Alan Dean Foster by Running

Author:Running
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2012-01-26T22:54:42+00:00

What did surprise him was when the tribe halted for the night next to a free-flowing stream hidden by twenty five-foot-tall blue-green stalks and his towering captor looked down at him and asked, “Why midget come alone to the Veldt?”

In all his encounters and conversations with settlers, not once had Jachal heard them mention the possibility that the Lopers could understand human speech, much less use it. But then, Lopers and men did not sit down in conference to detail to each other their respective abilities. The few attempts at peacemaking had been performed by human xenologists utilizing the Loper tongue. Verily were the Lopers a clever folk.

The fact that they had revealed this knowledge to him was a sure sign they had no intention of letting him go.

“Why come midget alone to Veldt?” the giant repeated.

“I was compelled to,” he found himself answering. “It was important to me.” He forbore from giving details. Most primitive tribal societies understood and did not sympathize with murder.

“Lone midget, by self, far out from skylegs or multicaves. Not understand compelled to. Why?”

Jachal was very tired. He was confused, and the strain of wondering when someone’s flense was going to remove his head had begun to addle him slightly.

“I was running,” he explained, “I’ve run all my life, and this was Just one more time I had to run. I don’t suppose you can understand that.”

Of exhaustion and confusion are fortuitous remarks sometimes born. Misinterpretation, become thy savior … or was it misinterpretation?

Jachal did not have the strength to consider this at the time. All he knew was that his reply set off an extremely violent discussion among the members of the tribe. A few seemed close to coming to blows. Seven-foot-tall infants cowered is the grass.

Finally the giant in charge of Jachal came back to stare down at him.

“Midget live for a time. Elders find it interesting. Later more talk.”

“Sure, I love to talk. Listen, while we’re talking, could you take me to Reshkow?” He tried to describe the location of the nearest town other than Embresca .that possessed an airport. If he could actually manage to reach Reshkow, he could easily get aboard a local transport, make it to a city, get off this …

“No go near multicaves of midgets for ourselves. Surely not for midget. Stay you with us. Elders find it interesting.

And that was that. But Jachal did not give up hope. “It,” meaning he, was found interesting. Later more talk. That was far more promising than later become meal.

“How did you learn human … midget … speech?” he asked his captor.

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