"Girl saved princeling's life. I want to help."
"Then stop the bleeding. I've lost a lot of blood, chief. I'm growing
weak. You have to stop ... the bleeding...."
* * * * *
The chief seemed confused. He looked first at the medicine man, then
at Jane, then at the flotilla of exodus ships which even while Jane
spoke was turning and heading out to sea, back to the mainland just
beyond the horizon. He looked at Jane again. He opened his mouth to
speak, but no sound came. Then, finally, in a soft voice he said:
"Your people save my people. Millions of them. Take to new home,
because old home, old world, die. Some stay. Some--us. You come. Final
chance for Mandmoora. Boy hurt and you save him. Man go to ships for
good medicine. Could stay, but come back to help boy. You save boy.
Princeling. I have no faith in your medicine, but he live. He live.
Then you hurt. You bleed. Life blood run out. You bleed. You have
faith, faith in chief of Mandmoora, to heal you. You have much faith."
He raised his voice suddenly, shouting:
"I can no heal! You die if you do not heal yourself. I can no
heal! Faith? Your faith in me kill you. Faith? If Sun-Lord fail us.
Faith ..." he wailed, a broken man.
Sid Masters said, "Keep your faith, chief. There are other symbols,
other suns. Your mistake was placing all your faith in one physical
symbol--"
"Enough," the chief said. "The girl is right. I should save her as she
save princeling. I no can heal! The girl is right. All your people's
threats, all offers, all bribes, all speech and science explains, all,
all fail. The girl alone win. Faith alone no good. Faith and deeds.
Girl show deeds. But I no can heal! I no can heal! Stop bleeding,
Earthman. Heal her."
Sid looked at Jane. She smiled up at him weakly. She had almost lost
consciousness. She had lost much blood and, like the prince of the
Mandmoora, would need a transfusion when they returned to the mainland
and the final ship of the exodus space-fleet. But they had won, because
the chief said:
"Girl teach us. Earthgirl. We all go."
The soldiers gave a wild whoop of joy as Sid rushed down to the surf,
hailed the flotilla. Jane was barely aware of the fleet turning around
to come back for the Mandmoora's final three thousand holdouts. The
whole planet would be evacuated after all, she thought. It was hard to
hold the thought. She was almost delirious with weakness, with lack of
blood. She felt Sid's hand applying pressure to the pulse in the curve
of her neck.