John Rackham Read Online Free Page A

you prepare something to fresh him. Broth of some
kind, with herbs?"
    "That much I can do, and willingly." She rose from the cot and went to stare,
shook her head. "By the stillness of

him it
would not surprise me to know that he is already dead and past any aid I can give. Nevertheless . . ." She swung out the pot on its chains,
stirred the stock within, sniffed it, and went to paw through her cupboard
drawers. Jack sat himself at the end of the bench that served as their kitchen
table, where he could be close if the odd stranger awoke, and fell to studying
the curious helmet in his hands.

TWO
     
     
     
     
    He had not yet overcome his astonishment at
the lightness of it. His fingers were used to leather, and this had the same
feel, but much more suppleness, and it yielded to his
pull like nothing he had ever handled before. Stretching stuff? Trying the
headband again thoughtfully, it suddenly dawned on him that this stretching
quality meant that it would fit almost anyone. The thought pleased him. It was
like question and answer. He looked inside now and was immediately baffled by a
spider's web complexity of wires of many colors, and cords and odd lumps and blocks. Wizard's work, beyond doubt. But the two cup-shaped
things, one on either side, they would surely fit over a man's ears? They felt
soft and resilient to the touch. Beneath them sprang the roots of the
chin-strap, in separate halves. He offered those ends together curiously. One
end was studded with fine spikes, the other had many
tiny holes. Obviously one matched the other, but how? He put them together.
There was a distinct click. And he couldn't part them again! For a panic moment
he struggled, then took breath and reasoned. Jasar had separated the parts
without effort. There had to be some kind of trick to it. He pressed, twisted,
experimented, and felt something yield to a finger-pressure ... and the trick was done. With care now
he did it again. So simple.
    Then
he realized that an idea had been in his mind for some time, and was only now
presenting itself. Dare he try on this wizard's device? He stretched the
headband thoughtfully. It would be big enough, for all his shock of Straw-blond
hair. Jasar lay just as still as ever. What was there to fear? He nerved
himself, stretched the black stuff, offered it to his head, pulled, and it went
on easily, snugly, so neatly that he hardly felt the presence of it. The pads

were soft to his ears. And nothing at all unusual happened, somewhat to his
disappointment. Until he remembered that trick with the
strap under his chin. It clicked into place just as before, and
instantly a strange, measured, quiet voice was reciting something in one ear,
repeating and yet not, with subtle differences each time. The sounds meant
nothing, but he guessed they were counting something. He listened to that a
while, then felt of the strap, touching the curious knobs. To another click the
"counting" sound stopped, replaced by an eerie ululating bleat, not
very pleasant. Learning rapidly he tried another knob, and froze in utter
astonishment at what came. From time to time he had heard strolling players,
and there were those in the village who could encourage a jig with reed-pipes
and a thumping drum. And he had heard the thready treble of choirboys in Castle
Dudley once or twice. But put them all together ten times over they could make
not a patch of the music that flooded his ears now. Jasar could deny with all
his breath, but this now really was magic!
    But
whence came all this wonder? Could such wealth be created by a web of wire and
a few knots of braid? Even as he wondered, he had to sway his head, and then
his whole body, at the wonderful sounds. Then he stopped guiltily as he saw
Jasar's eyes were open and on him, eyes like swords. The little man sat up,
looking fierce and anxious.
    "Be
careful how you play with that, Jack. I should have warned you. It is full of tricks, and dangers too. Undo it. Take it off. Slow and