Even offwatch, yarning, they didn't mingle with the others.

Gareth asked one of them, when the man had the helm and Gareth was the only other one on the quarterdeck. The man looked innocently wide eyed, and said, "Why sir, it's not that we've secrets or anything. But you should know by now how people tend to hold back when they're around fellows who're yet untested."

Gareth knew that, nodded understanding. His doubts might have vanished if he hadn't seen the way the man looked at him an instant later, under his brows, his expression calculating, shrewd.

The two watch officers were Kelch and Rooke. They were highly experienced, but they seemed more like prison warders than sailors to Gareth, even though they never laid a hand on any seaman. The bosun, Nomios, wasn't much better.

Gareth was glad that he had three completely reliable friends, and hoped he was just being overly suspicious.

A week south of Killis, Luynes ordered the crew to gather on the maindeck, save the helmsman and a single lookout.

Luynes clambered atop one of the cannon and stood looking about for a moment, thumbs hooked in his breeches, appearing very satisfied with the world.

"All right, now," he said. "I'm proposing to finally tell you where we're bound, and what our intentions are. Some of you, who've sailed with me before, have a good idea, for we've dabbled in these cargoes before."

"We're not bound for spices, then?" one of the new men asked.

"That'll be the cargo we finish up with, when we finally sail back north," Luynes said. "And it'll make us all as rich as I promised.

"But first, we'll be loading goods damn' near as valuable.

"Men," he said. "Men and women."

"Slaves?" someone asked, and there was a ripple of amusement from the older hands.

"Slaves it is," Luynes said. "I had the Steadfast purpose-built for them. She's shallow-draft, which is why she rolls so bastardly. But she'll be able to cruise up the rivers of Linyati and Kashi a" that's the other half of their continent a" and take on cargoes the raiders who go into the interior after the natives will bring to us."

"Which," Knoll N'b'ry said, "we then take to the Linyati?"

"Exactly, boy. That bother you?"

"It does, sir. First, I don't like the idea of doing business with the Slavers, second I don't like being a slaver myself."

Mutters of agreement came from some of the crewmen.

"Well," Luynes said, "ain't that tough titty. You signed aboard to follow my orders, remember?"

"I signed aboard," Knoll said stubbornly, "to learn to be a sailor, and trade for spices, I thought. Not to be a murderer."

Rooke the mate growled, and Knoll set his jaw firm.

"You're not going to be murdering anyone, boy," Luynes said. "You'll be going up and down the mast, pulling ropes, standing your watch. What we've got under the hatches, now and later, is none of your damned business."

Knoll was looking at Gareth. Gareth moved his head, very slightly, sideways. N'b'ry looked stubborn, then forced blankness.

"Aye, aye, sir," he said, but his voice still was stubborn. "I'll follow orders."

"Damn' right you will," Kelch snapped.

Labala started forward, then stopped.

"You have something to say?" Luynes said.

"Nossir. Things is just surprisin' to me."

"The only surprise you should concern yourself with is how much more gold you'll go ashore with when we get back to Ticao," Luynes said, and there was laughter and agreement.

"Now, back to your posts. Purser, I want a word with you."

Luynes waited until the crew dispersed, then: "And what do you think your uncle would think of that?"

"Not my concern, sir," Gareth said. "He's a long ways distant, now isn't he?"

He gave Luynes a gaze of straightforward innocence, and hoped the rakehelly would buy his lie.

"I sort of figured you'd feel like that," Luynes said. "That's why I signed you. I figured any man with ambition like you've shown wouldn't worry overmuch about the laws of a faraway place, particularly when he can get rich by being a pragmatist. Most of the world doesn't agree with this namby-pamby shit anyway.

"Shitfire, Gareth, I'll bet that half the peasants in Saros are nothing but slaves, what with their duties and oaths to their lords and estates."

Gareth thought that was likely true, but the lowest scut at home still called his soul his own.

"Now give me a hand with something."

Gareth followed Luynes into his cabin, and the man opened one of his seachests and lifted out a cylinder wrapped in rags. He unwrapped it, and Gareth saw a very strange-looking lantern, with ornate carvings on it.

"This," Luynes said, "is our safe passage among the Linyati. It took damned near a week of negotiating, and a bit of gold, before they were willing to trust me with it."

Luynes took the lantern on deck, and to the mizzen mast. Now Gareth noted the mast had four climbing steps on it, and, above them, a clever metal hook.

"Hold the lamp for me."

Gareth took the lantern, and Luynes took flint and steel from his pouch. He opened a small door in the lantern, and struck sparks, muttering a few words in a language Gareth didn't know.

"Now, if you'll hang this up there a"

Gareth obeyed. There was no heat to be felt at all, and he saw no flame within.

"I think it went out, sir."

"It's fired," Luynes said. "The light it gives is hard to see, except by certain eyes. But we'll be able to make it out by night."

And truly, when it grew dark, a strange, greenish glow illuminated the helm and the men on watch.

a a a "I'm damned," Thom Tehidy said, "if I'll go a-slaving."

"Nor me," Labala said, and there were whispers of agreement from the half-dozen new men around Gareth and his friends. It was the third watch of the night, and they were on the main deck, near the stern, hidden by the main deck above and the bulk of the covered cannon next to them.

"But what choice do we have?" a man asked. "We signed the articles, and I believe if we don't follow Luynes's orders he'll likely bash in our pates with a marlinspike and toss us to the sharks.

"I've never known a slaver before, but I don't think anybody who is, is going to worry a rat's tinkle about somebody like me."

Knoll N'b'ry nodded somberly. "You're likely right. I saw the way that sheepshagger looked at me, and was damned grateful Gareth gave me that *shut your lip' look."

"Gareth," Tehidy said, "you've just been listening. What're your thoughts?"

"First is we've got to keep this short," Gareth said. "We don't know if the skipper or any of his friends have any of the Gift for eavesdropping a" "

"Not likely," Labala interrupted. "I went and figured out a little spell that should make anybody interested think we're just wondering about the change, and not thinking of doing anything about it."

"Which is pretty true," another sailor said. "What can we do?"

"Start with the numbers," Gareth said. "Twenty-five of the forty-one men aboard have never sailed with Luynes."

"But that doesn't mean a good number of *em won't follow him," a sailor said.

"That's probably true," Gareth said.

"First choice we might have is jumping ship when we make the next port," a sailor said.

"Won't work," Thom said gloomily. "I was polishing the binnacle, and keeping my ears open, and heard Kelch and Rooke talking about the next landfall, and how they're looking to cut loose with some of the slave women they can rent. I wouldn't guess a port that's got slave whores is likely to treat an antislaving swab very kindly."

Gareth nodded.

"Luynes told me, after dinner tonight, we'll be docking for water and fresh provisions at a city called Herti. He told me it isn't one of the Linyati holdings, but it might as well be. He'll be meeting with his Linyati lords for sailing orders.

"A sailor without a ship in a port like that could be well in danger of getting chained up by the Linyati, I'd guess."

Gareth unconsciously touched the scar on his face. "That's not for me," he said, and saw nods of agreement.

"Second is we can try to seize the ship."

"Mutiny," someone whispered.

"A hanging offense," Labala said. "Even I know that."

"And Luynes hasn't done anything illegal," Gareth said. "There's nothing that I know of on paper about our real trade. And he could probably make a good case, even if he admitted to being a slaver, that we were obeying lawful orders having nothing to do with our cargo."

"The King's Admiralty courts back in Saros always back the officers," a man said. "I've seen men hanged along the waterfront for mutiny."

"As have I," Gareth said. "But let's say we could take the ship."

"The odds are close," Knoll said.

"No," Gareth said. "Not if we could take down Luynes and the mates. If we've a leader and a plan, the other men and the bosun will follow us."

"How can you be so damn' sure?" Tehidy said.

"I don't know why I know it," Gareth said quietly. "But I do." There was a sudden touch of steel in his voice.

Tehidy looked at him in surprise, then pursed his lips thoughtfully.

"Assuming all that's true," Thom said, changing the subject, "we're still deep in unfriendly waters. Isn't that weird light you helped put up signaling the Linyati that we're on their side, Gareth?"

"That's what Luynes told me," Gareth said.

"Slaving," a man said. "It's bitter to the mind and the tongue."

"You're right," Gareth said. "But all I can think of right now is for us to let a little time pass, and maybe a better alternative will crop up."

"You mean an alternative," Knoll N'b'ry said glumly. "Right now, we've got none at all."

a a a Gareth woke to the thump of running feet and the shouts of the crew. He pulled on pants, started out of his tiny cabin, then buckled on the sword belt Cosyra had given him and went on deck.

Standing close on either side were two Linyati warships, low, black, rakish hulls with red lateen sails, three guns on a side, two more in the prow, and two sternchasers. The rails were lined with Linyati sailors, some with belted cutlasses, others with ready muskets.

Gareth went to his gun, found someone had already yanked the canvas cover off, and moments later one of the hands trotted up with a stand of balls and another with bagged powder.

"Stand by your guns," Kelch shouted from the quarterdeck. "But don't load. Yet."

The Linyati guns were ready for action, already run out.

Gareth had done some arranging of the watch list, so his friends were on his gun crew.

"Grapeshot, like in the stories," Thom said in a low voice. "Sweep their quarterdeck clean."

"That's stupid," Knoll objected. "Chainshot, for certain. Cut a mast down, and that ship'll fall back in confusion."

"Don't go for easy," Labala said. "Put one of those big bastard cannonballs under his waterline and sink him as he floats."

"Thank you, my admirals," Gareth said. "We'll do whatever the captain orders."

For long moments nothing happened as the three ships sailed side by side.

"Look at that damned lantern," Knoll said.

Its green light flared, now clearly visible in daylight.

A small square hatch slid open in the rear cabin of the nearest Linyati ship. He tried to see who was looking out, but there was nothing but blackness to be seen.

Suddenly a high, ululating squealing came, Gareth thought from the cabin. The Linyati along the railings ran to winches, lines, and the ship tacked right, away from the Steadfast. The second ship on the other side did the same, a mirror image, turning away.

"Guess we passed muster?" Gareth hazarded.

"Probably," Thom said. "Wonder what that screeching was. Sounded like somebody doing something awful to a Pig."

"Maybe," Labala said, and there was a thin sheen of sweat on his forehead. "Maybe that's something we hope we never know."

An hour later, a lookout sighted land, rolling hills and a desert scape. Luynes gathered the crew, and confirmed what Gareth had heard: Herti was a neutral port, but controlled by the Linyati. There'd be no shore leave for the hands, for they'd be docked for no more than half a day.