“But we don’t know how. No Mahloan has ever lifted his hand in anger. Don’t you see?”
The rest of the women were shrilling the same sentiments, drowning out the men. Listening to them, Karn began to understand a great deal. But it was not time for that now.
“Be silent!” he roared. “I see only that you are all going to die. At least die like men!”
The women’s voices shrilled in his ears but he shouted them down. By sheer lung power he silenced them, and the sight of his giant figure awed them and kept them silent.
“I am going to pick one hundred of the men,” Karn told them. “With nothing but pointed sticks and clubs they are going to follow me. And they are going to fight! Do you hear? They are going to fight!”
Darkness held no terrors for Karn. His eyes were sharp, his hearing as acute as a bird’s, his sense of smell infallible. Beyond Nobla’s wall he caught the scent of the Green Ones, foul and slightly acrid.
He had to move fast. The men of Mahlo were not as well equipped as he. They had to have light to find their way around. And in an hour the sun would be up.
Karn moved away from the gates, edged along the high wall until he found a rough section. His fingers sought crevices. Then, with the agility of a monkey, he made his way upward. At the top of the wall he waited, listening to the sounds of deep breathing on his right and below.
The Green Ones slept. Their guards