The Stranger - Max Frei [268]
“Take a look in the mirror, Max. It’s lucky there aren’t many people in Kettari who know your face. I believe we’ll have to find our way out of here without the caravan, though. If, of course, we want to keep our mission a secret.”
I stared into the mirror in astonishment at a face that looked haggard, bedraggled, and exhausted. Goodness! Not just any face, but my own!
“Yikes!” I blurted out. “All my life I was sure I was anything but plain, but now . . . but how did Lady Marilyn’s pretty face get left behind? Actually, who could possibly know but me—and I haven’t the foggiest notion. So let’s talk about you, Sir Shurf. You probably haven’t spent the last few days in the best possible spirits? What I mean is that I should have sent you a call, but I felt sure I was only gone for—”
“I don’t know where you were, Max, but I tried to contact you several times.”
“And?”
“To no avail, as you might have guessed. But I knew you were alive, because—well, I tracked you down. I’m not as good at it as Lady Melamori, but I do know how, if you’ll remember. The trail of a living person is always distinct from that of a dead one, so I wasn’t afraid for your life. But duty required me to follow your trail, though from the very beginning I felt I shouldn’t meddle in your affairs. Anyway, the trail led me to the city gates, and there I had to turn back home. I felt I couldn’t pursue you further than that. It was a very unpleasant sensation. I hope I don’t have to experience it again. But at least I realized you weren’t in any danger.”
“I’m very sorry, Shurf,” I said. “You won’t believe where I was. My dream, the city in the mountains, the cable car—do you remember?”
Lonli-Lokli nodded.
“You don’t have to explain anything, Max. I have a feeling that that secret isn’t yours to tell. So it’s better to keep quiet, all right?”
“Yes, all right.” I stared at him in consternation. Then a light went on in my head. “Did you just have that same unpleasant sensation again that you had by the city gates?”
Lonli-Lokli nodded.
“Holy moley! In that case, I’ll zip my lips. In fact, I think I’ll go take a little snooze. After the Elixir two or three hours of sleep will be enough. Then you can tell me—no, you’d better tell me now, or I’ll die of curiosity. What have you been doing all this time? Not you, I mean, but him—that cheerful chap. How did he entertain himself?”
Lonli-Lokli frowned.
“I’m afraid the news isn’t very good, Max. He—that is, me—we played cards. It was so pleasant and exciting! Oh, I was just going to ask you, did you have any money on you when we parted? Because I have nothing left.”
“You blew all the money?” I laughed so hard I wanted to collapse to the chair, but missed and fell into a heap on the floor instead. “You lost all the money? How long did you play? A year? Two?”
“Two days and two nights,” Lonli-Lokli admitted in embarrassment. “But a round of Krak usually doesn’t last more than a dozen minutes, so—”
“I see. As for me, I have three crowns and a bit of change left. Never mind. We’ll survive. I have a lot of experience in frugal living. If worse comes to worst, we’ll just murder someone. It’s a piece of cake! Or become robbers. Do you know how to rob, Shurf? I’m sure you do.”
“Yes. It’s not a very sophisticated kind of trick,” he said somberly. “But I don’t think it would be right. We are serving the Crown, in case you’ve forgotten.”
“Oh, yes, of course,” I said quickly. My wonder-saturated body had been seeking an outlet for mild hysteria for some time already. “You’re delightful, Shurf! A fine fellow. And I’m a dolt. I was ready to rob a jewelry store. Well, we’ll live modestly, tighten our belts. Honest poverty has its advantages. I’ve read heaps of books that claim it does, anyway.”
“You’re a very magnanimous person, Max,” Lonli-Lokli said. “I assumed that you’d be quite displeased with me.”
“I’m not a bit magnanimous. It’s just that I have loads of more serious problems. And besides, it’s my own fault. I shouldn’t have given you that joint.”
“Your treat