Araminta Station by Jack Vance Read Free Book Online Page B

said Madame Zigonie. “I shall see to it personally.”
    Chilke spoke with great earnestness: “I want to reassure you in regard to a rather delicate matter. Never fear that I might become overfamiliar! Never, never, never!”
    “You are remarkably emphatic!” said Madame Zigonie coldly. “The possibility had never occurred to me.”
    “It is wise to be clear on these things, if only for your peace of mind. You need expect nothing from me except dignified and formal conduct. The fact is, I am sworn to celibacy and I am already married, to boot. Also, if the truth be known, I am somewhat underpowered, shall we say, which makes me nervous and flighty when ladies get too friendly. Hence you may rest easy in this regard.”
    Madame Zigonie gave her head a toss which almost dislodged her tall black hat. She noticed Chilke staring at her forehead, and quickly rearranged the russet curls which fringed her face. “That is only a birthmark you see; pay it no heed.”
    “Just so. It is rather like a tattoo.”
    “No matter.” Madame Zigonie carefully adjusted her hat. “I take it that you will accept the post?”
    “Regarding the salary, fifteen thousand sols would seem a nice compromise.”
    “It would also seem an inordinate sum for a person of your inexperience.”
     “Oh?” Chilke raised his eyebrows. “What does your clairvoyant power tell you in this regard?”
    “It inclines to the same opinion.”
    “In that case, let us abandon the entire idea.” Chilke rose to his feet. “I thank you for the lunch and for an interesting conversation. Now, if you will excuse me –”
    “Not so fast,” snapped Madame Zigonie. “Perhaps something can be arranged. Where are your belongings?”
    “They’re more or less the clothes on my back and a change of underwear,” said Chilke. “I tend to travel light, in case I want to make a hasty move somewhere.”
    “Still, you must have the goods you inherited from your grandfather. We shall ship everything to Rosalia and you will feel comfortably at home.”
    “Not necessarily,” said Chilke. “There’s a stuffed moose in the barn, but I don’t want it in the front room of my bungalow.”
    “I’m interested in such things,” said Madame Zigonie. “Perhaps we should go to Big Prairie and make an inventory, or I could go by myself.”
    “The family wouldn’t like it,” said Chilke.
    “Still, we must do our best to bring you your things.”
    “It’s not all that necessary.”
    “We shall see.”
    In due course Chilke arrived at Rosalia, a rough-and-ready little world at the back of the Pegasus Rectangle. Lipwillow on the banks of the Big Muddy River was the principal town and spaceport. Chilke spent a night at the Big Muddy Hotel and in the morning was conveyed to Shadow Valley Ranch. Madame Zigonie housed him in a small bungalow under a pair of blue-pepper trees, and put him in charge of a hundred indentured workers of an unfamiliar race: handsome golden-skinned young men known as Yips.
    “The Yips were a source of total frustration; I could never entice them to work. I tried to be nice and I tried to be cruel. I begged, I threatened, I reasoned, I intimidated. They just smiled at me. They were quite willing to talk about work, but they always had some more or less sane reason why a certain job could not or should not be done.
    “Madame Zigonie watched for a while, laughing to herself. Finally she explained how to handle the Yips. ‘They are sociable creatures, and detest solitude. Take one of them to a job, tell him that’s where he stays, alone, until the job is done. He’ll howl and cry, and explain that he needs help, but the more he complains, the faster he’ll work, and if it isn’t done right, he must stay and do it all over. You’ll find that they’ll work briskly enough once they get the idea.’
    “I don’t know why she waited so long to tell me. She was an odd one, no question as to that. She was not often in residence at the ranch. Every