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Further, I do not believe that Wayne truly would endanger Jane. I
judge him to be a man who would threaten this in the hope of
influencing me under the First Law, but who would not carry out the
threat.
I m not so sure.
The wagon in which MC 6 rode pulled up near the main gate of the
outer rampart, behind some other loaded wagons.
We re moving to the front of the line, said Steve. Are we going to
get our tack first, or just go now?
We should waste no more time, said Hunter decisively. Come.
Hunter stepped out of the line and angled quickly across the slope,
down toward the loaded wagons. Most of the teamsters sat holding
the reins, simply waiting, but a few of them stood on the ground,
adjusting harnesses or ropes holding cargo.
Can t he tell somehow that you re a robot? Steve asked. Didn t we
have to consider this on earlier missions, too? What did we do?
If he studies me with magnified vision or hearing, he will detect that
I do not have human skin or a heartbeat. We must gamble that he will
not bother, since he has no reason to expect another robot here in this
century.
Oh, yeah. That s right.
Steve followed Hunter, keeping an eye on MC 6. The component robot
sat in the rear of a wagon watching his surroundings alertly, but of
course he had no idea that Hunter and Steve had come from their
time to get him. He glanced at them casually and then looked past
them, toward the paddock.
Since he is not afraid of us, we can walk right up and speak to him,
said Hunter. Give him a direct instruction to cooperate fully with
us.
What do we do after we get him? Steve asked. We don t want to
vanish with him in front of these other people. What should I say?
Your second instruction must be to jump down out of the wagon and
come around behind it with us. we will hurry out the main gate. As
soon as we turn the corner and stand out of sight, I will trigger the
belt unit.
Got it. Steve glanced at the gate, just on the other side of the wagon,
and looked at MC 6 again.
Ho! You there! What do you want?
Steve stopped, startled. Hunter turned in surprise. A tall, burly man
wearing a tanned leather tunic marched up to them. He scowled
through a bushy brown beard.
I say, what do you want here?
We must have a moment with this man, Hunter said firmly,
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gesturing toward MC 6. Who are you?
I am Gaius, the wagonmaster. He glared suspiciously at Hunter.
What do you want with him? He doesn t speak British or Latin. The
only way we can communicate with him is through gestures.
We speak his language, said Hunter.
Steve almost called out to MC 6 in English, to order him to cooperate.
He thought better of it, realizing that they might not get a chance to
take MC 6 away from the sight of the wagonmaster. In that event, he
did not want to alert MC 6 to the fact that they had come from his time
to take him back.
And I asked, what do you want with him? Before Hunter could
answer, Gaius turned to MC 6. You know these men? He jerked a
thumb toward Hunter.
MC 6 looked back and forth between them. He obviously did not
understand the question. He shrugged lightly, shaking his head.
You men get back to your horses, said Gaius angrily. Now. I have
wagons to line up. He moved to block Hunter s path to MC 6.
Hunter turned and walked back up the slope. Steve hurried to keep
alongside. At least they had not revealed their true intentions to MC 6.
Jane said nothing about Wayne s plans the next morning. She helped
Ygerna tend the fire, waiting to see what Wayne and Ishihara were
going to do. They all ate breakfast, the same hot cereal as every other
morning. Then Wayne and Ishihara stepped outside again, this time
with Emrys.
The suspense for Jane finally ended when Ishihara came back inside
alone.
Emrys will drive us to the village again today, Ishihara said to Jane.
Wayne instructed me to explain that we must search for an
acquaintance there. Emrys expressed his gratitude again for my help
in cutting the firewood and, by chance, causing him to drive his sheep
to sell before his neighbors. So he will send his eldest son to tend the
flock again and help us today, as well.
Jane nodded. She did not want Ishihara or Wayne to know that she
was glad to be going, too. On her way out of the hut, she gave Ygerna a
quick smile and pat on the shoulder. Jane hoped to join Hunter
somehow today, which would mean she would not be back, but of
course she could hardly say so.
This time, Emrys did not have firewood to load or sheep to drive.
Ygerna gave them some bread and cold cooked mutton to take with
them, wrapped first in a clean cloth, then put into a heavier cloth bag.
Ishihara lifted Jane into the back of the empty cart, as before, and
climbed in with her. Emrys waited for Wayne to join him in the front,
then shook the reins and started out.
Today, other shepherds with their flocks clogged the road to the tor.
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