closed behind them. But the crowd continued to
call "Let us see him! Let us see him!"
73 "My boy, you are popular!" said The King. "Come!" He took
The Hawk to a balcony overlooking the street. "Where's Shining
Serpent?" asked The King, "Get out here!"
74 Shining Serpent stood on one side of The Hawk, The King on the
other. They seized his hands, raised them, and the crowd roared. Three
times they did this. The third time it seemed like the buildings
themselves, would come down! Then, The King began to wave his hands
from side to side. "That's enough!" he cried. "That's enough! The
poor boy's hungry! Let me give him some supper! Go on! Soldiers, clear
the street, but be nice about it. Send them home!"
75 The soldiers quickly obeyed their King, and The Hawk was led inside,
to a glorious banquet. But before they sat down to eat, The King took
him to a side room where several women in splendid dress laid about
laughing and talking. "These are the ones you seek," explained The
King, "assure yourself of their well being, then, we will have our
meal."
76 The Hawk was glad to find that these were, indeed, the women he was
looking for. They assured him they were being well treated. Only one
woman had a complaint. When The King's soldiers came to fetch her, her
master had refused to surrender her child she had born but a few months
before.
77 The Hawk went to The King and told him the child would have to be
brought and returned with them to their land. "Surely," begged The
King, "you can compromise. The man does not want to give up his son. We
had a devil of a time getting the woman from him without a fight. He
had taken her legally, as wife, and could not see why he had to
surrender her."
78 "We must have the child," argued The Hawk.