The Destroyers Read online

towalk four miles to loaf when I can do it here."

  Old Blejjo was taking his fishing gear down from the rack on the porch.Without looking around, he said: "Cooler down by the river."

  "By the time I walked there," said Basom philosophically, "walkingthrough all that sun, I'd be so hot it would take me two hours to cooldown to where I am now, and another two hours to cool down any more.That's four hours wasted. Now--" He looked at Anketam with a sly grin."Now, if you two wanted to carry me, I'd be much obliged. Anketam, youcould carry me piggyback, while Blejjo goes over to fetch my pole. Ifyou'd do that, I believe I could see my way clear to going fishing withyou."

  Anketam shook his head positively. "I'm afraid the sun would do you in,anyway."

  "Maybe you'd like The Chief to carry you," said Blejjo. There was a bitein his voice.

  "Now, wait," Basom said apprehensively, "I didn't say anything likethat. I didn't mean it that way."

  Blejjo pointed his fishing pole at the youth. "You ought to be thankfulyou've got Anketam for a supervisor. There's some supers who'd boot yougood for a crack like that."

  Basom cast appealing eyes at Anketam. "I _am_ thankful! You know I am!Why, you're the best super in the barony! Everybody knows that. I wasonly kidding. You know that."

  Before Anketam could say anything, the old man said: "You can bet yourlife that no other super in this barony would put up with yourlaziness!"

  "Now, Blejjo," said Anketam, "leave the boy alone. He meant no harm. Ifhe needs talking to, I'll do the talking."

  Basom looked gratefully reprieved.

  "Sorry, Ank," said Blejjo. "It's just that some of these young peoplehave no respect for their elders." He looked at Basom and smiled."Didn't mean to take it out on you, Bas. There's a lot worse than you."Then, changing his tone: "Sure you don't want to come with us?"

  Basom looked apologetic, but he stuck to his guns. "No. Thanks again,but--" He grinned self-consciously. "To be honest, I was thinking ofgoing over to see Zillia. Her dad said I could come."

  Anketam grinned at the boy. "Well, now, that's an excuse I'll accept.Come on, Blejjo, this is not a sport for old men like us. Fishing ismore our speed."

  Chuckling, Blejjo shouldered his fishing pole, and the two men starteddown the dusty village street toward the road that led to the river.

  * * * * *

  They walked in silence for a while, trying to ignore the glaring sunthat brought the sweat out on their skins, soaking the sweatbands oftheir broad-brimmed hats and running in little rivulets down theirbodies.

  "I kind of feel sorry for that boy," old Blejjo said at last.

  "Oh?" said Anketam. "How so? He'll get along. He's improving. Why, hedid as good a job of transplanting as any man this spring. Last year, hebruised the seedlings, but I gave him a good dressing down and heremembered it. He'll be all right."

  "I'm not talking about that, Ank," said the old man, "I mean him andZillia. He's really got a case on with that girl."

  "Anything wrong with that? A young fellow's got a right to fall in love,hasn't he? And Zillia seems pretty keen on him, too. If her fatherdoesn't object, everything ought to go along pretty smoothly."

  "Her father might not object," said Blejjo, looking down at his feet asthey paced off the dusty road. "But there's others who might object."

  "Who, for instance?"

  Blejjo was silent for several steps. Then he said: "Well, Kevenoe, forone."

  Anketam thought that over in silence. Kevenoe was on The Chief's staffat the castle. Like many staff men--including, Anketam thought wryly,his own brother Russat, on occasion--he tended to lord it over thefarmers who worked the land. "Kevenoe has an eye on Zillia?" he askedafter a moment.

  "I understand he's asked Chief Samas for her as soon as she's eighteen.That would be this fall, after harvest."

  "I see," Anketam said thoughtfully. He didn't ask how the old man hadcome about his knowledge. Old Blejjo had little to do, and on theoccasions that he had to do some work around The Chief's castle, he madeit a point to pick up gossip. But he was careful with his information;he didn't go spreading it around for all to hear, and he made it a pointto verify his information before he passed it on. Anketam respected theold man. He was the only one in the village who called him "Ank,"outside of Memi.

  "Do you think The Chief will give her to Kevenoe?" he asked.

  Blejjo nodded. "Looks like it. He thinks a great deal of Kevenoe."

  "No reason why he shouldn't," said Anketam. "Kevenoe's a good man."

  "Oh, I know that," said the old man. "But Basom won't like it at all.And I don't think Zillia will, either."

  "That's the way things happen," said Anketam. "A man can't expect to gothrough life having everything his own way. There's other girls aroundfor Basom. If he can't have the prettiest, he'll have to be satisfiedwith someone else." He chuckled. "That's why I picked Memi. She's notbeautiful and never was, but she's a wonderful wife."

  "That's so," said Blejjo. "A wise man is one who only wants what heknows he can have. Right now"--he took off his hat and wiped his baldhead--"all I want is a dip in that river."

  "Swim first and then fish?"

  "I think so, don't you? Basom was right about this hot sun."

  "I'll go along with you," agreed Anketam.

  They made their way to the river, to the shallow place at the bend whereeveryone swam. There were a dozen and more kids there, having a greattime in the slow moving water, and several of the older people soakingthemselves and keeping an eye on the kids to make sure they didn'twander out to where the water was deep and the current swift.

  Anketam and Blejjo took off their clothes and cooled themselves in thewater for a good half hour before they dressed again and went on upriverto a spot where Blejjo swore the fish were biting.

  They were. In the next four hours, the two men had caught six fishapiece, and Blejjo was trying for his seventh. Here, near the river,there was a slight breeze, and it was fairly cool beneath theoverhanging branches of the closely bunched trees.

  Blejjo had spotted a big, red-and-yellow striped beauty loafing quietlyin a back eddy, and he was lowering his hook gently to a point just infront of the fish when both men heard the voice calling.

  "Anketam! Anketam! Blejjo! Where you at?"

  Blejjo went on with his careful work, knowing that Anketam would takecare of whatever it was.

  Anketam recognized the voice. He stood up and called: "Over here, Basom!What's the trouble?"

  A minute later, Basom came running through the trees, his feet crashingthrough the underbrush.

  Blejjo sat up abruptly, an angry look on his face. "Basom, you scared myfish away."

  "Fish, nothing," said Basom. "I ran all the way here to tell you!" Hewas grinning widely and panting for breath at the same time.

  "You suddenly got an awful lot of energy," Blejjo said sourly.

  "What happened?" Anketam asked.

  "The invasion!" Basom said between breaths. "Kevenoe himself came downto tell us! They've started the invasion! The war's on!"

  "Than what are you looking so happy about?" Anketam snapped.

  "That's what I came to tell you." Basom's grin didn't fade in the least."They landed up in the Frozen Country, where our missiles couldn't get'em, according to Kevenoe. Then they started marching down on one of thebig towns. Tens of thousands of 'em! And we whipped 'em! Our army cut'em to pieces and sent 'em running back to their base! We won! We_won_!"

  III

  The battle had been won, but the war wasn't won yet. The invaders hadmanaged to establish a good-sized base up in the Frozen Country. They'dsneaked their ships in and had put up a defensive system that stoppedany high-speed missiles. Not that Xedii had many missiles. Xedii was anagricultural planet; most manufactured articles were imported. It hadnever occurred to the government of Xedii that there would be any realneed for implements of war.

  The invaders seemed to be limiting their use of weapons, too. Theywanted to control the planet, not d
estroy it. Through the summer andinto the autumn, Anketam listened to the news as it filtered down fromthe battlegrounds. There were skirmishes here and there, but nothingdecisive. Xedii seemed to be holding her own against the invaders.

  After the first news of the big victory, things settled back pretty muchto normal.

  The harvest was good that year, but