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working together.
 Don t listen to her, Ishihara, said Wayne.  I gave you an
instruction.
 I have a plan, said Ishihara.
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r r
 Yeah? What is it? Wayne folded his arms.  This better be good.
 You take Jane in a slow but deliberate ride on the mule away from
the camp and the road. If any riders approach you, ride slowly away
from them, but do not appear to flee or they may pursue you to find
out why, You can outdistance any camp followers who approach you
on foot, so they probably will not try. At the slightest sign of danger to
you, shout for me and ride back in my direction. I should be able to
reach you quickly. If no trouble develops, then keep riding away from
the camp. I will catch up to you, with or without MC 6.
 Exactly what are you going to do?
 I will attempt to solicit MC 6 s aid through a ruse. However, my use
of the Second Law depends entirely on his belief that I am human. As
we discussed, if he detects that I am a robot, he will not only refuse to
obey, but he will flee, alerted to our pursuit.
 You can t leave us like that, Jane insisted.  We ll still be in potential
danger.
 This will be acceptable, said Ishihara.  In the event of immediate
danger, I will use the belt unit to take us away from here.
 You won t have time to set it, said Jane.  If we re riding away from
someone and you re running to meet us, we won t have much time.
 I will set it now. Ishihara reached inside his tunic, opened his
abdomen, and brought out the unit. He looked around in the distance,
then changed the settings.  In the event we have to use it, we will
jump only a few hours into the future, after dark, to a spot half a
kilometer away. That will be close enough for us to consider future
moves.
Jane could not think of any more arguments. Ishihara, after all, made
the final interpretation of what he could accept under the First Law.
She sighed and looked at Wayne.
 Mount up, said Wayne.
Ishihara waited until Wayne and Jane had ridden twenty meters away
from the camp, out of the trees into open country. Because Ishihara
could see they were alone there, he felt he could leave them for a
short time. He walked through the trees toward the baggage train.
Moving slowly, Ishihara studied the wagons as he approached them.
Because Artorius had stopped to make camp in a forested area, the
wagons remained lined up on the road or just off of it, where space
permitted. Last night, the wagons had bunched together at the rear of
the camp, and the wagon crews had mixed together freely. Now the
crews were strung out along the road as they unloaded their wagons.
Ishihara saw that he could approach most of the wagons without
attracting the attention of the wagonmaster. In fact, because of the
trees, visibility was limited for everyone. That, too, would work to
Ishihara s advantage.
He considered his story as he searched for MC 6. Finally, he saw MC 6
standing on the ground near a wagon, unharnessing a team of horses.
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r r
Ishihara walked up to him.
 I need help, Ishihara said to MC 6 in Briton.  Can you help me?
MC 6 turned and looked at him. He shrugged, gesturing that he could
not understand. Then he turned back to the horses he was tending.
Ishihara looked at another man, standing in the wagon moving small
kegs around.  I need help. Can you spare this man for a moment?
 Eh? Who are you?
 I drove a wagon behind one of the veteran troops. We just arrived in
camp.
 You know this man?
 No.
 Well, we teamsters should stick together. Hey, you. The man waved
his arms to get MC 6 s attention.  He s a real cooperative little fellow,
but no one can figure out what language he understands.
MC 6 glanced up at the man in the wagon.
 Go with him. Help him. The man in the wagon pointed from MC 6 to
Ishihara.
MC 6 nodded.
 Thank you. Ishihara nodded to MC 6 and walked away from the
wagon. MC 6 walked with him.
Ishihara could only hope that MC 6 would not think to magnify his
hearing or sight and examine Ishihara closely.
Hunter had located Artorius at the head of his column with no
trouble. Artorius had responded to Hunter s scouting report by
choosing to follow Bedwyr s route for the day. Hunter and Steve rode
with him at the head of the column to point out the way.
Late in the day, Bedwyr spotted them and led his patrol back to meet
the column. He recommended a place to camp and Hunter and Steve
rejoined the scouting patrol. The day had remained uneventful for
the scouts, as well as for the main column.
As the other riders dismounted and tended their horses, Steve spoke
quietly to Hunter from the saddle.
 Before we dismount, can t we do something about our mission? I
enjoyed today s ride, but we don t want to keep this up all summer.
 I agree. However, we have earned some greater respect today, and
we are considered more a part of the troop now. Perhaps we can [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]