"Me? I'm going back. The party has hardly started!"

Chapter Four.

A month later, Amalric, covered with sweat and dust, reined in his horse as his squadrons thundered past in a last, grand charge. All morning, and for many earlier mornings, he had drilled them over and over in the elements of civilized cavalry tactics: "Forward, walk!"

"Forward, trot!"

"Forward, canter!"

"Charge! "Wheel!"

"Retreat!"

"Rally!"

"Forward, walk!" And so on, over and over.

Although their evolutions were still ragged, the brown desert hawks seemed to be learning at last. At the start there had been much grumbling and sour looks at these strange foreign methods of fighting.

But Amalric, backed up by Conan, had overcome resistance by a combination or even-handed justice and tough discipline. Now he was building a formidable fighting force.

"Give them, 'form column,'" he said to the trumpeter at his side. At the blast of the trumpet, the riders reined in and, with much jostling and cursing, sorted themselves out in a column. They trotted back toward the walls of Tombalku, past fields where half-naked black peasant women stopped work to lean on their hoes and watch.

Back in Tombalku, Amalric turned in his horse at the cavalry stables and sought his home. As he neared the house, he was surprised to see Askia, the wizard, standing in the street in front of the house and talking with Lissa. The latter's servant, a Suba woman, stood in the doorway, listening.

"How now, Askia?" said Amalric in no very friendly tone as he came up.

"What are you doing here?"

"I watch over the welfare of Tombalku. To do that, I must needs ask questions."

"I do not like strange men to question my wife in my absence."

Askia smiled a crooked, malevolent grin. "The fate of the city is more important than your likes and dislikes, white man. Fare you well until next time!"

The wizard walked off, his plumes nodding. Amalric, frowning, followed Lissa into the house. "What was he asking you about?" he asked.

"Oh, about my life in Gazal, and how I had come to meet you."

"What did you tell him?"

"I told him what a hero you are, and how you slew the G.o.d of the Red Tower."

Amalric frowned in thought "I wish you had not revealed that. I do not know why, but I am sure lie means to make trouble for us. I ought to go to Conan about it, right now... Why, Lissa, you're weeping!"

"I-I'm so happy!"

"About what?"

"You acknowledged me as your wife!" Her arms were around his neck as she poured out endearments.

"There, there," he said. "I should have thought of it before."

"We must have a wedding feast, tonight!"

"Of course! But meantime, I ought to see Conan-"

"Oh, let that wait! Besides, you are dirty and tired. Eat, drink, and rest first, before your face these fearful men!"

Amalric's better judgment told him that he ought to go to Conan at once. But he was apprehensive about the meeting. While he was sure that Asltia harbored some nefarious plan against him, he had no definite charge to bring against the! wizard. In the end, he allowed Lissa to persuade him. What with eating and drinking and washing and love-making and sleeping, the afternoon slipped away. The sun was low when Amalric set out for the palace.

King Sak.u.mbe's palace was a large compound-like all the rest of Tombalku, of dun-colored mud brick-just off the central plaza.

Sak.u.mbe's bodyguards, knowing Amalric, quickly pa.s.sed him into the interior, where thin sheets of beaten gold covered the brick walls and dazzlingly reflected the ruddy glare of the setting sun. He crossed a wide courtyard swarming with the lung's wives and children and entered the king's private apartment.

He found the two kings of Tombalku, the white and the black, sprawled on mounds of cushions on a large Bakhariot rug, which in turn covered a mosaic floor. In front of each was a pile of golden coins from many lands, and at the elbow of each stood a large winecup. A slave stood ready with a pitcher to refill each cup.

Both men were bloodshot of eye. Evidently, they had been drinking heavily for many hours. A pair of dice lay on the rug between them.

Amalric bowed formally. "My lords-"

Conan looked blearily up; he wore a bejeweled turban like that which Zehbeh had worn. "Amalric! Flop down on a cushion and take a few throws with us. "Your luck can't be any worse than mine tonight!"

"My lord, I really cannot afford-"

"Oh, to h.e.l.l with that! Here's a stake for you." Conan scooped a fistful of coins from his pile and slammed it down on the rug. As Amalric lowered himself to the floor, Conan, as if struck by a sudden thought, looked sharply at Sak.u.mbe.

"I'll tell you, brother King," he said. "Well make one threw each. If I win, you'll order the army to march against the king of Kush."

"And if I win?" said Sak.u.mbe.

Then they don't, as you prefer."

Sak.u.mbe shook his head with a chuckle. "No, brother King, I am not caught so easily. When we are ready, then we shall march, and no sooner."

Conan struck the rug with his fist "What in h.e.l.l's the matter with you, Sak.u.mbe? You're not the man you were in the old days. Then you were ready for any adventure; now, all you care about is your food, wine, and women. What's changed you?"

Sak.u.mbe hiccupped. "In the old days, brother King, I wanted to be a king, with many men to obey my commands and plenty of wine, women, and food. Now I have these things. Why should I risk them in unnecessary adventures?"

"But we must extend our boundaries to the Western Ocean, to gain control of the trade routes that come up from the coast. You know as well as I that Tombalku's wealth derives from control of trade routes."

"And when we have conquered the king of Kush and reached the sea, what then?"

"Why, then we should turn our armies eastward, to bring the Ghanata tribes under our rule and stop their raiding."

"And then, no doubt, you'll want to strike north or south, and so on forever. Tell me, man, suppose we conquered every nation within a thousand miles of Tombalku and possessed wealth greater than that of the kings of Stygia. What should we do then?"

Conan yawned and stretched. "Why, enjoy life, I suppose: deck ourselves in gold, hunt and feast all day, and drink and wench all night. In between times, we could tell each other lies about our adventures."

Sak.u.mbe laughed again. "If that is all you want, why, we are doing just those things now! If you want more gold, or food, or drink, or women, ask me and you shall have it."