Chapter 6 Chapter Six

That night, the captain of the sisu free trade ship showed up.Captain Clauser was a tall, fair-haired, weather-beaten face with the deep, wistful lines and tight mouth of a man accustomed to command.He was very tired of himself and others, because other people disturbed him with trivial things, and brought him to such a small place.Captain Kraussar looked Soapy unceremoniously, and then said, "Mother Shaw, is he the one who said he had to see me on an urgent matter?" The captain spoke the nine-star trade language.It is a language developed from Sargon with no inflections and simple declensions.But Soapy knew the language, and he replied, "If you are Fieral Krausha, I have a message for you, my lord."

"Don't call me 'Honorable Sir.' Yes, I am Captain Clauser." "Yes, sir... yes, Captain." "If you have a message, tell me." "Yes, Captain." Soapy recited to Krause the memorized message, the Finnish version for Captain Krause, "Baslim the Cripple to Fieral, Captain of the Sisu Starship: Hello old friend! My greetings to your whole family, your clan, your relatives, and my highest respect to your venerable mother. I now speak to you through the mouth of my adopted son. He does not understand Finnish slang, so this is a secret conversation between the two of us. When you hear this message, I will no longer be alive—"

The message had begun with a smile on Krause's face, but now he exclaimed when he heard that Pop was dead.Soapy stopped reciting.Mrs. Shaw interrupted: "What are you talking about? What language is this?" Krausa dismissed her with one sentence: "It's my mother tongue, is what he said true?" "What's 'true'? How would I know? I just can't understand the crap." "Oh... sorry, sorry! He told me that an old beggar who used to hang around Liberty Square and called himself 'Baslim' died. Is that true?" "Well, of course it's true. If I'd known you'd be interested in the news, I'd have told you. Everyone knows about it."

"Everyone but me, obviously. How did he die?" "He had his head chopped off." "Decapitation? Why?" She shrugged and said, "How would I know? I heard that Dad died before the police interrogated him. Maybe he committed suicide by taking poison or some other reason, so I can't tell how he died. I'm just a poor old woman who wants to live a peaceful life and do more business every day, and I hope the Sargon police don't bother me." "But if—well, never mind. Has Pop finally caught them? Sounds like he did." He turned to Soapy. "Go on and tell your message." Finish."

Soapy was distracted by this, so he had to start from the beginning.Krause was impatient until something new appeared: "...I am no longer alive. My son was the single most important thing I had before I died, and I entrusted him to you. I beg you to help him as I did , discipline him. I beg you, at the first chance, to hand him over to the superintendent of any of the Confederate warships, saying that he is an unfortunate citizen of the Confederates, and has a right to ask them to help him find his family. If they If you have mercy, they will recognize his identity and let him go back to his fellow countrymen. You have full discretion in the future. I have ordered him to obey your discipline, and I believe he is willing. Although young and ignorant, But he was a good boy, and I entrust him to you with peace of mind. Now I must go. My life has been long and fulfilling, and I am quite satisfied with it. Farewell."

The captain bit his lip tightly, showing the expression of a grown man suppressing tears.Finally, in a rough voice, he said, "That's clear enough. Well, boy, are you ready?" "gentlemen?" "You're coming with me. Baslim didn't tell you?" "No, sir. But he told me I'll do what you say. I'm going with you?" "Yes, how long will it take you to get out of here?" Soapy answered hastily, "Now, sir." "Come on, then. I'd like to go back to the ship." He looked Soapy up and down, and said, "Ma'am Shaw, can we get him some decent clothes? Such grotesque attire doesn't work on board." .Maybe it’s not a big problem, there’s a small clothing store on this street, I’ll just go and pick out a suit for him.”

The more she listened, the more amusing she became, and said, "You want to take him on board?" "Is there a problem?" "Huh? No problem...if you don't think about whether they're going to tear him to pieces." "What do you mean by that?" "Are you crazy? There are six police officers guarding the spaceport gate from here... each of them is bent on getting a bounty." "You mean they're all after him?" "Why do you think I'm hiding him in my bedroom? He's hot as boiled cheese right now!" "But why?"

"It's the same sentence: how do I know? But he's a bowl of hot cheese." "You wouldn't think a kid his age would know what old Baslim did, and it was worth them..." "Let's not talk about what Baslim is doing or has done. I am a loyal subject of Sargon...not at all wishing to be beheaded. You said you wanted to take the boy aboard Go. I say, 'Great!' I'll be glad I don't have to worry about him anymore. But how?" Klausak snapped his knuckles and said slowly, "I just thought it was just a matter of taking him to the gate to pay some immigration fees."

"That's not the case at all, let's get rid of this idea. Is there any way to let him board the ship directly without going through the gate?" After hearing this, Captain Clauser seemed very embarrassed. "Here, they are very strict about smuggling out of the country. If they are caught by them, the ship will be confiscated. You are putting my ship... myself... and the crew at risk." "I don't care what risks you take. I just care about myself. Just laying out the truth for you. If you want me to do such a thing, you'd have to be crazy." Thorby said, "Captain Krause..."

"What is it, child?" "Dad told me to do what you said...but I'm sure Dad never asked you to risk your head for me." He swallowed and added, "I'll be fine." Kraussar waved his arms impatiently. "No, no!" he snapped. "Baslim wants this to happen... Debts must be paid, debts owed must be paid!" "I do not understand what you are saying." "You don't have to understand. But Baslim wants me to take you away, so I have to take you away." He turned to Mama Saum and said, "The question is what to do? Any good ideas?" ?"

"Well... maybe. Let's talk it over." She turned her head and said, "Go back to the cave, Soapy, and be careful, maybe I'm going out for a while." When the curfew was approaching the next day, a sedan chair left Happy Street.A policeman stopped it.Aunt Saum poked her head out of the sedan chair. The policeman was startled and said, "Are you going out, Ma'am? Then who will take care of your customers?" "Mura has the key," she replied, "but would you please take care of the store too? That's good enough. She's not as interested in it as I am." She thrust something into the policeman's hand, In a blink of an eye, he drew his head back. "I'll take care of it. Are you going out all night?" "I hope not. Maybe I'd better have a pass, you see? I'm the kind of guy who likes to go home right away when things are over." "Well, but now the control over the pass is stricter." "Are you still looking for that little beggar?" "Indeed. We'll find him. If he goes to the country, the cops there will starve him out of food. If he stays in the city, we'll turn him out." "Yeah, but I'm an old woman, so I'm not regarded as him by you. So, can it be convenient for an old woman who needs to visit relatives and friends to issue a temporary pass?" She put her hand on the side of the sedan chair. On the low door frame, the corner of a banknote was exposed in his hand. He glanced at it, then looked away. "Is it valid until midnight?" "enough." He took out the registration book, wrote a few words on it, and then tore off a form and handed it to her.When she went to pick up the form, the money in her hand was taken away at the same time. "Not past midnight." "I wish it had been sooner." He glanced inside the sedan chair, then checked her entourage.The four bearers had been standing patiently without saying a word--no wonder, since they had no tongues. "Go to the summit auto repair shop?" "I'm always there for business," said Ma'am Shaum. "Let me just say, it looks familiar." "Let's take a good look at them, maybe one of them is that little beggar." "These long-haired roughs? Go your way, Mom." "Goodbye, Mr. Saul." The sedan chair was lifted up unsteadily, and moved forward quickly.When rounding the corner, she told the bearers to slow down and draw down all the curtains, then she patted the pillow beside her and said, "Can you bear it?" "It's about to be crushed." A faint voice agreed. "Squashing is better than decapitating. If I move my body, your legs are full of bones, and you're in a panic." For the next mile, she was busy arranging her clothes and putting on her jewelry.She covered her face, revealing only a pair of piercing black eyes.After dressing up, she stretched out her head and gave instructions to the bearer, and the sedan chair turned around and walked towards the space port.It was almost dark when we reached the road beside the high and strong fence. The entrance for alien visitors is at the lower end of Happy Street, the entrance for tourists is to the east of the immigration management building, and behind it is the commercial gate of the storage area, which manages bulk import and export goods, and the customs for exit procedures are also there.A few miles further back is the dock gate.There is also a small door between the dock gate and the personnel entry and exit door, which is exclusively for the nobles who come here to take their own interstellar speedboats. The sedan chair reached the fence of the aerospace port, turned a corner when it was still some distance away from the commercial gate, and walked along the fence towards the commercial gate.The so-called commercial gate is actually composed of several gates, and beside each gate there is a cargo loading and unloading platform passing through the fence, where storage trucks can back up and unload goods.Sargon's inspectors inspect the declared goods here: weighing, measuring, grading, sampling, unpacking, and irradiating the goods before they pass through the dock and are loaded on the spaceport trucks parked on the other side to be transported to the spacecraft. That night, the barriers to platform three were open, and the Sisu Free Trade ship was about to finish loading.While watching, the captain argued with the inspectors, and at the same time used the oldest method to "lubricate" the relationship between the two parties in order to speed up the progress.Next to him was a third officer on the ship who took notes for him. The sedan chair made several bends, passed through the gap of the parked trucks, and came near the platform.The masked lady stuck her head out of the sedan chair, and the captain of the Sisu was also looking up.He looked at his watch and said to the third mate: "There is still a shipment, Jane, you go in with this one first, and I will go with the last one." "Understood, yes, sir." The young third officer climbed onto the rear of the car, greeted the driver, and the car drove away.At this time, an empty car drove over and parked in the vacated position just now.The load was loaded quickly, for the captain seemed suddenly to have nothing to argue with the inspectors.But after loading the car, he showed dissatisfaction again and asked to reload the car.The stevedore complained incessantly, the captain walked over to comfort him, looked at his watch again and said, "There is still time, I don't want the cargo to fall apart before it goes into the ship's crate, so I have to pack it firmly now." Sure enough." The sedan chair continued to advance along the fence.It didn't take long for the sky to get dark. The masked lady looked at the luminous watch on her finger and urged the bearers to go faster. They came to the gate through which nobles came and went.The masked lady poked her head out and shouted sharply, "Open the door!" The gate is guarded by two guards, one in the small duty room and the other hanging around outside.The guards outside came and opened the door, and the sedan chair was about to go in, when he stretched out his baton to block the way.The bearer had no choice but to put down the sedan chair and align the right sedan door with the front gate. The masked lady shouted, "Get out of the way! I'm going to Lord Marlin's yacht." The guard hesitated a little, blocked the door and said, "Does your wife have a pass?" "are you an idiot?" "If Mistress doesn't have a pass," he said slowly, "Maybe Mistress can figure out some other way to prove to the guards that Lord Marlin is waiting for you?" It was very dark inside the sedan chair, and the guards couldn't see the woman's face, they could only hear her voice.The guard had dealt with the nobles for a long time, and knew that he could not shine light on her. He was angry, but he didn't dare to vent. "If you insist on being an idiot, then call Lord Marin on the yacht! Call. I believe you will understand then that you will 'like' him!" The guard in the duty room came out and said, "What's the matter, Sean?" "Well, it's okay." They discussed in a low voice.One of the young ones walked into the duty room, ready to call Lord Marin's yacht.Another waited outside. That's when it seemed the woman had had enough.She suddenly opened the car door, rushed out, and went straight to the duty room.The dazed guard outside quickly followed.The person on the inside who was about to call stopped halfway through the number and looked up at her, terrified.This woman was even worse than he had imagined: she was not a flirtatious young woman who had run away from her parents, but an angry rich woman, a woman who rode on a man's head and gesticulated - once the temper flared up, what? Everything can be done.He was stunned to listen to the rich woman's endless scolding. It can be said that guarding the gate of this nobleman for so many years, this time is the most unfortunate encounter he has ever encountered. The attention of the two guards was completely focused on Aunt Saum's eloquent accusation.At this moment, a figure got out of the sedan chair, slipped into the gate, and disappeared in the darkness.That man was Soapy, and as he ran, he feared that a stun bullet would come from nowhere and enter him, and at the same time he was checking the situation on the right side of the road that closely connected with the incoming road.As soon as he came to the road, he immediately fell to the ground, his heart beating violently. Outside the gate, Mama Shaum's anger subsided.One of the guards said nicely, "Ma'am, if you'd like to let us finish this call." "Forget it! No, it's not over yet. Master Marin will settle accounts with you tomorrow." She turned around abruptly and strode towards the sedan chair. "Wait a moment, madam!" She ignored them no longer, said something to the bearers angrily, and got on the sedan chair.The bearers staggered and carried the sedan chair, and left quickly.A guard covered his stomach with his hands, feeling something pressing him tightly.He was preoccupied, as if he had made a great mistake.No matter what the lady wants to do, it is still disrespectful to obstruct her sedan chair. The captain of the Sisu finally finished loading the last truck, jumped on the step, signaled to the driver that it was time to start the car, and suddenly walked forward again. "Hey, look!" The captain knocked on the baffle behind the cab. "What's the matter, Captain?" A vague voice came from the cab. "There is a stop sign where this road meets the road that turns to the ship, and I see that most of your pilots don't take that road." "Is that road? It has always been empty, and it is used by nobles." "That's what I mean too. A noble car may suddenly appear at that intersection. If our car has a traffic accident with your noble car, I will not be able to catch up with the departure time. In that case, I will stay here for a while Dozens of days. Listen, when you get to that intersection, stop and take a look, okay?" "As you say, Captain. But you'll have to pay for the parking." "Here is it for you." A half star dollar bill was stuffed into the cab. After the car started, it moved forward slowly.When the car stopped, Captain Clauser bent down, reached out and grabbed Soapy, who was still lying on the ground not far from the car, and lifted him into the car. "Don't talk!" Soapy nodded, trembling a little.Krause took tools out of his pocket, pried a crate, and it didn't take long to pry open the side of the box, tear the sackcloth, and pour out the verga leaves—these leaves are extremely valuable on other planets. s things.It was not long before a hundred pounds of this precious cargo was dumped, and he said to Soapy, "Into the sack!" Soapy crawled inside and curled up into a ball.Krause covered him with sackcloth, sewed it up, nailed it up, tied it with straps, and stamped it with the inspector's stamp, which had been hand-forged in the ship's metalwork shop.After finishing these things, he stood up and wiped the sweat from his face.At this time, the truck also turned into the freight ring road leading to the Sisu. After the car drove to the place where the spaceship was parked, Krause personally took care of the last cargo.Sargon's field inspectors are by his side, watching as each crate, carton and bag is loaded into the cargo net.Krause thanked the inspectors politely.After everything was done, he didn't take the elevator up, but rode a cargo net into the cabin.There is a person riding on the net, and the crane driver will be more careful than usual when lowering it. The cargo ship is almost full and waiting to take off.There is very little space left inside.The crew hauled the crates out of the nets, and even the captain came to help and hauled a crate himself.Once the cargo is transported into the cabin, everyone closes the cargo door, and then clamps and locks the door with clips.Captain Krause reached into his pocket, pulled out his tools, and pried open the crate again... Two hours later, Mama Shaw stood at her bedroom window looking out over the spaceport.She looked at her watch.At this moment, a green spacecraft rose slowly from the control tower, and a few seconds later, a column of white light shot into the sky.When the roar reached her ears, she grinned and went downstairs to do business—Mura couldn't take care of a shop alone.