Once the fine was paid, the spectators on the hills descended in swarms; and the conclusion about the value of the fir-cone-like fruit was amply confirmed. Barlennan at first had a slight reluctance to sell all of it, since he had hoped to get really high prices at home; but then he reflected that he would have to go back through the source of supply before reaching his home in any case.
Many of the buyers were evidently professional merchants themselves, and had plentiful supplies of trade goods with them. Some of these were also edibles, but on their captain’s orders the crew paid these little attention. This was accepted as natural enough by the merchants; after all, such goods would be of little value to an overseas trader, who could supply his own food from the ocean but could hardly expect to preserve most types of comestibles for a long enough time to sell at home. The „spices” which kept more or less permanently were the principal exception to this rule, and none of these were offered by the local tradesmen.
Some of the merchants, however, did have interesting materials. Both the cord and the fabric in which Barlennan had been interested were offered, rather to his surprise. He personally dealt with one of the salesmen who had a supply of tie latter. The captain felt its unbelievably sheer and even more incredibly tough texture for a long time before satisfying himself that it was really the same material as that used in the glider wings. Reejaaren was close beside him, which made a little care necessary. He learned from the merchant that it was a woven fabric in spite of appearances, the fiber being of vegetable origin — the canny salesman refused to be more specific — the clodi being treated after weaving with a liquid which partly dissolved the threads and filled the holes with the material thus obtained.
„Then the cloth is windproof? I think I could sell this easily at home. It is hardly strong enough for practical uses like roofing, but it is certainly ornamental, particularly the colored versions. I will admit, though it is hardly good buying procedure, that this is-, the most salable material I have yet seen on this island.”
„Not strong enough?” It was Reejaaren rather than the merchant who expressed indignation. „This material is made nowhere else, and is the only substance at once strong and light enough to form the wings of our gliders. If you buy it, we will have to give it to you in bolts too small for such a purpose — no one but a fool, of course, would trust a sewn seam in a wing.”
„Of course,” Barlennan agreed easily. „I suppose such stuff could be used in wings here, where the weight is so small. I assure you that it would be quite useless for the purpose in high latitudes; a wing large enough to lift anyone would tear to pieces at once in any wind strong enough to furnish the lift.” This was almost a direct quote from one of his human friends, who had been suggesting why the gliders had never been seen in countries farther south.
„Of course, there is very little load on a glider in these latitudes,” Reejaaren agreed. „Naturally there is no point in building them stronger than necessary — here; it adds to the weight.” Barlennan decided that his tactical adversary was not too bright.
„Naturally,” he agreed. „I suppose with the storms you have here your surface ships must be stronger. Do they ever get flung inland the way mine was? I never saw the sea rise in that fashion before.”
„We naturally take precautions when a storm is coming. The rising of the sea occurs only in these latitudes of little weight, as far as I have been able to observe. Actually our ships are very much like yours, though we have different armament, I notice. Yours is unfamiliar to me — doubtless our philosophers of war found it inadequate for the storms of these latitudes. Did it suffer seriously in the hurricane that brought you here?”
„Rather badly,” Barlennan lied. „How are your own ships armed?” He did not for a second expect the interpreter to answer the question in any way, except perhaps a resumption of his former haughtiness, but Reejaaren for once was both affable and co-operative. He hooted a signal up the hill to some of his party who had remained above, and one of these obediently came down to the scene of bargaining with a peculiar object in his pincers.
Barlennan had never seen a crossbow, of course, or any other missile weapon. He was suitably impressed when Ree-jaaren sent three quartz-tipped bolts in a row thudding for over half their six-inch length into the hard trunk of a plant some forty yards away. He also lost most of his surprise at the interpreter’s helpfulness; such a weapon would be so much dead weight before the Bree was a quarter of the way to her home latitudes. More as a test than anything else, Barlennan offered to buy one of the crossbows; the interpreter pressed it on him as a gift, together with a bundle of bolts. That was good enough for the captain; as a trader, he naturally enjoyed being taken for a fool. It was usually profitable.
He secured an incredible quantity of the wing fabric — Ree-jaaren either forgot to make sure it was in small bolts, or no longer considered it necessary — much of the elastic rope, and enough of the local artifacts to fill the Bree’s decks, except for the normal requirements of working space and the area devoted to a reasonable food reserve. He was rid of everything salable that he had brought to the island, with the possible exception of the flame throwers. Reejaaren had not mentioned these since he had been told they were damaged, though he had obviously recognized them as armament of some sort. Barlennan actually thought of giving him one, minus chlorine ammunition, but realized he would have to explain its operation and even demonstrate. This he had no intention of doing; if these people were not familiar with the weapons he did not want them to know the truth of their nature, and if they were he did not want to be caught in a lie. It was much nicer to have Reejaaren in a good humor.
With the selling completed, the crowd of local people gradually melted away; and at last there remained only the gliders and their crews, some of the latter down near the Slip and others on the hilltops by their machines. Barlennan found the interpreter among the former group, as usual; he had spent much time talking casually to the sailors. They had reported that he was, as expected, pumping them gently about the flying ability of their people. They had filled their part of the game with noncommittal replies that nevertheless „accidentally” revealed a considerable knowledge of aerodynamics. Naturally, they carefully gave no hint as to how recently the knowledge had been acquired — or its source. Barlennan at this point was reasonably sure that the islanders, or at least their official representative, believed his people capable of flight.
„That seems to be all I can give or take,” he said as he secured Reejaaren’s attention. „We have, I think, paid all necessary fees. Is there any objection to our departing?”
„Where do you plan to go now?”
„Southward, toward decent weight. We do not know this ocean at all, except by vague reports from some of our merchants who have ma(ie the overland journey. I should like to see more of it.” -
„Very well. You are free to go. Doubtless you will see some of us on your travels — I occasionally go south myself. Watch out for more storms.”
The interpreter, apparently the picture of cordiality, turned up the hill. „We may see you at the coast,” he added, looking back. „The fiord where you first landed has been suggested as possibly improvable to harbor status, and I want to inspect it.” He resumed his journey to the waiting gliders.
Barlennan turned back to the ship, and was about to give orders for immediate resumption of the downstream journey-the goods had been loaded as fast as they were purchased — when he realized that the stakes dropped by the gliders still barred the way. for an instant he thought of calling the islander back and requesting their removal; then he thought better of it. He was in no position to make a demand, and Reejaaren would undoubtedly grow supercilious again if he put it as a request. The Breeds crew would dig out of their own troubles.