Swords From the East Read Online Free PDF Page B

cleared.
    Surely the Frank was a chieftain from the west, from the lands of the Christians that lay beyond Muscovy-so Aruk had heard. Being keeper of the pass, many tales came to his ears.
    "Are you a khan-a chief?" he growled.
    The tall stranger seemed to find food for mirth in this. He half-smiled, and when he did so his thin, dark face with its down-curving nose was likable.
    "I am not a khan," he made response tolerantly, and-to Aruk's surprise-in fair Tatar speech.
    Yet his manner was that of one who was accustomed to pass sentries without being challenged, even to having honor shown him.
    The stranger was a man in ripe middle age. His heavy boots were of finest morocco and well cleaned. The doublet under the torn cloak was rich blue velvet, and, above all, the hilt of the curiously thin, straight sword was chased with gold.
    "Then you are an envoy from God."
    "I?" The Frank raised his brows. "No!"
    Now the last traveler from the lands of the Franks, the only one who, to Aruk's knowledge, had come over the Urkhogaitu Pass, had been a priest. Those few among the Tatars that had been baptized by the priest called him an envoy from God. The lives of envoys were inviolate. So the priest had not been slain. Something in the face of the tall Frank reminded Aruk of the priest.
    "If you are not an envoy or a chief, what is your business in Tartary, Sir Frank?"
    "'Tis the Devil's affair, not yours."
    Aruk blinked reflectively. The stranger might be speaking the truth. There was an eagle's feather in his hunting -cap. And the lords of Galdan Khan, chief of the Kalmucks, who were deadly enemies of the Tatars, wore such feathers. Moreover, there were Franks among the Turks and Kalmucks of Galdan Khan, mercenaries from Genoa and Greece. This might be one of them, sent as a spy to gather news before a raid on the part of Galdan Khan.
    That would be the Devil's business, surely. And that was why Aruk had all but shot down the stranger with his bow.
    Yet Aruk, whose life hung on his wit, could read the faces of men. He knew that no spy from the Turks would come to the fair fields of Tartary wearing one of the feathers of Galdan Khan. Nor would he come boldly in daylight with blunt words on his lips and a contempt for the keeper of the pass.
    Seeing that the stranger was paying no further attention to him, Aruk drew aside and spoke under his breath to the dog-faced Mongol who was the second servant.
    The Mongol, a scowling, sheepskin-clad Dungan, answered Aruk's questions briefly: "He was a paladin of the Franks. But now he has no tribe to follow him. Still, there is gold in his girdle and costly garments in the packs on the horses. I will tell Cheke Noyon, the khan of the Altai, in the city of Kob, to let out his life, so I will have some of the gold-"
    "Hai," Aruk grunted, "where are you from, dog -face?"
    The Mongol's eyes shifted.
    "I was a captive of the Christian Poles. This warrior was fighting under their banner. He freed me, telling me to guide him to Tartary. When I first saw him he lived in a castle with servants. Now he has only one dog to follow him. As he makes his bed, he shall lie in it."
    Aruk's lined face twisted reflectively.
    "You are a jackal, and the skies will spew out your soul when it leaves your body. Kai. It is so."
    "Nay," the servant grinned surlily, "I will tell my tale to the baksa, the witch-doctors, and they will make a sacrifice for me to the spirits. They have no love for the Krits* who come here and say that they can work wonders. It is so."
    "What is the name of the Frank?"
    "He calls himself Hu-go."
    Impatiently the archer moved to the side of the Frank as the latter gathered up his reins.
    "An hour's ride, Sir Hu-go, will bring you to the hut of Ostrim, the falconer. He is a Krit, like you, and he will not steal. Beware of the baksa, for they will strip you of wealth and skin."
    When the three riders had vanished around a bend in the gorge, Aruk settled himself in his saddle to watch the Urkhogaitu.