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beard. "My name is Jason. And do you think yourself qualified to join us in
our
quest?"
"I don't know the answer to that, sir. I'm not sure just what qualifications
you
expect."
The mass of dark hair nodded judiciously. "A reasonable answer."
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Jason explained that he and some of the others had begun just recently to
hear
of a certain youngster named Hercules, who was said to have achieved great
things. They all assumed that I had come to Iolcus to join the heroes on
their
quest, and by the time they joined us on the crowded pier, it was obvious
they
had already decided among themselves that the next step must be to test my
worthiness in some way.
Various murmurings around me soon informed me that the gods only knew how
many
other youthful would-be heroes had already been disposed of in the same way.
In
most cases, a bout or two of one of the milder forms of wrestling had
sufficed
to do the trick. I have no doubt that a majority of the qualified heroes on
hand
thought this would promptly eliminate me.
I felt relieved, having been worried that some bloodier test would be
suggested.
"A little arm wrestling, then?" Jason was proposing jovially. "It's a warm
day,
whoever loses shouldn't mind a little swim." Actually, as we were all quite
fully aware, the water just below the pier looked quite foul, a state of
affairs
only natural for a busy harbor that received much of a sizable city's waste.
Today the wind and tide were doing a poor job of flushing, and it was not the
place that any of us would have chosen for a refreshing dip.
Before the test could actually get started, more of the Argonauts appeared
and
introduced themselves to me. Eventually it seemed that their whole number
came
crowding onto the quay, forcing the retreat to shore of an even larger number
of
spectators. Among the newcomers I recognized Meleager, evidently no worse for
his own visit to the tavern last night of course his visit had probably not
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lasted nearly as long as mine.
Meleager asked me how my head felt this morning, after my adventures last
night.
"My own skull feels a bit thick," he added.
And then there happened that which I had not expected and my life was changed
forever. First I heard her voice, talking at a little distance, utterly
unexpected, tantalizingly familiar . . .
. . . and then I raised my eyes and saw her, standing on the next pier over,
only a few yards away, beyond a gulf of noxious water. She was looking, I
realized, not at me, but directly at the man who stood just next to me. A
pair
of green eyes that I had seen only three times before, and then in very
different circumstances, but could never have forgotten. The last time I
looked
into them it had been by candlelight, in a dark kitchen.
Looking at Meleager now, and at the family resemblance between them, I
realized
why I had thought his face familiar at first sight.
She was dressed differently now than on the last occasion when I saw her, but
I
did not doubt for a moment that it was in fact the same girl who had helped
two
young itinerant laborers who had been badly cheated.
Now she was calling to Meleager in a familiar way. He waved back casually and
then turned to me to make the introduction.
"Over there you see my sister, Deianeira, informally known as Danni. Danni,
this
is Hercules, who says he wants to come chasing the Golden Fleece with us."
Then he paused, awareness slowly dawning in his honest face. He smote his
forehead with his palm then seemed to regret the act.
"But no, what am I saying? Of course you two have met before. That's where I
heard the name of Hercules!" He raised his voice again. "By Hades, Danni, I
ought to have remembered what you told me!"
The other heroes were meanwhile wrangling among themselves, so far
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good-naturedly, about which of them was to administer the test of wrestling.
No
one was that eager, for testing an undersized recruit was not the kind of
trial
that seemed to offer any chance of glory. Danni took advantage of the delay
to
come around and join us on the same pier. When she came near, I took her hand
gently, as a man of quality does in Cadmia when introduced to a fine lady of
his
own rank.
She nodded a greeting to Enkidu and then turned back to me. Her straight
brown
hair was blowing a little in the breeze. "I see, Hercules, you and your
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