As for the rough riding, that was fun. It was romantic, like putting out to sea in a sailboat-something else he hoped to do before he left Ozagen.
Also, though he would not admit it to himself, anything that scared Pornsen pleased him.
His pleasure ended. The cylinders popped, then sputtered. The car bucked and jerked and rolled to a stop. The two wogglebugs hopped over the side of the car (no doors) and raised the hood. Hal followed. Pornsen remained on the seat. He pulled a package of Merciful Seraphim (if angels smoked, they'd prefer Merciful Seraphim) out of his uniform pocket and lit one. His hands shook.
Hal noted it was the fourth he'd seen Pornsen smoking since morning prayers. If Pornsen wasn't careful, he'd be going over the quota allowed even first-classgapts.That meant that the next time Hal got into trouble, he could ask thegaptfor help by reminding him... No! That was too shameful a thought to keep in his head. Definitely unreal, belonging only in a pseudofuture. He loved thegaptas thegaptloved him, and he should not be planning such an un-Sigmenlike path of behavior.
Yet, he thought, judging from the difficulties he'd been in so far, he could use some help from Pornsen.
Hal shook his head to clear himself of such thoughts and bent over the motor to watch Zugu work on it. Zugu seemed to know what he was doing. He should, since he was the inventor and builder of the only – as far as the Terrans knew – Ozagenian vehicle driven by an internal combustion motor.
Zugu used a wrench to unscrew a long narrow pipe from a round glass case. Hal remembered that this was a gravity feed system. The fuel ran from the tank into the glass case, which was a sediment chamber. From there it ran into the feed pipe, which in turn passed the fuel on to the carburetor.
Pornsen called harshly, 'Beloved son, are we going to be stuck here all day?'
Though he wore the mask and goggles which the Ozagenians had given him as windbreakers, his tight lips were enough expression. It was evident that unless events improved, thegaptwould turn in a report unfavourable to his ward.
Thegapthad wanted to wait the two days that would be needed until he could requisition a gig. The trip to the ruins could then have been made in fifteen minutes, a soundless and comfortable ride through the air. Hal had argued that driving would give more valuable espionage in this heavily forested country than surveying from the air. That his superiors had agreed was another thing that had exasperated Pornsen. Where his ward went, he had to go.
So, he had sulked all day while the young Terran, coached by Zugu, wheeled the jalopy down the forest roads. The only time Pornsen spoke was to remind Hal of the sacredness of the human self and to tell him to slow down.
Hal would reply, 'Forgive me, cherished guardian,' and would ease his foot off the accelerator. But, after a while, he would slowly press down. Once again, they would roar and leap down the rough dirt road.
Zugu unscrewed both ends of the pipe, stuck one end in his V-shaped mouth, and blew. Nothing, however, came out of the other end. Zugu shut his big blue eyes and puffed his cheeks out again. Nothing happened, except that his lightly tinged green face turned a dark olive. Then, he rapped the copper tubing against the hood and blew once more. Same result.
Fobo reached into a large leather pouch slung from a belt around his big belly. His finger and thumb came out, holding between them a tiny blue insect. Gently, he pushed the creature into one end of the pipe. After five seconds, a small red insect in a hurry dropped out of the other end. Behind it, hungrily crossing its mandibles, came the blue insect. Fobo deftly snared his pet and replaced it in the pouch. Zugu squashed the red bug beneath his sandal.
'Behold!' said Fobo. 'An eater of alcohol! It lives in the fuel tank and imbibes freely and unmolested. It extracts the carbohydrates therein. A swimmer upon the golden seas of alcohol. What a life! But now and then it becomes too adventurous, travels into the sediment chamber, eats and devours the filter, and passes into the feedpipe.See!Zugu is even now replacing the filter. In a moment, we will be on our way down the road.'
Fobo's breath had a strange and sickening odor. Hal wondered if the wog had been drinking liquor. He had never smelled it on anybody's breath before, so he had no experience to go on. But even the thought of it made Hal nervous. If thegaptknew a bottle was being passed back and forth in the rear seat, he would not allow Hal out of his sight for a minute.
The wogs climbed into the back of the car. 'Let's go and depart!' said Fobo.
'Just a minute,' said Pornsen in a low voice to Hal. 'I think it's better that Zugu drive this thing.'
'If you ask the wog to drive, he'll know you lack confidence in me, your fellow Terran,' said Hal. 'You wouldn't want him to think it was your belief that a wog is superior to a human being, would you?'
Pornsen coughed as if he had trouble swallowing Hal's remarks, then sputtered, 'Of-of-of course not! Sigmen forbid! It was just that I had your welfare in mind. I thought you might be tired after the strain of piloting this primitive and dangerous contraption all day.'
'Thank you for your love for me,' said Hal. He grinned and added, 'It is comforting to know you are always at; my side, ready to direct me away from the peril of pseudofutures.'
Pornsen said, 'I have sworn byThe Western Talmudto guide you through this life.'
Chastened by the mention of the sacred book, Hal started the car. At first, he drove slowly enough to suit thegapt.But, inside five minutes, his foot became heavy, and the trees began whizzing by. He glanced at Pornsen. Thegapt'srigid back and set teeth showed that he was again thinking of the report he would make to the chief Uzzite back in the spaceship. He looked furious enough to demand the 'Meter of his ward.
Hal Yarrow breathed deeply of the wind battering his face mask. To H with Pornsen! To H with the 'Meter! The blood lurched in his veins. The air of this planet was not the stuffy air of Earth. His lungs sucked it in like a happy bellows. At that moment, he felt as if he could have snapped his fingers under the nose of the Archurielite himself.
'Look out!' screamed Pornsen.
Hal, out of the corners of his eyes, glimpsed the large antelope-like beast that leaped from the forest onto the road just ahead of the right side of the car. At the same time, he twisted the wheel to swing the vehicle away from it. The vehicle skidded on the dirt. Its rear swung around.