don't make myself understood verbally,we'll go down to the object level," he added, snatching a bowl of soup fromin front of the monkish-looking young man and throwing it across the table.
The soup was a dark brown, almost black. It contained bits of meat,and mushrooms, and slices of hard-boiled egg, and yellow Martian rocklichen. It produced, on the light tunic, a most spectacular effect.
For a moment, Verkan Vall was afraid the fellow would have anapoplectic stroke, or an epileptic fit. Mastering himself, however, hebowed jerkily.
"Marnark of Bashad," he identified himself. "When and where can myfriends consult yours?"
"Lord Virzal of Verkan," the paratimer bowed back. "Your friends cannegotiate with mine here and now. I am represented by theseGentlemen-Assassins."
"I won't submit my friends to the indignity of negotiating with them,"Marnark retorted. "I insist that you be represented by persons of yourown quality and mine."
"Oh, you do?" Olirzon broke in. "Well, is your objection personal tome, or to Assassins as a class? In the first case, I'll remember tomake a private project of you, as soon as I'm through with my presentemployment; if it's the latter, I'll report your attitude to theSociety. I'll see what Klarnood, our President-General, thinks of yourviews."
A crowd had begun to accumulate around the table. Some of them werepersons in evening dress, some were Assassins on the hotel payroll,and some were unattached Assassins.
"Well, you won't have far to look for him," one of the latter said,pushing through the crowd to the table.
He was a man of middle age, inclined to stoutness; he made Verkan Vallthink of a chocolate figure of Tortha Karf. The red badge on hisbreast was surrounded with gold lace, and, instead of black wings anda silver bullet, it bore silver wings and a golden dagger. He bowedcontemptuously at Marnark of Bashad.
"Klarnood, President-General of the Society of Assassins," heannounced. "Marnark of Bashad, did I hear you say that you consideredmembers of the Society as unworthy to negotiate an affair of honorwith your friends, on behalf of this nobleman who has been courteousenough to accept your challenge?" he demanded.
Marnark of Bashad's arrogance suffered considerable evaporation-loss.His tone became almost servile.
"Not at all, Honorable Assassin-President," he protested. "But as Iwas going to ask these gentlemen to represent me, I thought it wouldbe more fitting for the other gentleman to be represented by personalfriends, also. In that way--"
"Sorry, Marnark," the gray-haired man at the table said. "I can'tsecond you; I have a quarrel with the Lord Virzal, too." He rose andbowed. "Sirzob of Abo. Inasmuch as the Honorable Marnark is a guest atmy table, an affront to him is an affront to me. In my quality as hishost, I must demand satisfaction from you, Lord Virzal."
"Why, gladly, Honorable Sirzob," Verkan Vall replied. This was gettingbetter and better every moment. "Of course, your friend, the HonorableMarnark, enjoys priority of challenge; I'll take care of you as soonas I have, shall we say, satisfied, him."
The earnest and rather consecrated-looking young man rose also, bowingto Verkan Vall.
"Yirzol of Narva. I, too, have a quarrel with you, Lord Virzal; Icannot submit to the indignity of having my food snatched from infront of me, as you just did. I also demand satisfaction."
"And quite rightly, Honorable Yirzol," Verkan Vall approved. "It lookslike such good soup, too," he sorrowed, inspecting the front ofMarnark's tunic. "My seconds will negotiate with yours immediately;your satisfaction, of course, must come after that of HonorableSirzob."
"If I may intrude," Klarnood put in smoothly, "may I suggest that asthe Lord Virzal is represented by his Assassins, yours can representall three of you at the same time. I will gladly offer my own goodoffices as impartial supervisor."
Verkan Vall turned and bowed as to royalty. "An honor,Assassin-President: I am sure no one could act in that capacity moresatisfactorily."
"Well, when would it be most convenient to arrange the details?"Klarnood inquired. "I am completely at your disposal, gentlemen."
"Why, here and now, while we're all together," Verkan Vall replied.
"I object to that!" Marnark of Bashad vociferated. "We can't makearrangements here; why, all these hotel people, from the manager down,are nothing but tipsters for the newscast services!"
"Well, what's wrong with that?" Verkan Vall demanded. "You knew thatwhen you slandered the Lady Dallona in their hearing."
"The Lord Virzal of Verkan is correct," Klarnood ruled. "And theoffenses for which you have challenged him were also committed inpublic. By all means, let's discuss the arrangements now." He turnedto Verkan Vall. "As the challenged party, you have the choice ofweapons; your opponents, then, have the right to name the conditionsunder which they are to be used."
Marnark of Bashad raised another outcry over that. The assault uponhim by the Lord Virzal of Verkan was deliberately provocative, andtherefore tantamount to a challenge; he, himself, had the right toname the weapons. Klarnood upheld him.
"Do the other gentlemen make the same claim?" Verkan Vall wanted toknow.
"If they do, I won't allow it," Klarnood replied. "You deliberatelyprovoked Honorable Marnark, but the offenses of provoking him atHonorable Sirzob's table, and of throwing Honorable Yirzol's soup athim, were not given with intent to provoke. These gentlemen have aright to challenge, but not to consider themselves provoked."
"Well, I choose knives, then," Marnark hastened to say.
Verkan Vall smiled thinly. He had learned knife-play among thegreatest masters of that art in all paratime, the Third Level Khangapirates of the Caribbean Islands.
"And we fight barefoot, stripped to the waist, and without anyparrying weapon in the left hand," Verkan Vall stipulated.
The beefy Marnark fairly licked his chops in anticipation. Heoutweighed Verkan Vall by forty pounds; he saw an easy victory ahead.Verkan Vall's own confidence increased at these signs of hisopponent's assurance.
"And as for Honorable Sirzob and Honorable Yirzol, I chose pistols,"he added.
Sirzob and Yirzol held a hasty whispered conference.
"Speaking both for Honorable Yirzol and for myself," Sirzob announced,"we stipulate that the distance shall be twenty meters, that thepistols shall be fully loaded, and that fire shall be at will afterthe command."
"Twenty rounds, fire at will, at twenty meters!" Olirzon hooted. "Youmust think our principal's as bad a shot as you are!"
The four Assassins stepped aside and held a long discussion aboutsomething, with considerable argument and gesticulation. Klarnood,observing Verkan Vall's impatience, leaned close to him and whispered:
"This is highly irregular; we must pretend ignorance and be patient.They're laying bets on the outcome. You must do your best, LordVirzal; you don't want your supporters to lose money."
He said it quite seriously, as though the outcome were otherwise amatter of indifference to Verkan Vall.
Marnark wanted to discuss time and place, and proposed that all threeduels be fought at dawn, on the fourth landing stage of Darsh CentralHospital; that was closest to the maternity wards, and statisticsshowed that most births occurred just before that hour.
"Certainly not," Verkan Vall vetoed. "We'll fight here and now; Idon't propose going a couple of hundred miles to meet you at any suchunholy hour. We'll fight in the nearest hallway that provides twentymeters' shooting distance."
Marnark, Sirzob and Yirzol all clamored in protest. Verkan Vallshouted them down, drawing on his hypnotically acquired knowledge ofAkor-Neb duelling customs. "The code explicitly states thatsatisfaction shall be rendered as promptly as possible, and I insiston a literal interpretation. I'm not going to inconvenience myself andAssassin-President Klarnood and these four Gentlemen-Assassins just tohumor Statisticalist superstitions."
The manager of the hotel, drawn to the Martian Room by the uproar,offered a hallway connecting the kitchens with the refrigerator rooms;it was fifty meters long by five in width, was well-lighted andsoundproof, and had a bay in which t
he seconds and other could standduring the firing.
They repaired thither in a body, Klarnood gathering up several hotelservants on the way through the kitchen. Verkan Vall stripped to thewaist, pulled off his ankle boots, and examined Olirzon's knife. Itstapering eight-inch blade was double-edged at the point, and itshandle was covered with black velvet to afford a good grip, and woundwith gold wire. He nodded approvingly, gripped it with his indexfinger crooked around the cross-guard, and advanced to meet Marnark ofBashad.
As he had expected, the burly politician