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heat in the summertime.
That evening, we again dined with the duke, and Cilicia told the story of how her native city was destroyed
by the Mongols. Everyone in the inn's dining room was listening. She told the same story that her father
had told to me, but the way she told it got everyone in the room in the gut. I don't think that there was a dry
eye in the place, and even the crusty old duke was in tears.
He promised me his continued support, as did every man in the room. Cilicia became my best propaganda
device to generate support for the upcoming war, and she was to tell that story a hundred times over the
next few years.
I spent three more days at Copper City after the duke left, mostly handling technical problems since the
Krakowski Brothers were good managers and didn't need much help in that direction.
We made the run to Eagle Nest in one day, leaving before dawn and arriving after dusk. The instructors
were in uniform, but only about half of the boys' outfits were completed so they were all still in civilian
clothing.
It was getting beyond kite-flying weather and the hangar was big enough to fly model airplanes in. When
we were building the installation we had so much manpower and timber available that I figured that we
might as well build it big enough in the first place. The hangar was six dozen yards wide and twelve dozen
long, big enough to accommodate any aircraft I could imagine building out of wood and canvas. It was
rather like the church we had built at Three Walls, only two of them set side by side, though not as tall and
with a dirt floor. Two huge counter-weighted doors faced the eventual runway.
But now we used it for model airplanes.
I spent three days, including Sunday afternoon, talking about aircraft, about lift and drag and the other
forces on a plane. The type I got them going on was a high-winged glider, halfway between a sailplane and
a piper cub. Sort of an observation plane without an engine.
The steam saw was put to work cutting very thin strips of wood, and I headed for Okoitz.
Count Lambert was enthusiastic about my idea for limelights in his cloth factory, mostly because it would
permit his massive harem to stay there all winter. He was less enthusiastic about putting in a second shift.
As it was, the girls not currently being used slept on cots in the factory itself. Putting in a second shift
involved building housing for all of them, and if I was going to do that, I insisted that we put in plumbing
and kitchens of the sort we had at Three Walls.
What finally sold him was the thought that he could sort the workers according to sexual desirability and
keep the best ones on the day shift, thus improving the quality of his already beautiful ladies.
If that's what it took to get better sanitation at Okoitz, then so be it. Our infant mortality rate at Three Walls
was one-eighth of what it was at Okoitz. If saving thirty-five children a year meant hurting the feelings of a
hundred girls, then let their feelings be hurt!
And yes, I would accept cloth instead of cash for all the plumbing fixtures, and yes, I would design and
supervise the construction of the new buildings as part of my feudal duty to him.
That settled, Count Lambert wanted to talk about the Great Hunt. Sir Miesko had done a competent job
organizing the thing. Everything was ready. The local hunt masters all knew their duties, invitations to all
the knights in the duchy had been sent, and the enclosures for the killing grounds had been sent and
enclosures for the killing grounds had been built. The only problem was Baron Jaraslav and his son, Sir
Stefan. They were adamantly refusing to have anything to do with anything that I was involved with. I was
hoping that Count Lambert would talk to them.
"What!" Count Lambert said. "They refuse? Do they know that I want this thing done?"
"They do, my lord. Sir Miesko has been very adamant on that point, and they still won't have anything to
do with it. If we bypass them, we've left behind a breeding ground for wolves, bears, and wild boar. They
know it but don't care."
"Well, I'll settle with Baron Jaraslav! I've had enough out of those two! I'll visit them within the week with
fifty knights at my back, and they'll obey their liege lord or pay for it!"
"Yes, my lord. Was there anything else you wanted of me?"
"Dog's blood! There is! You and Sir Vladimir will attend me here in one week. Sir Miesko is on your way,
so tell him and any others you meet to come here as well."
"Yes, my lord. You are expecting battle?"
"I'm expecting my vassals to obey me. All of them!"
"Yes, my lord." When he was in this mood, it wasn't smart to argue.
Count Lambert had five knights in attendance, and he gave four of them exacting verbal instructions to ride
out in the morning, contact certain specific barons and knights, and have them report to Okoitz. Verbal,
because Count Lambert still couldn't read or write.
It was an hour before he calmed down. Then he started hinting strongly that he'd rather like to try out the
wench I'd brought along.
I wasn't happy about lending out Cilicia, but Count Lambert's current mood still wasn't anything that I [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]