eyes registering surprise at his company.”Oh, southerner.” He broke into one of his coughing spasms. ”Ahhh, notwell, southerner. Not well at all. The Sun God does not ride with methis day--not that he's deserted me, you understand: he never rideswith me. The Sun God has more sense than a foolish old man who shouldbe staying home in the comfort of his apartments, not galivantingaround the country-side like a frisky kitten.”
”I wish he had imparted some of his wisdom to me,” said Sam. ”I confessI feel as you look, Reverence. No disrespect intended, believe me. It'sjust that the ardors of this journey have taken much toll from both ofus. And I swear, by the Sun God himself, you are bearing up much betterthan I.”
”A man who has traveled as long and as far as you talking this,southerner?”
”It's the way you travel, Reverence. The greatest part of my journeywas by ship.” It had been; Sam merely neglected to specify that it wasa spaceship. ”Ocean travel has its own peculiar discomforts, but formyself, I'll take it every time.”
”Tell me, southerner,” said the priest, ”why do you make this trip?”
”Prince Kahl wished it,” he replied.
”Ah, but there is more to this than lies on the surface. Why shouldKahl bring you, a stranger and a subject of another house, along on aventure that may well cast the future course of events for this entirenation?”
”Prince Kahl seems to feel that, ah, I might, because of my experiencesin other lands, serve him in some minor capacity of usefulness.” Samchose his words with care. The old man was entirely too observant forhis liking.
”Kahl is an astute man,” said the priest. ”However, he is also a hungryman, and such a man on the verge of starvation will eat things that inmore normal circumstances he would pass up without so much as a firstlook. Ideas are much like food, southerner.”
”The philosophers of my country have a saying, Reverence. 'Man doesnot live by bread alone.'”
”Much wisdom is afloat in the world, disguised in strange ways.” Withthat, the priest went into another coughing spell, after which herefused to pick up the threads of the conversation. Carter gave up, andspurred his mount back to his original place in the column.
* * * * *
The rest of the trip passed in, for Sam, self-commiseration. The lowerthe sun sank, the hotter the temperature seemed to climb. Several timeshe found himself with wineskin raised to lips. The native beverage waslittle stronger than the plain water he would have preferred, but evenso he found himself more than a little tipsy by the time they crested alow range of hills and saw the summer palaces nestled by the side of alake in the valley below.
The column dismounted in an inner courtyard, and Kahl, Carter and theHigh Priest strode past the protesting chamberlain into the King'sprivate apartments. The King was lying on a couch, eating fruits servedby a manservant and listening to poetry being read to him. He looked upwhen the trio came in.
”My son! This is indeed an unexpected honor. What brings you from thecity on a day so hot as this one?” He smiled, but his eyes were sharp.
”Greetings, Father,” said Kahl, bowing low. ”I bring you important newsfrom the Council of Priests. Reverence!”
”Your Most Graciousness.” The old man was already nearly doubled over.When he bowed, Sam half expected to hear his forehead crack the tilesof the floor.
”Well, Reverence?” The king accepted another fruit and sucked on it,keeping a watchful eye on his son. _He suspects something!_ Sam thought.
The High Priest produced a scroll from his robes and ceremoniouslybroke the seal. Unrolled, it was short for the dynamite it contained.
”Your Most Gracious Person,” he read. ”The Council of Priests, meetand determined in the Holy Temple of the Sun God this fifth day ofthe seventh moon of the fifty-first year of the reign of Obar, King,announce to all and sundry within the domains of Obar, King, that hehas incurred the wrath and displeasure of the Holy God, the Sun God,and henceforth from this day shall no more be known as Obar, King, butas father of Kahl, King.”
He let the scroll snap back into its cylinder, bowed again, then handedthe scroll to Obar. ”Your graciousness.” Then he turned to Kahl. ”YourMost Graciousness.” One final return to Obar. ”One more message fromthe Council, your graciousness. They hope you will accept their eternalpleasure and gratitude for the excellence of your reign.”
* * * * *
All during the reading, Obar had been staring at the High Priest, aghost smile half-crinkling the corners of his mouth. The half-eatenfruit now fell to the pavement with a sodden _plop_! He licked his lips.
”This.... This is some sort of a joke?”
”No joke, Father,” said Kahl, a little too heartily for Sam's liking.
”But how?” Obar shook his head. ”How dare you?”
”I'm merely exercising my duty to our subjects, Father. You've grownold. You're no longer capable of carrying out the duties of king.”
”No.” He refused to believe. ”You ... you have no right. _I_ am king!How can you.... How can you just walk in here and tell me that I'm not?What gives you this right?”
”The same source that made you king in the first place,” said Kahl.”The Sun God.”
”Nonsense! There is no Sun God!”
The High Priest gasped and covered his eyes. ”_Blasphemy!_”
”_Guards!_” Obar pried himself up. ”_Guards!_ Arrest these maniacs!”
Feet clumped outside, then turned into the chamber. Sam relaxed,unaware that he had been holding his breath, knowing that his planswere going through after all. The men who came in were the same who hadescorted them from the city, Kahl's own private guards.
The captain turned to Kahl and bowed low. ”You called, Your MostGraciousness?”
”Yes. Take this blithering idiot away.”
The captain bowed again, and gestured. Two of his men grabbed theformer king by the arms and carried him away, screaming.
”Ho, southerner!” Kahl sat down on his father's couch and gestured. Themanservants had been cowering in the background; they came forward nowand touched their foreheads to the ground. Kahl took a fruit and bitinto it, letting the juice trickle down his chin.
”It worked,” said Kahl, swallowing. ”By the Sun God, it worked!” Heslapped his knee. ”I confess, southerner, when first I heard yourplans, I thought you daft indeed. But it worked! I'm king!”
”I felt certain it would,” said Sam, carefully omitting the titleof respect. It passed unnoticed. More sure of himself, he continued,”After all, the idea was inherent in the very structure and stricturesof your government. Your divine position comes from the Sun God. Heshould be able to remove it as easily as he grants it.”
”True,” said Kahl. ”Howsomever, there shall be some changes made inthat respect, once I have consolidated my position. Oh, I delude myselfnot in thinking that the battle is over, my friend. But the hardestpart has been won.”
”I've been thinking,” said Sam, slowly.
”Well, keep it not to yourself!” said Kahl. ”If any more of your ideasprove as useful to me as the last, then you have a glorious futureindeed.”
”My thoughts are, I'm afraid, roaming rather far afield. But take themfor what they might be worth. You are king of this nation now, Kahl;and a very able king you shall be. Why limit the benefits of your ruleto this one nation? Why not let the rest of the world know the joys ofyour rule?”
”Ummm?” He squinted, one eye closed. ”You think it might work out?”
”Why not?” _And the Sun God help us all!_ he added to himself.
IV
The chambers were crowded as the delegates, alternates and just plainonlookers poured in for the afternoon session of the Central WorldsConference. Two hours before the meeting was due to begin, an astutemember of the press, long used to such functions, observed that therewould undoubtedly be a record broken before the day was over. And itwas easy to see why: all eyes were trained on the spot low in the tierswith the Eh
rlan pennant floating overhead.
As yet, the central figure of all the interest had not arrived,although the rest of the Ehrlans were already in their seats andlooking anxiously up the aisles towards the bank of elevators. Anelevator would open from time to time, to disgorge a few late arrivals.But the man they expected was not yet among them. Below, on thechamber floor, the presiding secretary was mounting to the rostrum andarranging his papers.
”Where the devil can he be!” said Citizen Evrett to Citizen Sterm, thesecond ranking member of the delegation.
”God only knows! You don't suppose something has ... happened?”
”How could it, here in the heart of the city? He only had to comeone block from the hotel. You've been watching too many thrillers,Citizen--I hope!”
”Well, we have to do _something_. The session will be starting in afew minutes. If he isn't here, someone else will have to make thepresentation.”
”Who?”
”I don't know. How about you, Citizen?”
”Now, wait a minute!” said Evrett. ”What's the matter with you,Citizen? You're the logical choice. You rank second in the group.”
”I wouldn't dare,” admitted Sterm. ”What if I should bobble things? I'dnever be able to live it down. I wouldn't even dare go home. My wife isLund's half-sister, you know.”
”I'd forgotten. But somebody has to do it, if he doesn't get here. Thisis the only opportunity we'll have this decade. If we have to waitanother ten years, we