The Cache by Philip José Farmer Page B

over it, and he suspected there might be worms within. He ate anyway, knowing that he needed something to give him strength for whatever tomorrow might bring.
    At dawn, he was awakened by a club scraped against the bars of his cell. He had time to eat the little left over from supper then was taken with the rest (six who had not fled out the back way of the tavern) before the judge.
    The judge was a big white-haired man with a face like a lion’s. He wore a scarlet robe and a green three-cornered hat, and he held in one hand a baton topped by two wolves’ heads. He sat behind a big desk on top of a platform; two spearmen stood at attention beside the desk.
    None of the prisoners were allowed to plead guilty or innocent. A policeman read out the charges; the judge asked the captain of the squad that had made the arrests to identify the guilty.
    “According to the laws of Kaywo, you soldiers are under my jurisdiction if you commit crimes while off duty,” the judge said. “There is no doubt you are guilty of drunken and disorderly conduct and of damaging the property of a private citizen. Now if you cannot pay for the damages, which amount to six hundred owf, and the fines, which amount to six hundred owf, twelve hundred owf in all, then you will suffer the full penalty of the law.
    “The full penalty is a flogging of thirty lashes, and losing your status of free men. You will be sold as slaves to pay for damages. And for every owf that is lacking from the sale, each of you will spend one year as a slave. Of course, after the flogging, you must be turned over to the military to be officially discharged and suffer any punishments they have for you before being sold as slaves.”
    The six looked at each other helplessly. Their money had been taken before they were led to the cells. The amount had been written down, and the sergeant-of-the-day had told them they would get it back—minus the amount needed to house and feed them—after they were released.
    Benoni started to open his mouth to protest that his money had not been returned, but he closed it when Zhem rammed his elbow into his side. Benoni, startled, looked at Zhem. Zhem put his finger to his lips and shook his head to indicate silence.
    “Captain,” said the judge, “are these men penniless?”
    “There isn’t a coin among the six,” said the captain.
    “So? Then I find you guilty as charged.”
    And the judge banged the end of his baton on his desk.
    Benoni, furious at the injustice but knowing that Zhem must have his reasons for warning him, ground his teeth together. He marched behind the others out of the courtroom and back to his cell. On the way, he whispered to Zhem, “What about the money they took from us?”
    “Wouldn’t have been enough, anyway. And the captain would have denied taking any from us. He’ll split it with his men, maybe with the judge, though I doubt that. The judge is kefl’wiy, and they think it a dishonor to steal. But he’s just as guilty as the police; he supports the system. I was trying to tell you not to open your mouth, because the captain would have knocked your teeth down your throat for contempt of court. And the judge would have doubled the lash-strokes. You aren’t allowed to speak unless requested to do so.”
    “When will we be lashed?” said Benoni.
    “If we weren’t military, we’d be getting it now,” replied Zhem. “But the civilians, no matter how high and mighty the judge talked, can’t do a thing to us until our case has been reviewed by our officers. We may get off with a few lashes, or we might end up on the block. Depends on how badly they need soldiers. I’d say that, with the Skego war getting hotter every day, we’re needed.”
    Benoni had time to think about the Skego war, for he spent the next two days in the cell. He knew that, though the two nations had never officially declared war, fighting on a small scale took place every day in the forests to the north. Skego feared Kaywo now