I did, he should have spotted me."
"If one of these characters was equipped with a warp disc," Steiger said, "he could have clocked out of the cave and to that clearing without anyone noticing."
Delaney glanced at him sharply. "I think we'd better talk about this. Let's see if we can split away from the main group once we're ashore."
They spoke in low voices, but the
Argo
was not the best place to hold a surreptitious conversation. No space had been wasted in the construction of the galley and they were all in fairly close contact all the time. All three temporal agents had been on ocean voyages before, but no matter what the time period or what type of vessel, one thing about life on the sea remained constant. Time passed very slowly.
The
Argo
was an uncomplicated vessel. There was no need to climb the rigging to take in or let out sails, because there was only the one simple, triangular lateen sail which could be hoisted or taken down easily and quickly. There was no need to perform maintenance on armaments, because there were none. There was no need to maintain engines or generators, pumps or electrical equipment or any of the other items found on more modern ships. The
Argo
was as primitive as a ship could be short of the reed vessels of the Polynesians. Shipboard duties were simple. There was not much else to do save row or watch for leaks and bail if the need arose. When they were close to shore, one of the men would go into the bow and let down a weighted rope so that soundings could be taken. Theirs was not an ambitious ocean-crossing voyage so much as an extended offshore cruise. On their course in the Aegean Sea, they were never very far from land and much of their voyage would be spent following the coastline, sailing between the islands and the mainland. With the proper crew and under the right conditions, the
Argo
might have been capable of crossing an ocean, but even expert sailors would have found it quite a hardship.
The Vikings, sailing roughly similar vessels in the North Sea, braved far more of the dangers of the deep than did the Argonauts, and most of the Argonauts were not experienced sailors. The majority of them were landlubbers to whom the voyage took on epic proportions. When the sea was calm, they rowed, which was backbreaking work. When the winds were fair, they made slow headway under sail with the oars shipped. At such times, there was not a great deal to do on board.
The sun had burned every one of them. They had rigged an awning to provide some very much needed shade, but skin was nevertheless tender and muscles were still sore. Hylas was kept busy applying olive oil to sunburned skin and some of the crew felt seasick, even in the relatively calm seas they had experienced. Delaney, who had once endured a squall in the crow's nest of a British man o'war, wondered uneasily how this crew would fare in the event of a storm.
While they were under sail, a listless lethargy was the prevalent atmosphere on board and even Orpheus, a seemingly inexhaustible source of songs and tales, fell to sitting idly on deck and staring out to sea, lost in his own thoughts. After a day's sail, the Argonauts looked forward to spending time ashore.
They anchored in the small protected bay and waded in, pleased at the prospect of getting in some hunting. They split up into small groups and went off in different directions to explore the island. It gave the temporal agents a chance to go off by themselves.
"You're going to call me a paranoid again," said Steiger, "but hear me out first. I've been thinking about this ever since we left Mount Pelion. Something's wrong here. Someone else is conducting some sort of covert operation on this voyage. Our friend with the hooded cloak really seems to get around. He could be someone in the pay of King Pelias, someone who's infiltrated the Argonauts as we have, but there's another possibility that worries me even more. Our hooded friend might not be working for Pelias at
"If one of these characters was equipped with a warp disc," Steiger said, "he could have clocked out of the cave and to that clearing without anyone noticing."
Delaney glanced at him sharply. "I think we'd better talk about this. Let's see if we can split away from the main group once we're ashore."
They spoke in low voices, but the
Argo
was not the best place to hold a surreptitious conversation. No space had been wasted in the construction of the galley and they were all in fairly close contact all the time. All three temporal agents had been on ocean voyages before, but no matter what the time period or what type of vessel, one thing about life on the sea remained constant. Time passed very slowly.
The
Argo
was an uncomplicated vessel. There was no need to climb the rigging to take in or let out sails, because there was only the one simple, triangular lateen sail which could be hoisted or taken down easily and quickly. There was no need to perform maintenance on armaments, because there were none. There was no need to maintain engines or generators, pumps or electrical equipment or any of the other items found on more modern ships. The
Argo
was as primitive as a ship could be short of the reed vessels of the Polynesians. Shipboard duties were simple. There was not much else to do save row or watch for leaks and bail if the need arose. When they were close to shore, one of the men would go into the bow and let down a weighted rope so that soundings could be taken. Theirs was not an ambitious ocean-crossing voyage so much as an extended offshore cruise. On their course in the Aegean Sea, they were never very far from land and much of their voyage would be spent following the coastline, sailing between the islands and the mainland. With the proper crew and under the right conditions, the
Argo
might have been capable of crossing an ocean, but even expert sailors would have found it quite a hardship.
The Vikings, sailing roughly similar vessels in the North Sea, braved far more of the dangers of the deep than did the Argonauts, and most of the Argonauts were not experienced sailors. The majority of them were landlubbers to whom the voyage took on epic proportions. When the sea was calm, they rowed, which was backbreaking work. When the winds were fair, they made slow headway under sail with the oars shipped. At such times, there was not a great deal to do on board.
The sun had burned every one of them. They had rigged an awning to provide some very much needed shade, but skin was nevertheless tender and muscles were still sore. Hylas was kept busy applying olive oil to sunburned skin and some of the crew felt seasick, even in the relatively calm seas they had experienced. Delaney, who had once endured a squall in the crow's nest of a British man o'war, wondered uneasily how this crew would fare in the event of a storm.
While they were under sail, a listless lethargy was the prevalent atmosphere on board and even Orpheus, a seemingly inexhaustible source of songs and tales, fell to sitting idly on deck and staring out to sea, lost in his own thoughts. After a day's sail, the Argonauts looked forward to spending time ashore.
They anchored in the small protected bay and waded in, pleased at the prospect of getting in some hunting. They split up into small groups and went off in different directions to explore the island. It gave the temporal agents a chance to go off by themselves.
"You're going to call me a paranoid again," said Steiger, "but hear me out first. I've been thinking about this ever since we left Mount Pelion. Something's wrong here. Someone else is conducting some sort of covert operation on this voyage. Our friend with the hooded cloak really seems to get around. He could be someone in the pay of King Pelias, someone who's infiltrated the Argonauts as we have, but there's another possibility that worries me even more. Our hooded friend might not be working for Pelias at
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