"¶ ¶" "Thank you, steward." "Surely." "Mr. Paladin?" "That's correct." "Count Gaspard Di Cassals," "Minister of External Affairs for the imperial principality of Montenegro." "Count." "May I present Madame la Duchesse de Bernal." "the royal secretary to Her Imperial Highness, the Princess Sarafina." "Duchess." "First of all, you must swear that not a word of what is said between us today will ever be repeated." "Well, I think I can safely promise that." "It may be that the fate of an the fate of an entire nation may rest in your hands." "Oh?" "The Princess Sarafina... has been making a grand tour of your country this past month." "She's... she's disappeared." "We have reason to believe she's been kidnapped by agents of the opposition party." "A young woman, strongly resembling" "Her Imperial Highness was seen in the company of two men yesterday near the township of Planktown." "Well, did you wire the authorities in Planktown?" "No, no, we couldn't chance that." "No one must know that she is missing." "Mr. Paladin," "Her Imperial Highness is heir apparent to the thrown." "Without her as a symbol of unity, there will be no hope for our country." "And I take it you want me to find the princess and bring her back?" "As to money, we are prepared to pay anything, within reason." "All right, a thousand dollars'll cover it." "Our consulate will send the sum to your account." "Count." "Thank you." "Duchess." "¶ ¶" "¶ ¶" "I'll get some water, Carl." "Call the other one over here." "You want him, you go get him." "All right, but there's only one way I can leave you safely and go get him." "Well, wait a minute." "Wait a minute." "I'll call him." "Hey, Carl!" "Give me a hand over here." "Wait till I get this fire going." "Not when you get the fire going, Carl- now!" "Now." "Mister, all we got's a little grub money." "Ain't that the solemn truth, Carl?" "There ain't no use killing us for it, mister." "You can have it all." "Just let me and my partner go." "Who paid you two to kidnap that girl?" "Kidnap?" "Me and my partner's trail guides." "Ain't that so, Carl?" "Guide, where are you?" "Now, do you think for $200 that you can get on your horses and just ride out of here and forget you ever saw her?" "You mean, just leave her alone here?" "That's right." "Well, I don't..." "Sure." "Come on, Carl." "Guides." "¶ ¶" "¶ ¶" "Oh!" "Help!" "Wait a minute, oh!" "Oh, please, oh!" "Oh, please, oh!" "Oh!" "Help!" "If you will be so kind as to aid me?" "Oh, but of course." "You seem to be all alone here." "It appears that my bearers have run off." "Oh?" "Now, why in the world would they want to do a thing like that?" "Well, how should I be expected to fathom the motives of American males?" "They're savages." "To a man." "Wait." "I'm on my way to Mexico." "Mexico's a lovely place." "I'm sure you'll enjoy that." "Apparently, you do not understand." "I will pay you to guide me there." "Well, thank you." "But it's quite impossible." "I'm headed for San Francisco." "Oh..." "San Francisco." "No, I do not wish to return." "To go there." "In fact, I refuse." "I absolutely refuse." "Well, there is a town about ten or 12 miles from here, at least I think there's a town." "I'll let somebody there know that you're here." "Here?" "Yes, you don't have to worry about Indians." "They only attack in the daytime, so at night you'll be quite all right." "You'll have to build a fire to keep the mountain lions away, and of course, that might cause the rattlesnakes to come in for the warmth." "You sound as though you are trying to discourage me." "Now, why would I want to do a thing like that?" "I don't know why." "At any rate, you have discouraged me." "I will accompany you to San Francisco." "Oh, I don't know whether I could accept the responsibility..." "Oh, but I insist." "No, I..." "I don't know." "I command it." "Well?" "You know, there is a very ancient Sanskrit saying with which I find myself very much in accord." ""He who tastes pride, may command." "But only he who swallows pride may ask."" "You wish me to say "please"?" "I wish you to say "please"." "Please." "¶ ¶" "Uh, be careful with that." "It contains my jewelry." "That large chest is my wardrobe." "I think I would like it, uh... yes, over there." "Well, that fire looks to me like it's just about hot enough to start cooking on." "Let's see." "There's some, uh... some dried veal here." "Oh, good." "I believe I would like... sauté de veau chasseurs tonight." "Oh, that is veal." "You prepare it diff..." "Uh, perhaps with, uh, cèpes à la bordelaise, hmm?" "And a sauce..." "aioli Mornay." "Mornay?" "And for dessert, um... pâté apricot, hmm?" "Now that we have settled the menu," "I think it's just about time for a lesson in political history." "Aristotle tells us that man is a political animal, and therefore, he seeks some organization in his society." "In seeking that organization, man has a choice." "He can choose between anarchy, tyranny and democracy." "Man's nature rejects anarchy, his wisdom rejects tyranny, but having chosen democracy, he must also accept the responsibilities of democracy, hmm?" "For example, in any small unit of society- such as, uh, ours- we can share the responsibilities." "For example, um," "I will unload the horses, and you will cook the dinner." "Oh, I'm certainly not." "No." "Well, we could, uh, divide the responsibilities, then, yes?" "For example, I will unload my things and cook my dinner, and you will unload your things and cook your dinner." "And since that large chest is yours, suppose you start with that." "Now, uh, in a democracy, we decide things by ballot." "And I vote that we pool our labor." "How do you vote?" "Do you vote yes or no?" "I vote yes." "Mmm." "Sauté de veau chasseurs." "Cèpes à la bordelaise." "Sauce Mornay." "You are indeed a marvel, madam." "Oh." "And where did you learn to cook like this?" "I was never allowed to play with other children." "Or do anything, really." "But I used to get out of bed very early in the morning, sneak down the servants' stairway to the kitchen in our castle." "In the house where I lived." "The cook had a little girl just my age." "Trushka." "Little Mop." "We used to watch, help make things, scrape all the pastry bowls clean, of course." "Until they found out." "Then they sent her away." "Oh, but you would not understand." "To be told what to think and how to think and what to wear, what not to wear, how to walk, how to rise, how to sit." "Oh, yes, how to sit." "You see, it takes years of practice to learn how to sit like a wax dummy." "Oh, but you would not understand." "Because I am one of the savages." "No, because you are free." "Truly free." "Well, none of us are truly free." "Not you." "Not Trushka." "And not me." "Once in a while, we can reach through the bars of our dungeon." "And touch." "But we're not free." "Marcus Aurelius, in one of his meditations, says that the noble acceptance of the prison of oneself is the ultimate and only duty of man." "Duty." "Duty." "Duty." "And what of happiness?" "What of wishes?" "Desires?" "What of needs?" "Look, you have almost too much sugar in that." "I happen to like sugar in my coffee." "Therefore, I will put sugar in my coffee." "It is my wish to do it, and I will do it." "You are going to sleep here?" "Well, that's the general idea." "Well, then, where am I supposed to go?" "Well, right there looks like a wonderful place to me." "Well, this is impossible." "You... you are a stranger." "Well, could you think of some way that we might get better acquainted in a hurry?" "I'm tired." "I should have known better than to expect gallantry from a..." "Savage." "A free, noble savage." "Good morning." "Good morning." "¶ ¶" "No, you must not look yet." "Turn your head." "Hello." "Now you may look." "Just as in the books about America." "Flapjacks." "Now, any man with common sense would give up a kingdom for a taste like that." "This is very good." "Now I'm going to have to get the horses ready." "Oh." "How far is it now?" "Not too far to San Francisco." "We should be there tomorrow." "Tomorrow?" "Mm-hmm." "So soon." "I would." "What?" "I would give up a kingdom." "Must we go back?" "Could we not... could we not be free here- together?" "If there were no such thing as duty, if there were only wishes," "I would wish away every kingdom in the world but this one, and I would never go back." "There is something I must tell you." "No, you must let me." "I lied to you." "I'm not what I seemed." "I am..." "Princess Alysna Sarafina of Montenegro." "You knew?" "You were paid to come after me." "To bring me back here as a prisoner." "You are a gigolo." "No." "Whatever happened between us was part of no bargain." "By being what you are, a promise of fulfillment and beauty and peace, you made my job infinitely more difficult, not easier." "I'm surprised you've not used up your store of pretty speeches." "Whatever I said to you, I meant." "How much did they pay you for me?" "Nothing yet." "Cash on delivery." "I'm ready." "Will you bring me to them bound?" "You don't have to go." "I'll take you anyplace you want to go- on one condition." "And what is that?" "That it be truly what you want." "You remember Marcus Aurelius?" "Yes." "Well, he said another thing." "He said that duty is like a man's shadow." "He may cast his eyes away from it, yet will it follow him even as he flees." "There are some people born to obligations which they cannot run away from without causing suffering to many others." "You are such a one, Sarafina." "But we... we did reach- for a moment- beyond the dungeon bars, didn't we?" "Yes." "And we touched." "And we touched." "¶ ¶" "You may tell the ministers I am ready." "¶ ¶" "¶ "Have gun will travel," reads the card of a man ¶" "¶ A knight without armor in a savage land ¶" "¶ His fast gun for hire heeds the calling wind ¶" "¶ A soldier of fortune ¶" "¶ Is the man called Paladin ¶" "¶ Paladin, Paladin ¶" "¶ Where do you roam?" "¶" "¶ Paladin, Paladin ¶" "¶ Far, far from home. ¶"