Five horses. Good horses. Leave."
Finished with his report, the tracker planted his hands on hips and surveyed the entire scene.
"Very fine man!" grunted the tracker. "Quick, quick. No stupidityness. Would adopt into own clan."
Sanga allowed his subordinates to digest the information a moment, before continuing.
"Never make that mistake again," he growled. "That Malwa mistake. He is not a cruel man, Belisarius. Of that I am quite certain. But no mahamimamsa who ever lived can match him for ruthlessness when he needs to be. The man is as quick and shrewd as a mongoose. And just as deadly. How much mercy does a mongoose give a cobra?"
Jaimal grunted. Sanga drove on:
"There's another lesson. He is not a devil, but he has a devil's way of thinking. Consider how bold and cunning this move was. After his men created a diversion and led all of us on a wild goose chase, Belisarius marched out of Kausambi—openly—disguised as a Ye-tai." He cast a cold eye sideways. "Three guesses how he got the Ye-tai's uniform, Udai?"
His lieutenant winced, looked away. Sanga grated on:
"Then he came as fast as possible to the first relay station. He was out-thinking us every step of the way. He had two problems: first, no horses; second, he knew couriers would be sent to alert the garrisons on the coast. He solved both problems at one stroke."
"Killed the soldiers, ambushed the couriers, stole their horses," muttered Jaimal. "The best horses in India."
"Five of them," added Pratap. "He has remounts, as many as he needs. He can drive the horses for as long as he can stay in the saddle. Switch whenever his mount gets tired."
"How could he be sure the bodies wouldn't be found soon?" complained Udai. "Then the hunt would be up."
Sanga frowned. "I don't know. The man's intelligence is uncanny—in the military sense of the term, as well. He seems to know everything about us. Outside of the Ganges plain, this trick wouldn't have worked.
Finished with his report, the tracker planted his hands on hips and surveyed the entire scene.
"Very fine man!" grunted the tracker. "Quick, quick. No stupidityness. Would adopt into own clan."
Sanga allowed his subordinates to digest the information a moment, before continuing.
"Never make that mistake again," he growled. "That Malwa mistake. He is not a cruel man, Belisarius. Of that I am quite certain. But no mahamimamsa who ever lived can match him for ruthlessness when he needs to be. The man is as quick and shrewd as a mongoose. And just as deadly. How much mercy does a mongoose give a cobra?"
Jaimal grunted. Sanga drove on:
"There's another lesson. He is not a devil, but he has a devil's way of thinking. Consider how bold and cunning this move was. After his men created a diversion and led all of us on a wild goose chase, Belisarius marched out of Kausambi—openly—disguised as a Ye-tai." He cast a cold eye sideways. "Three guesses how he got the Ye-tai's uniform, Udai?"
His lieutenant winced, looked away. Sanga grated on:
"Then he came as fast as possible to the first relay station. He was out-thinking us every step of the way. He had two problems: first, no horses; second, he knew couriers would be sent to alert the garrisons on the coast. He solved both problems at one stroke."
"Killed the soldiers, ambushed the couriers, stole their horses," muttered Jaimal. "The best horses in India."
"Five of them," added Pratap. "He has remounts, as many as he needs. He can drive the horses for as long as he can stay in the saddle. Switch whenever his mount gets tired."
"How could he be sure the bodies wouldn't be found soon?" complained Udai. "Then the hunt would be up."
Sanga frowned. "I don't know. The man's intelligence is uncanny—in the military sense of the term, as well. He seems to know everything about us. Outside of the Ganges plain, this trick wouldn't have worked.