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where the confrontation was taking place.
I hope,he thought uneasily.
Out on the open water, observing that his lanky passenger had not lost his, Terious regained his
composure.  Awhat man?
Not taking his eyes from the inquisitive dark green humanoid shape that now bobbed effortlessly in front
of them, Ehomba endeavored to explain.  Sargassum man. They dwell in the mats of seaweed that float
on the surface of all the oceans of the world. I have never seen one before, but they were described to
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me in stories told by the old people of my village. Glancing back over a shoulder, he regarded the
astonished mate curiously.
 Did you not know, Terious, that the world is home to many kinds of men? There are hu-mans, like you
and I, and sargassum men, like this fellow here. There are cavemen, and neander men, treemen and
sandmen, and many other kinds of men not often encountered but as comfortable in this world as you or
I.
The mate shook his head slowly.  I have never heard of or seen any of the kinds of men you speak of,
sir.
 Ah well. It may be that living in such a poor, dry land as the Naumkib do, we learn to see things a little
more clearly than other peoples. Perhaps it is because there is so little around for us to look at. Turning
back to the leafy humanoid shape that waited patiently in the midst of the mass of weed, Ehomba pursed
his lips in an odd way and made sputtering noises. To Terious they sounded like the gurgling a child
makes when it blows bubbles underwater. After all that he had witnessed during the last several days, the
mate was not at all surprised when the outlandish sea creature responded in kind.
 Good day to you, sargassum man. Ehomba hoped he was remembering to make the sounds exactly
the way his grandfather had instructed him.
In this he must have been successful, because the green-skinned being replied in kind.  Hello, landsman.
You are an interesting color.
 I am not green, if that is what you mean. When Ehomba smiled, the sargassum man made a perfect
round O with his lipless mouth. Tongue and gullet were entirely black.  I did not expect to find one of
your kind here but I had hope.
  One ? Lifting a supple, tubular arm that was fringed with kelp-like protrusions, the humanoid made a
sweeping gesture.  My entire family is here; my wife and three children, and my uncle and his wife and
two children, and an elderly cousin.
Strain his eyes as he might while surveying the surrounding floating weed, Ehomba could see nothing.
 They must be far away.
A burbling noise rose from the depths of the sargassum man s throat. It reminded the herdsman of the
sound a badly clogged drain might make.  They are right here. Turning slightly to his left, he pointed.
Not off into the distance, but down.
Two sargassum children popped their heads out of the water not an arm s length from the boat, giggling
like gargling eight-year-olds. They so startled Terious that for the second time he momentarily lost his grip
on the oars. Watery laughter trailing behind, the effervescent pair ducked back beneath the weed mat.
Though they were blowing bubbles less than a foot below the surface, their natural camouflage made
them impossible to see even when Ehomba looked directly at them.
 We like this place, the adult was saying.  It is always calm here. The winds are mild and no landsmen
ships with hooks and nets visit the valley. His expression, insofar as it was possible to do so, darkened.
 No sharks, either. And this weed patch is thick and healthy and full of good things to eat.
 What do you find to eat in the weed? The sun was still high, the languorous afternoon warm, and
Ehomba was not above making casual conversation. Who knew when the chance to do so with another
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of these people might arise? Stuffed full of questions as always, he was reluctant to bring up the reason
for his coming lest it cut the conversation short.
 The same sort of things a landsman would find in his garden. The weed itself is very tasty, and despite
how uniform it appears to most landsmen, there are actually many different kinds of weed. Each has its
own spice and flavor. Living in the weed are millions of little creatures; shrimp and small fish, and the
larger fish that prey upon the smaller. There are comb jellies and moon jellies in many flavors, seahorses
that crunch when you bite into them, and shellfish that have to be sucked out of their homes and down
your throat. Oh, there is plenty to eat. Pushing a leafy hand down through the dense mat of green stuff
and into the water, he drew forth a juvenile octopus.
 No thank you, Ehomba told him politely.
 What s he doing? The first mate tried to see around Ehomba.  What are you two talking about?
The herdsman glanced back.  Food.
 Oh. Terious was not displeased. He quite liked octopus himself.  What does he say about getting us
out of here?
 I am coming to that. With a reluctant sigh, Ehomba remembered that he was not here to discuss the
delights of sargassum living, and that on the larger boat behind him waited anxious others silently watching
who were depending on him to extricate them from what had become an inopportune situation.
 We think your valley is beautiful, he told the humanoid,  and we would like to stay and visit, but we
have business to attend to on the other side of the ocean.
 Landsmen spend too much time attending to business and not enough time living. If you spent more time
in the sea you would be happier.
 I could not agree with you more, Ehomba replied.  However, I am a herder of cattle and sheep, and
they do not do as well in the ocean as jellyfish and clams.
 I fathom. The sargassum man popped something small and blue into his mouth.
 There is a problem with our leaving. Our ship cannot sail up the walls of your valley. There is not
enough wind to make her go fast enough. Not even if we sailed in circles until we got going as fast as we
can and then tried. We need help.
The humanoid nodded gravely. What strange thoughts must lie behind those impenetrable black eyes?
the herdsman wondered. What sights must they have seen? To someone like himself who so loved the
sea, the temptation to wish oneself a similar life was almost irresistible. Not all wishes in life, he reminded
himself, could be fulfilled. He knew that despite his yearning, his desire to spend time at sea would have
to restrict itself to long swims from shore and endless walks on the beach below the village. Perhaps, he
mused, the sargassum man longs to walk on dry lands.
 We can do nothing. The sympathetic humanoid spread leafy arms wide.  Wecould pull your ship out
of the valley, but it would take a thousand sargassum men, and there are not that many dwelling within
many weeks journey of this place. Most live farther to the south, where the water is warmer and the
seaweed beds more extensive.
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 Then there is nothing you can do for us? Though disappointed, Ehomba was not surprised.
 Nothing. Nothing by ourselves. The humanoid pressed four kelp-like, nailless fingers to his forehead.
 Others might well do better.
 Dolphins? The herdsman s hopes rose.  There are dolphins in the area? I can tell them myself what it
is that we need.
 No. No dolphins here. They like clear, open water where they can swim fast and breathe easy. None
of their greater cousins are around, either. It is too bad. A few of them could easily pull your boat to [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]