and went over to where the master of the house
and his guards lay. Starting with the master of the house he struck him
three times, viciously, between the legs, and then did the same to each
of the guards. One of the other men approached him, but The Hawk only
waved him away.
24 When Gray Boar was done with the last guard, he returned to the
master of the house and beat in his face. Some of the guards tried to
crawl away as their turn came, but each was thrown back to his position
by the onlookers. When Gray Boar was done, he threw down his makeshift
weapon and walked over to The Hawk. "Whatever punishment you demand,"
he announced, "I will accept."
25 "I will not judge you," answered The Hawk. "If it had been me, I may
have done worse. Whatever pain they received, they deserved. Let us
complete our mission. We must be on the road by midnight."
26 The house was stripped. The women, a few at a time, mixed in with
the men were escorted out. One of The Hawk's men dipped his
hand in the dead guard's blood, and wrote on the wall 'SO DIE THOSE WHO
MURDER THE DAUGHTERS OF SPIRIT. REMEMBER!' The Hawk wanted there to be
no doubt who had been here this time.
27 They made their way quickly to the city gate, where they met
Wandering Fox and Swift Turtle. "Where are the heads from your house?"
asked Wandering Fox.
28 "Gray Boar had his own idea," explained The Hawk. "I think it was
just as effective! Put your heads on the spikes and let's get out of
here!"
29 In a few minutes they were on the roads heading into the wilderness.
In the morning the City War Leader learned what had happened, and it
did not take him long to guess who the attackers were. He rushed to The
Hawk's camp, but found it abandoned.