I had laid my arms and ammunition aside as soon as we
had taken over the hut, and I left them with Ajor now, as I had
noticed that aside from their hunting-knives the men of Kro-lu
bore no weapons about the village streets. There was an atmosphere
of peace and security within that village that I had not hoped to
experience within Caspak, and after what I had passed through, it
must have cast a numbing spell over my faculties of judgment and
reason. I had eaten of the lotus-flower of safety; dangers no
longer threatened for they had ceased to be.
The messenger led me through the labyrinthine alleys to an open
plaza near the center of the village. At one end of this plaza was
a long hut, much the largest that I had yet seen, before the door
of which were many warriors. I could see that the interior was
lighted and that a great number of men were gathered within. The
dogs about the plaza were as thick as fleas, and those I approached
closely evinced a strong desire to devour me, their noses evidently
apprising them of the fact that I was of an alien race, since
they paid no attention whatever to my companion. Once inside the
council-hut, for such it appeared to be, I found a large concourse
of warriors seated, or rather squatted, around the floor. At
one end of the oval space which the warriors left down the center
of the room stood Al-tan and another warrior whom I immediately
recognized as a Galu, and then I saw that there were many Galus
present.
Pages:
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127