“Sirs,” he said deferentially, “you gentlemen should not have to walk.” His eyes picked out the Captain as the leader of the two, and he addressed the man singly. “Shall I fetch a cart, sir?”
“Why, yes,” said the Captain, pleasantly surprised at the notion, “that would be fine.”
The man trotted quickly away and ducked into what looked like a stable. He returned in a moment pulling a small, very lightweight two-seated cart which, they observed, had not simply a pair of shafts but a single supple-looking one that branched at the end, much like some great seven-pronged hay rake turned upside down. As the two friends watched the vehicle approach, another man led from the building seven young women whose wrists were bound together behind their back with a single rawhide cord. They were naked,
