Kingdoms of the Wall by Robert Silverberg Page B

so can I." He looked around. "Who seconds me?" Someone snickered. "Who seconds me?" Stapp said again, and his face began to go puffy and hot with anger.
    "Why don't you second yourself too, Stapp?" Kath said.
    "Why don't you be quiet?"
    "Who are you telling to be—"
    "You," Stapp said. Kath raised his arm, not necessarily in a menacing way, and an instant later Stapp came jumping forward, ready to fight. Galli caught him by the middle and pulled him back to his place in the circle.
    "The Bond," Thissa whispered. "Remember the Bond!" She looked pained by the threat of violence among us.
    "Does anyone second Stapp?" I asked. But no one did. Stapp turned away and stared at the Wall above us. I waited.
    Thuiman of the Metalworkers said, "Muurmut."
    "You nominate Muurmut?"
    "Yes."
    I had expected that. "Seconds?"
    Seppil the Carpenter and Talbol the Leathermaker seconded him. I had expected that too. They were very thick, those three.
    "Muurmut is nominated," I said. You will notice how I had already taken charge, here in the time before the choosing. I meant nothing evil by it. It is my way, to lead; someone has to, even when no leader has been appointed. "Are there any other nominations?" There were none. "Then we vote," I said. "Those who are for Poilar, walk to this side. Those who are for Muurmut, over there."
    Muurmut gave me a sour look and said, "Shouldn't we set forth our qualifications before the voting, Poilar?"
    "I suppose we should. What are yours, Muurmut?"
    "Two straight legs, for one thing."
    It was cheap of him, and I would have struck him down then and there except that I knew I could turn this to better advantage by holding my temper. So I simply smiled, not a warm smile. But Seppil the Carpenter guffawed as though he had never heard anyone say anything funnier. Talbol the Leathermaker, who was not the sort to stoop to such stuff, managed a sickly little grunt as his best show of solidarity with Muurmut.
    "Yes, very pretty legs," I said, for Muurmut's legs were thick and hairy. "If a leader must think with his legs, then yours are surely superior to mine."
    "A leader must climb with his legs."
    "Mine have taken me this far," I said. "What else do you have to recommend your candidacy?"
    "I know how to command," said Muurmut. "I give orders which others are willing to follow, because they are the correct orders."
    "Yes. You say, 'Put the grapes in this tub,' and you say, 'Crush them in such-and-such a fashion,' and you say, 'Now put the juice in the casks and let it turn into wine.' Those are very fine orders, so far as they go. But how do they fit you to command a Pilgrimage? The way you mock my leg, which is as it is through no fault of mine, doesn't indicate much understanding of someone you have sworn in blood to love, does it, Muurmut? And if a leader is deficient in understanding, what kind of leader is he?"
    Muurmut was glaring at me as though he would gladly have heaved me from the mountain.
    "Perhaps I shouldn't have said what I did about the leg. But how will it be for you in the dangerous places, Poilar? When you're climbing, will you also be able to think clearly about the things a leader must think about, when every step you take is hampered by your infirmity? When the change-fires begin to assail us, will you be strong enough to defend us against them?"
    "I have no infirmity," I said. "All I have is a crooked leg." I would with great pleasure have kicked him with it too, but I restrained myself. "As for the change-fires, we don't as yet know whether they're real or myth. But if they're real, why, then, each of us must do his own defending, and those who are too weak to resist their temptations will fall by the wayside and turn into monsters, and the rest of us will go onward toward the gods. That is the Way, as I understand it. Do you have any other qualifications to put forth on behalf of your election, Muurmut?"
    "We should hear yours, I think."
    Quietly I said, glancing from one to another of my