They were tall, and though they were very dark, most had blue or green eyes.These looked cold and hard and piercing, and few looked directly into them. Itwas said that they had the gift, or the curse, of the evil eye.
They were enough, in this dark night, to have made Masha marble with terror. Butwhat was worse, and this galvanized the marble, they were the servants of thepurple mage! Masha guessed at once what had happened. Benna had had the guts and the complete stupidity - to sneak into the underground maze of the mage onthe river isle of Shugthee and to steal a jewel. It was amazing that he'd hadthe courage, astounding that he could get undetected into the caves, an absolutewonder that he'd penetrated the treasurehold, and fantastic that he'd managed toget out. What weird tales he could tell if he survived! Masha could think of nosimilar event, no analogue, to the adventures he must have had.
'Mofandsf!' she thought. In the thieves' argot of Sanctuary, ' Mind-boggling!'
At that moment Benna's knees gave, and it was all she could do to hold him up.Somehow, she got him to the door to the next room and into a closet. If theRaggah came in, they would look here, of course, but she could get him nofurther.
Benna's odour was even more sickening in the hot confines of the closet, thoughits door was almost completely open. She eased him down. He mumbled, 'Spiders... spiders.'
She put her mouth close to his ear. 'Don't talk loudly, Benna. The Raggah areclose by. Benna, what did you say about the spiders?'
'Bites ... bites,' he murmured. 'Hurt... the ... the emerald ... rich...!'
'How'd you get in?' she said. She put her hand close to his mouth to clamp down