If he didntask, he never killed any more game and
another misfortune came uponhim.
Within the tower, the drums beganto roll a cheerful
tattoo.
Is it any stranger that I should have spoken that
tongue than that Inow speak yours, Evalie? They danced in circlingmeasures to the
lilting rhythm of their drums. She told us of Sirk, the city of those who had fled
from the Sacrifice. Of course, the tribes did some embroidering. For half the
distancethe ground was level and covered with the blue flowered grass. She
remembered when she hadbeen no bigger than the Little People
But youd have come back, wouldnt you, old-timer?
Leif, he asked, in those dreams do you ever take any part in theservice of
Khalkru?
And no man knows whence they came into Mesopotamia
with theirscience full-blown. These are golden-skinned andaverage three feet. They
were in Cherokee-land when the Cherokeesgot there.
She remembered, Evalie had told us, a great stone
house. Everywhere upon it was the thicket of thorn. The falcon circling round my
headscreamed, and flew. They found ourtrack and gave her the signal. What would he
want you to do when youdid find it?
Not a damned thing, he answered, cheerfully. I have
seen iton the banners that float from the towers of Karak .
If there were forests on this side, I could not
tell.
The little man and his woman had stepped forward.
Each of us could followEvalies thought better than she could ours. Wonder and
comprehension crept into thegirls eyes.
I got a word just then thatmeans serpent-water in a
dozen different dialects. What touched the trigger onyou this time? And if that isnt
something to worry about, tell me whatis.
They found ourtrack and gave her the
signal.
They were friendly toward the Cherokees, but kept
rigorouslyto themselves and seldom were seen. He knewenough of your psychology to
foresee you would balk at a stage of theritual. Suppose you could be saying one
thing and thinking two things at once. How long ago hadshe been as small as the
Little People? They said that even if the Spirit didnt get me, Id neverget out.
There were a score or more of small colonies, Evalie told us.
Several times he had to repeat this before she
caught it. Thesememories, or whatever they were, came in flashes.
What touched the trigger onyou this time? They
looked at me with little faces that grew hard andfierce.
I determined to make a clean breast of it.