"The explosion? That was an accident."
"Maybe, but I wasn't talking about that. On the face of it Tuvey's pet chewed its way into the radio and destroyed both itself and the installation. Couple that with the damaged generator and we're in a bind."
"How?" She frowned at her own stupidity. "Of course! Unless the engineer can repair the engine we'll be stuck. Tuvey can't radio out now for another ship to bring him replacements. But why should anyone do a thing like that?"
"You tell me."
"Renzi? He likes it here but would he sabotage the ship to stay? Tuvey? He's the captain and can remain as long as he likes. The handler? No, he's dead. The steward? Doubtful, he hasn't the guts or the brains. The engineer? Why?" Shrugging, she ended, "Hell, it's anyone's guess. There's no one else."
"There's you."
"Me?" Her laughter was genuine. "Earl, have you gone out of your mind? The quicker I get those paintings back to real civilization the better. I've Cornelius eating out of my hand and every hour spent here now is an hour longer to wait for a fortune. But you?" Her eyes narrowed with speculation. "Maybe you don't want the ship to radio out. The woman? A need to hide? Afraid Tuvey might send a message to be relayed back to Juba that the man they were looking for is to be found here on Ath? Was that it, Earl? Did you wreck; the radio?"
"No."
"You could have. There isn't much you couldn't manage once you put your mind to it." Her hand dropped to his own and she stared at him, abruptly serious. "Earl, I'm jealous and I'll admit it, but I'm not a young girl and I know that certain things happen." She remembered Cornelius and her own manipulations. "Sometimes they have to happen-all living is a matter of compromise. But if you're in trouble and I can, help?"
"Thank you."
"I mean it, Earl. Just ask and it's yours. Anything. I owe you that."
He said firmly, "You owe me nothing. All debts have been paid."
"Some debts can never be paid." The fingers of the hand resting on his tightened with a warm intimacy which diminished the importance of mere physical association. Then, conscious of the stinging in her eyes, she said, "We're business partners and shouldn't be getting sentimental. There's no profit in sentiment. Earl, I need cheering up. Isn't there anything interesting you think I should know?"
"Only one thing," said Dumarest dryly. "We're sitting in the middle of a revolution."
"The Ohrm? Rebelling? Impossible!" Casavet threw back his head and laughed. He was a big man who had helped himself plentifully to wine and was a stranger to Dumarest. "My friend, you must surely be joking." He wiped his eyes with a scrap of lace-like fabric. "A revolution! Here on Ath!"
Tuvey said, "Are you sure, Earl? If you're not, it was a damned stupid thing to have said."
"I'm sure."
"How? You read it in the stars? Listened to a message carried on the wind? " The captain's scowl left no doubt as to his disbelief. "You've been on this world just over a single day and you think to know more than those who live here? Who rule!"
"There is an old saying," said Lathrynne quietly. "The husband is always the last to know. I don't take Earl for a fool and only a fool would have made such a statement unless he had grounds for believing it to be true." Her voice hardened a little. "You have data?"
"A ship damaged by explosives accidentally detonated. Why were they being carried and who ordered the unloading?"
"Captain?"
"Explosives are a normal cargo for any vessel operating as a trader and touching a variety of worlds. As for who ordered the unloading, I guess the handler did."
"The man who is dead and now.cannot be questioned." Lathrynne glanced at Dumarest. Without discussion she seemed to have become the head of the impromptu interrogation. The child-like servants who had been discreetly present during the meal had vanished. "Well?"
"Some of the explosives were unloaded and taken to a predetermined point. And there was a laser which didn't belong to your normal armament."
"Which could have been left here by a previous visitor," pointed out a man.
"And given to the Ohrm? Exactly." Dumarest looked from one to the other. "I notice you avoid the subject of where the explosives could have been taken."
"If any were taken." The man raised the objection. He was young with purple hair and neat in puce and emerald. "The first box to be unloaded could have been detonated."
"Doubtful but possible," admitted Dumarest. The young man seemed to have adopted the position of a devil's advocate and, like Lathrynne, had done so without discussion. "But some of the Ohrm were hurt in the blast and they refused to come to you for help. That in itself would be suspicious on the majority of worlds I have visited. When the people fear authority there is usually a good reason. As far as I can tell, you don't seem to be unduly harsh."
"We treat the Ohrm as if they were children," said a woman. "Children to be loved and protected."
"We are of the same roots," said another. "We landed on the same vessel-surely, you know a little of our history?"
"We ask only that they should obey," said a man. "And we ask that only because they lack the knowledge to govern themselves."
Ursula said blankly, "Why should they hate us? They should be happy."
"As you are?" Dumarest waited for an answer and when none came added, "I'm not defending the Ohrm. I don't give a damn for their condition or imagined grievances or supposed cause. But I am a guest and, as you've mentioned before-" He glanced at Ursula. "-A guest has certain obligations. In my experience it is to defend the people and the property of those who have given him hospitality. I have given you warning and that ends my obligation. If you refuse to heed it then that is your business. Now, with your permission, it is late and I am tired."
"Earl! Don't leave!" Ursula turned to the others. "At least let us probe the possibility. Lathrynne? Khurt?"
The young man nodded. "Of course."
"Yes," said Lathrynne. "Is there general agreement? Etallia? Casavet? Rattalie?" Nods answered as she called names. "So what do we have so far? Explosives which may have been taken from the Sivas and hidden. Men injured by a known event who refuse to ask for treatment. A gun which must have been smuggled or stolen by a servant some time in the past. An attack on a guest which he fortunately survived. And?"
"A feeling," said Dumarest. "A conviction."
"That a revolution is imminent? How imminent? Tomorrow? Next week? In a month? A year?"
"If I could tell you the exact time and the manner of the insurrection," said Dumarest dryly, "I wouldn't be a guest but a prophet."
"Or the leader of the insurrection itself." Lathrynne nodded. "A good point. It was unfair to try and pin you down. Is there anything else?"
"Names. Wilkie, Flavian, Masak. They were three of the men who attacked me. "
"And who are now dead. A pity. Did they need to die?"
"They wanted to kill me." It was answer enough. Dumarest added, "But they would have had associates and they could be found."
"And persuaded to talk. Of course, but there is doubt as to their identity. Many of the scanners in the homes of the Ohrm are no longer operating or have become erratic."
Scanners? Dumarest had seen none or, if he had, had failed to recognize them for what they were. As easy mistake; such instruments could be small and masked in a variety of ways. But scanners presupposed a central operations room where data could be evaluated and correlated. Another item to add to the rest but as yet the knowledge was of little use.
He said, "Are any scanners installed in the homes of the Choud?"
"No." Lathrynne looked puzzled. "What would be the point?"
A question Tuvey answered. "None. Earl, you probe too deeply. It would be wise to remember that you are a guest on this world."
"As you are, Captain," reminded Dumarest. "But I present no danger to my hosts."