I weren't so hungry," she said, "I'd pour this hot stew over your head. As a matter of fact . . ." She glanced at the tankard of beer, which Cale snatched from her hand before she could complete the thought.

  She had managed to promote a pair of wooden spoons, and they dug in. The long walk pulling the heavy cart had left them ravenous. The beer was warm and bitter. After one taste, Dee went to the cart and retrieved a canteen of water.

  The stew was odd-tasting, but hot, nourishing and good. "I'm sorry, Dee," Cale began, "But . . ."

  ". . . But Jumbo appears to have a patriarchal, male-dominated culture," she finished for him. "I noticed that in the forest village. But wasn't as obvious, there." She shrugged. "I'll survive." She looked at him threateningly. "But if I think you're enjoying it too much, you might not! By the way," she added, "Your new friend propositioned me three times before we got to the inn. He said I should dump 'the amateur' and join a professional – him. I don't think he was impressed by your bargaining ability."

  Cale shrugged. "That's how I became a pirate," he said. "I tried twice to become a legal trader, and failed both times. The last time, I got the woman I loved killed." His expression had turned stony, but after a moment, he pulled himself from his memories into the present. He gave Dee a smile. "I guess a dino pelt is worth more than I thought, huh?"