Part 33 (1/2)

By agreement Dora stayed in the wagon.

It took all that day to take care of our old friend, with a stop for lunch and a few short breaks for water and to catch my breath in the shade of the wagon-breaks I shared with Lady Mac, letting her get down each time I came up. Plus one interruption- It was midafternoon and I had dug almost enough hole when Lady Mac barked for me. I was up out of that hole fast, blaster in hand, expecting lopers.

Just a dragon- I wasn't especially surprised, Minerva; the well-cropped state of the turf, almost like a lawn, seemed to indicate dragon rather than prairie goat. Those dragons are not dangerous unless one happens to fall on you. They are slow, stupid, and strictly vegetarian. Oh, they're ugly enough to be frightening; they look like six-legged triceratops. But that's all. Lopers left them alone because biting armor is unrewarding.

I joined Dora at the wagon. ”Ever seen one, hon?”

”Not up close. Goodness, it's huge.” huge.”

”It's a big one, all right. But it will probably turn away. I won't waste a charge on it if I don't have to.”

But the durned thing did not turn away. Minerva, I think it was so stupid that it mistook the wagon for a lady dragon. Or the other way around, it is hard to tell male from female. But they are definitely bis.e.xual; two dragons humping is a remarkable sight.

When it got within a hundred meters, I let myself out the fence and took Lady Mac along, as she was quiveringly eager. I doubt if she had ever seen one; they were cleaned out around Top Dollar long before she was whetped. She danced up to it, barking but wary.

I hoped that Lady would cause it to turn aside, but this misshapen rhinoceros paid no attention; it lumbered slowly along, straight for the wagon. So I tickled it with my needle gun between where it should have had lips, to get its attention. It stopped, astounded I think, and opened its mouth wide. That was what I needed, as I did not want to waste maximum power blasting through that armored hide. So-Blaster at minimum, right into its mouth: Scratch one dragon.

It stood there a moment, then slowly collapsed. I called Lady and went back to the fence. Dora was waiting. ”May I go look at it?”

I glanced at the Sun. ”Sweetheart, I'm going to be pushed to take care of Buck before dark, then fetch the mules back and move us on a way. Unless you are willing to bivouac with the grave on one side and a dead dragon on the other?”

She did not insist, and I got back to work. In another hour I had it deep enough and wide enough-got out block-and-tackle, a triple purchase, secured it to the rear axle, tied Buck's hind feet together, hooked over the tie and took up the slack.

Dora had come out with me. ”Just a moment, dear.” She stopped to pat Buck's neck, then leaned down and kissed his forehead. ”All right, Woodrow. Now.”

I heaved on the line. For a moment I thought the wagon would move despite the brakes being locked. Then Buck started to slide, and fell into his grave. I shook the hook loose, then backfilled fast, closing in twenty minutes a hole it had taken me most of the day to dig. Dora waited.

I finished. ”Up into the wagon, Dorable; that's it.”

”Lazarus, I wish I knew something to say. Do you?”

I thought about it. I had heard a thousand burial services; most of them I did not like. So I made up one. ”Whatever G.o.d there be, please take care of this fine person. He always did his best. Amen.”

(Omitted) -even those first years weren't too hard, as Happy Valley would grow anything, two and three clops a year. But we should have named it ”Dragon Valley.”

Lopers were bad enough, especially the small lopers that hunted in packs which we found on that side of Rampart Range. But those d.a.m.ned dragons! They almost drove me out of my skull. When you've lost the same potato patch four times running, it begins to wear.

Lopers I could poison and did. I could trap them, too, if I changed style every time. Or I could put out bait at night and sit quietly and get most of a pack, silently, with a needle gun. I could do lots of things and did, and the mules learned to cope with them, too, sleeping closer together at night and always with one on watch, like quail or baboon. Whenever I heard the bellow that meant ”Loper!” ”Loper!” I always came awake fast and tried to join the fun-but the mules rarely left me any; they not only could stomp them, but they could outrun them and get some or all of a pack that tried to escape. We lost three mules and six goats to lopers, but the lopers got the news and started giving us a wide berth. I always came awake fast and tried to join the fun-but the mules rarely left me any; they not only could stomp them, but they could outrun them and get some or all of a pack that tried to escape. We lost three mules and six goats to lopers, but the lopers got the news and started giving us a wide berth.

But those dragons! Too big to trap and would not take poison; salad was all they were after. But what one dragon can do to a cornfield in one night shouldn't happen to Sodom and Gomorrah. Bow-and-arrow was futile against them, and a needle gun just tickled them. I could kill one with a blaster, full power right through the armor, or minimum power the way I got that first one if I could get my target to open its mouth. But, unlike lopers, they were too stupid to stay away when they were losing.

The first summer I was able to farm I killed more than a hundred dragons in trying to save my crops . . which was a defeat for me and a victory for the dragons. Not only was the stench terrible (what can you do with a carca.s.s that big?), but, far worse, I was running out of charges and they didn't seem to be running out of dragons.

No power. Buck's River did not have enough head on it where we settled to think about trying to build a water wheel, even if I cannibalized one wagon to build it. The windmill I had fetched was in fact nothing but gears and other hardware; the mill itself I would have to build, from sails to tower. But until I had power I had no way to recharge power packs.

Dora solved it. We were still living in that first compound, nothing but a high adobe wall just big enough to surround the wagons and to bring the goats inside at night, while we slept in the first wagon along with baby Zack and cooked in a clay Dutch oven-and between smoke and goats and chickens and the sour smells babies can't help making and the cesspit that had to be inside the wall-well, the stench of dead dragons wasn't too noticeable.

We were finis.h.i.+ng supper, Dora dressed in her rubies as always for supper, and were watching the moons and the stars coming out-best time of day, always, except that when I should have been admiring our firstborn at suck and enjoying the sky, I was grousing about power and what in h.e.l.l I could do about those pesky dragons.

I had ticked off several simple ways to produce power-simple if you are on a civilized planet or even at a place like New Pittsburgh with its coal and its infant metals industry-when I happened to use a very old-fas.h.i.+oned term. Instead of talking about kilowatts or megadynecentimeters per second or such, I had remarked that I would settle for ten horsepower any way I could get it.

Dora had never seen a horse, but she knew what one was. She said, ”Beloved, wouldn't ten mules do instead?”

(Omitted) We had been in our valley seven years when the first wagon showed up. Young Zack was nearly seven and beginning to be some help to me-or thought he was and I encouraged him to try. Andy was five, and Helen not yet four. We had lost Persephone, and Dora was pregnant again, and that was why -Dora had insisted on starting another baby at once, not wait one day, one hour-and she was right. Once we knew she had caught, our morale picked up overnight. We missed Persephone; she had been a darling baby. But we stopped grieving and looked forward instead. I hoped for another girl but was willing to settle for any baby-no way to control the s.e.x of a child, then and there.

All in all, we were in fine shape, with a prosperous farm, a healthy, happy family, plenty of livestock, a much larger compound with a house built right into it against the back wall, a windmill that drove a saw, or ground grain, or supplied power for my blaster.

When I spotted that wagon, my first thought was that it was going to be nice to have neighbors. But my second thought was that I was going to be proud, very proud, to show off my fine family and our farm to these newcomers.

Dora climbed up to the roof and watched the wagon with me; it was still over fifteen kilometers away, could not arrive before evening. I put my arm around her. ”Excited, hon?”

”Yes. Though I've never been lonely; you haven't let me be. How many do you think I should expect for supper?”

”Hmm-Only one wagon. One family. My best guess is a couple, with none, one, or two children. More than that would surprise me.”

”Me, too, darling, but there'll be plenty to eat.”

”And put some clothes on our kids before they get here-wouldn't want 'em to guess we're raising savages, would we?”

She answered, deadpan, ”Shall I wear clothes, too?”

”What sw.a.n.k! That's up to you, Rangy Lil-but who was it said just last month that she had never worn her party dress?”

”Will you be wearing a kilt, Lazarus?”

”I might. I might even take a bath. I'll need one because I'm going to spend the rest of the day cleaning the goat compound and a lot of other things-make this place look as neat as possible. But forget the name 'Lazarus,' dear; I'm Bill Smith again.”

”I'll remember-Bill. I'll bathe before they get here, too-because I'm going to have a hot and busy time, cooking, cleaning house, bathing our children, and trying to teach them how to be introduced to strangers. They've never seen anyone else, dear; I'm not sure they believe there is anyone else.”

”They'll behave.” I was sure they would. Dora and I had the same ideas about raising kids. Praise them, never scream at them, punish as necessary and right now now-never a moment's delay-then it's over with and forget it. Be as lavish with affection after a spanking as any other time-or a bit extra. Spanking they had to have (Dora usually used a switch) because, without exception over the centuries, my kids have been h.e.l.l-raisers who wouid take advantage of the sweetnessand-light routine. Some of my wives had trouble believing what little monsters I sp.a.w.n-but Dora was right with me on this wild-animal act from scratch. In consequence she raised the most civilized brood I've ever fathered.

When that wagon was maybe a kilometer away, I rode out to meet them-then was surprised and disappointed. A family, yes, if you count a man and two grown sons as a family. No women, no children. I wondered how they thought they were going to pioneer.

The younger son was not fully grown; his beard was spa.r.s.e and scraggly. Nevertheless, he was taller and heavier than I was, and he was the smallest of the three. His father and brother were mounted; he was driving-actually driving; they were not using a mule boss. No livestock other than mules that I could see, although I did not attempt to look into their wagon.

I did not like their looks and reversed my idea about neighbors. I hoped they would move on down the valley, at least fifty kilometers.

The mounted two were carrying guns at their belts-reasonable in loper country. I had a needle gun in sight myself, as well as a belt knife-and maybe other things not in sight, as I don't consider it diplomatic to show much hardware in meeting strangers.

As I approached, they stopped, the driver reining up his mules. I had Beulah stop about ten paces short of the lead pair. ”Howdy,” I said. ”Welcome to Happy Valley. I'm Bill Smith.”

The oldest of the three looked me up and down. It is hard to tell a man's expression when he wears a full beard, but what little I could see was no expression at all-wariness, perhaps. My own face was smooth-freshly shaved and clean overalls, in honor of visitors. I was keeping my face smooth both because Dora preferred it so and because I was staying ”young” to match Dora. I was wearing my best friendly look-but was saying to myself, ”You've got ten seconds to answer my greeting and say who you are-or you're going to miss some of the best cooking on New Beginnings.”

He just slid under the deadline; I had silently counted seven chimpanzees when he suddenly grinned through that face moss. ”Why, that's mighty friendly of you, young man.”

”Bill Smith,” I repeated, ”and I didn't catch your name.”

”Probably because I didn't say,” he answered. ”Name's Montgomery. 'Monty' to my friends, and I don't have any enemies, at least not for long. Right, Darby?”

”Right, Pop,” agreed the other mounted one.