"Very true," Auckland agreed. "And that, I'm afraid, is what I shall
have to do, as if I were playing a long joke."
"Excellent Kenneth was man of fine mirth. Vaec look for him with
sorrow."
Somehow, Auckland was glad to hear that Glamis had not passed entirely
unmourned.
"Most doubtful mirth to put poisoned needle in box, where victim will
prick fingers," said Ekem-ve.
It was clear that the Vaec disapproved of Earthmen harming each other,
yet what sort of jokes did they consider fine mirth, but not harmful?
Where did they draw the line?
"What is fine mirth, Ekem-ve? Most of us consider murder doubtful,
to say the least. It isn't funny in the first place, and it is
doubtful whether the person who perpetrates it will really achieve the
advantages or happiness he thinks he will obtain from it. But what was
there about Dr. Glamis that made him a man of fine mirth?"
The Carolinian's pupils expanded and contracted for a moment, "Good
joke always beneficial to victim, excellent Roy. Show victim something
that is good to see, perhaps that not see otherwise. Sometime perhaps
force victim to revise opinion of self."
"But what if the victim doesn't get the point? What if the victim
merely becomes angry over the joke?"
"Then joke unwise, excellent Roy."
Auckland nodded. "And that is often the case with us, Ekem-ve. We do
not always get the point, nor does the person who plays the joke always
have the best interest of his victim at heart." He frowned in thought a
moment.
"I do not know if Dr. Glamis had the right idea of what humor was for.
In the light of what you said, in fact, I doubt it. And more than that,
I doubt that his victims were always able to benefit by his mirth, even
if it was well-intended. Earthmen are more likely to be harmed than
helped by jokes--and sometimes we _want_ to harm each other. Sometimes
we think it is very funny."
"Excellent Kenneth prepare long joke much needed by victim," said Hcent.
Auckland nodded. "But you see, Hcent, the victim may not realize the
need, even when it is shown to him. I wish this were not so. I wish
we could be more like you." He shrugged. "But wishes do not change the
facts."
Ekem-ve blinked. "You speak wisdom, excellent Roy. Are Earthmen who
cannot see point of joke many?"
"Far too many," Auckland sighed. "I, myself, might become angry at
some well-meant jokes, although I would not if I knew in advance that
no harm was meant, or, more particularly, if I was sure that good was
meant, and that the person who played the joke really knew what was
good for me." He smiled. "I would not be angry at the Vaec because I
trust them. I cannot say the same for all Earthmen I know.
"I came here, you see, to try to prevent harmful and unwise mirth, and
I have failed. Now all I can do is to try and see that folly is not
rewarded by success."
"We know," said Ekem-ve. "We have seen. We are filled with sorrow that
Vaec could not help excellent Earthmen. We see that Vaec is foolish,
too, and must now leave Earthmen to unravel own nets."
"You're going back to the village?"
"Yes. Unwise to stand in path of Earthmen. Not help mirth, perhaps do
harm."
"Can you tell me what Dr. Glamis's long joke was?"
"Wait until muddy thought becomes clear, excellent Roy, then ask clear
question."
* * * * *
The reactions of the others to the departure of the Vaec from the
Earthmen's vicinity was roughly what Auckland had expected. Edholm
was considerably relieved, and made no bones about it. Burleigh, too,
thought it was a good thing, and approved the Vaec's intelligence
in withdrawing themselves outside the range of human contamination.
Shirley was regretful--she'd grown fond of Ekem-ve and Hcent--and
Amelia thought they could have waited long enough to help with the
burial.
The exception was Dr. Howard James, who said nothing and appeared
completely withdrawn as they gathered in the recreation room and
Captain Edholm, wearing the cassock of a licensed Reader, read the
first part of the funeral service out of the English-rite prayer book.
Auckland glanced around, trying to look behind the expressions and
demeanor of the others. Burleigh listened with bowed head, nodding
every so often; Shirley looked calm and somehow relieved; Amelia dried
tears, and he wondered who they were for. James seemed to be watching
and listening for something beyond the words.
Edholm closed the book and nodded. The other four picked up the prefab
coffin and started toward the grave that the other two men had dug in
a grove of trees resembling red maples. The texture suggested hard
rubber, and the oval leaves bore white striations, but the impression
of maples remained. James and Burleigh bore the coffin ahead, while
Auckland and Shirley took the rear end, Amelia and the captain walking
behind them.
Here was a new world, Auckland thought, and so soon contaminated by old
evil. Somehow, Burleigh seemed very right in his attitude. Did Glamis's
blood cry out from the soil of Carolus as surely as that of the first
victim of murder when Earth was new to man? Was someone hearing a voice
within him asking 'Where is thy brother?' as surely as a murderer on
Earth, however he might turn his hearing from it?
They set the coffin down and listened while Edholm began, "'Man,
that is born of woman, hath but a short time to live, and is full of
misery....'" Was someone wondering when and how he would come to this
end, or rather confident of avoiding all unpleasant consequences and
looking forward to the benefits of his action? What was the motive?
What was the good that someone expected to reap?
Edholm had laid down the prayer book, and picked up a small pamphlet.
"The missionary bishop of Arcturus, whose diocese we are in, has
authorized this prayer for burial of the dead in worlds afar."
Auckland blinked, then remembered that extra-solar-system dioceses
were laid out by arbitrary divisions of star maps, and there was no
implication that Carolus was actually in or near the Arcturian system.
At a nod from the officiant, he and Burleigh took shovels and filled
in the grave, as Edholm read the prayer of committal. Amelia set the
marker in place, and Shirley placed a simple wreath of Carolinian
flowers around it.
They started back to headquarters and James caught Auckland's arm,
turning aside. "Why did you let them go, Roy?" he asked, after the
others had passed beyond earshot. "Couldn't you have persuaded them to
stay?"
"I don't know if I could have. In any event, I didn't try. I think they
have done the right thing, both for them and us. This is our problem,
and they can't help any at the present stage of it."
"But we need them, Roy. You need them, I need them. They're tireless
watchers, and so long as someone knows that they are watching...."
He paused and breathed deeply. "I don't think that it is over yet,
and I don't think you do, either. There's something diabolical here,
something that still has to come to its conclusion."
"You still think someone is aiming at you, Doc? Why? What's the motive?"
James shook his head. "I don't know. Can't figure it out. I thought,
well, I had a strong suspicion that he was behind it all. But he
wouldn't have fallen into a trap that he set for.... Not that easily.
But he was jealous, Roy."
"Of what?" Auckland asked brutally.
"Men have murdered over women before, when there was really no need
for it. But not...." He shook his head again. "Try to get them to come
back, won't you, Roy?"
"When it is time, Doc. Tell me, have you considered the possibility
that Glamis might have been the intended victim from the start and that
the attempts on you were a blind? What if the culprit wanted us to
think that Glamis was accidentally the victim of an attempt upon you?"
"But that doesn't make sense, Roy. The poison and bomb bit were pretty
crude, but I think someone was just playing with me. A bit of subtle
torture before the genuine attempt was made. I'd be torn between doubt
and fear, wondering on the one hand if it was just an execrable joke,
or whether something was coming my way in earnest." He frowned. "And
that was the way his mind worked, too."
"I'd have said Glamis was more subtle than that."
James took a cigarette from his case, brought it almost to his lips
then threw it away. "I see poison everywhere," he said. "It's cowardly
and foolish, but I can't help it.... Yes, he was subtle in his way. But
he could be crude, too."
"Of course, there is another possibility." Auckland picked up the
discarded cigarette and put it to his lips.
James didn't seem to be listening; he was looking out towards the
desert. He turned suddenly and said, "Here's a tip, Roy. I've no proof,
but I have a strong conviction that Glamis was blackmailing someone."