Leiber, Fritz FGM 2 Swords Against Death

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haired wench."
"Hide your teeth, rat, before I break them!" Slevyas whipped out the words
coldly.
"But you are our master now," replied the thief in a surprised voice.
"Yes, I'm the master of all of you, unquestioned master, and my first piece of
advice is this: to criticize a dead thief may not be irreverent -- but it is certainly a
waste of time. Now, Fissif, where's the jeweled skull? We all know it's more
valuable than a year's pickpocketing, and that the Thieves' Guild needs gold. So,
no nonsense!"
The Mouser peering cautiously from his slit, grinned at the look of fear on
Fissif's fat-jowled face.
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"The skull, Master?" said Fissif in a quavering sepulchral tone. "Why, it's
flown back to the grave from which we three filched it. Surely if those bony hands
could strangle Krovas, as I saw with my own eyes, the skull could fly."
Slevyas slapped Fissif across the face.
"You lie, you quaking bag of mush! I will tell you what happened. You plotted
with those two rogues, the Gray Mouser and Fafhrd. You thought no one would
suspect you because you double-crossed them according to instructions. But you
planned a double-double-cross. You helped them escape the trap we had set, let
them kill Krovas, and then assured their escape by starting a panic with your tale
of dead fingers killing Krovas. You thought you could brazen it out."
"But Master," Fissif pleaded, "with my own eyes I saw the skeletal fingers leap
to his throat. They were angry with him because he had pried forth some of the
jewels that were their nails and -- "
Another slap changed his statement to a whining grunt.
"A fool's story," sneered a scrawny thief. "How could the bones hold
together?"
"They were laced on brass wires," returned Fissif in meek tones.
"Nah! And I suppose the hands, after strangling Krovas, picked up the skull
and carried it away with them?" suggested another thief. Several sniggered.
Slevyas silenced them with a look, then indicated Fissif with his thumb.
"Pinion him," he ordered.
Two thieves sidled up to Fissif, who offered no resistance. They twisted his
arms behind his back.
"We'll do this thing decently," said Slevyas, seating himself on the table.
"Thieves' trial. Everything in order. Briefly this is a matter for the Thieves' Jury to
consider. Fissif, cutpurse of the first rank, was commissioned to loot the sacred
grave at the temple of Votishal of one skull and one pair of hands. Because of
certain unusual difficulties involved, Fissif was ordered to league himself with
two outsiders of special talent, to wit, the northern barbarian Fafhrd and the
notorious Gray Mouser."
The Mouser made a courteous and formal bow behind the drapes, then glued
his eye once more to the slit.
"The loot obtained, Fissif was to steal it from the two others -- and at the
earliest possible moment, to avoid their stealing it from him."
The Mouser thought he heard Fafhrd smother a curse and grit his teeth.
"If possible, Fissif was to slay them," concluded Slevyas. "In any case he was
to bring the loot direct to Krovas. So much for Fissif's instructions, as detailed to
me by Krovas. Now tell your story, Fissif, but -- mind you -- no old-wives' tales."
"Brother thieves," began Fissif in a heavy mournful voice. This was greeted by
several derisive cries. Slevyas rapped carelessly for order.
"I followed out those instructions just as they were given me," continued
Fissif. "I sought out Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, and interested them in the
plan. I agreed to share the loot equally with them, a third to each man."
Fafhrd, squinting at Fissif through the drape, nodded his head solemnly.
Fissif then made several uncomplimentary remarks about Fafhrd and the
Mouser, evidently hoping thereby to convince his listeners that he had not plotted
with them. The other thieves only smiled grimly.
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"And when it came to the actual filching of the loot from the temple," Fissif
went on, gaining confidence from the sound of his own voice, "it turned out I had
little need of their help."
Again Fafhrd smothered a curse. He could hardly endure listening in silence
to such outrageous lies. But the Mouser enjoyed it after a fashion. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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