Free The Ethical Engineer by Harry Harrison Page A

instantly vanished. Here was one of the
caroj
that Ijale had told him about: there could be no doubt of it.
He could now understand how, to her uneducated eye, there could exist
an uncertainty as to whether the thing was an animal or not. The
vehicle was a good ten meters long, shaped roughly like a boat, and
bore on the front a large and obviously false animal head covered with
fur and resplendent with rows of carved teeth and glistening crystal
eyes. There were hide coverings and not-too realistic legs hanging
about the thing, surely not enough camouflage to fool a sophisticated
six-year old.
    This sort of disguise might be good enough to take in the ignorant
savages, but the same civilized child would recognize this as a
vehicle as soon as he saw the six large wheels below. They were cut
with deep treads and made from some resilient looking substance. No
motive power was visible, but Jason almost hooted with joy at the
prominent stink of burnt fuel. This crude looking contrivance had some
artificial source of power, which might be the product of a local
industrial revolution or have been purchased from off-world traders.
Either possibility offered the chance of eventual escape from this
nameless planet.
    The slaves, some of them cringing with terror of the unknown, were
kicked up the gangplank and into the
caroj
. Four of the huskies who
had subdued and bound Jason carried him up and dumped him onto the
deck where he lay quietly and examined what could be seen of the
desert-vehicle's mechanism. A post projected from the front of the
deck and one of the men fitted what could only have been a tiller
handle over the squared top of it. If this monolithic apparatus
steered with the front pair of wheels it must be driven with the rear,
so Jason flopped around on the deck until he could look towards the
stern. A cabin, the width of the deck, was situated here, windowless
and with a single inset door fitted with a grand selection of locks
and bolts. Any doubt that this was the engine room was displaced by
the black metal smokestack that rose up through the cabin roof.
    "We are leaving," Edipon screeched and waved his thin arms in the air.
"Bring in the entranceway. Narsisi stand forward to indicate the way
to the
caroj
. Now—all pray as I go into the shrine to induce the
sacred powers to move us towards Putl'ko." He started towards the
cabin, then stopped to point to one of the club bearers. "Erebo you
lazy sod, did you remember to fill the watercup of the gods this time,
because they grow thirsty?"
    "I filled it, I filled it," Erebo muttered, chewing on a looted
krenoj
.
*
    Preparations made, Edipon went into the recessed doorway and pulled a
concealing curtain over it. There was much clanking and rattling as
the locks and bolts were opened and he let himself inside. Within a
few minutes a black cloud of greasy smoke rolled out of the smokestack
and was whipped away by the wind. Almost an hour passed before the
sacred powers were ready to move, and they announced their willingness
to proceed by screaming and blowing their white breath up in the air.
Four of the slaves screamed counterpoint and fainted, while the rest
looked as if they would be happier off dead. Jason had had some
experience with primitive machines before so the safety valve on the
boiler came as no great surprise. He was also prepared when the
vehicle shuddered and began to move slowly out into the desert. From
the amount of smoke and the quantity of steam escaping from under the
stern he didn't think the engine was very efficient, but primitive as
it was it moved the
caroj
and its load of passengers across the sand
at a creeping yet steady pace.
    There were more screams from the slaves, and a few tried to leap over
the side but were clubbed down. The robe-wrapped D'zertanoj were
firmly working their way through the ranks of the captives, pouring
ladlefuls of dark liquid down their throats. The first ones to receive
it were already slumped unconscious or dead,