23 The Old Fox covered his face with his hands. "That
which is done," he sighed, "cannot be undone. Take them
to the Healer's tent, and put them under guard. They are not to
be left alone."
24 Gray Dove obeyed and returned to his tent. He had just
finished his supper when an excited fighting man ran in.
"Lord!" he cried, "Lord! You must come quickly.
The men you had us take to the Healer; they have gone mad!"
25 Now, Gray Dove hurried to the tent, and when he got there
found the women outside wailing and screaming. From inside came
the most horrible sounds he had ever heard, like the cries of
some wild animal! When he entered the tent, he found the captives
were making these cries, that they were bound, hand and foot,
struggling violently. In the back of the tent the Healer was
working quickly on one of their guards. "What
happened?" asked Gray Dove.
26 The elder of the guards spoke. "We were talking Lord, all
seemed well, when suddenly one of them seized my club, screamed
that we wouldn't keep HIM prisoner, and attacked one of my men!
While we were disarming him, the other two went wild! They
weren't just angry, they are like savage animals. We had to bind
them!"
27 Gray Dove knelt down by one of the men, and looked at his
face. His lips were drawn back, he snarled at Gray Dove like an
animal. His tongue was swollen and black, the edges of his lips
were black, and so was the flesh around his nails.
28 The Healer had finished his work and came over. "I have
seen many cases of poisoning," he said, "but few as bad
as this. The poison attacks the mind as well as the body. They
have no reason left at all."
29 "Will they recover?" asked Gray Dove.
30 "They will be lucky," whispered the Healer, "if
they last the night."
31 The Old Fox entered. "The Lords warned them," he
explained, "but they would not listen. They knew more than
The Lords. Many have fallen to the sweet looking water of this
valley, and They warned me when we entered here, but these ones
would not listen. They chose instead, to die like this. Let it be
a lesson to us all."
32 Long into the night the men screamed, then one by one, their
screams turned to moaning, and their moaning to whispers, then a
gasping sound, as they struggled for breath. Then, finally, only
the weeping of the women mourning their dead could be heard.
33 They buried the men by the spring and carved a sign into the
rock above it. "This water is poisonous," it read,
"these men died from drinking it. Drink only from the
springs at the head of the valley."
34 As the men finished their work, Gray Dove looked at the
spring. "What fools these men were," he then explained.
"Look! The Tabr stops growing twenty paces back There is no
sign of animals or insects. The water is crystal clear. Any man
with any sense at all, would know it was poison, even if he had
not been warned!" The other men nodded in agreement and they
returned to their work.
35 Now, when all the food was gathered, The Old Fox brought his
councilmen, and, his warlocks together, and said, "Tell the
people that the ample supplies we have must last for a great
journey still. Put the bundles of feed onto every cart. When
those are full to overflowing, let every man including the
fighting people, carry a bundle on his back. Fill every water
skin, and also, every pot, every bottle, every barrel."
36 Everyone obeyed, and the following day, as soon as it was
light enough to see the trail, they journeyed on. Higher into the
mountains they went, and they grew like menacing giants, before
them.
37 The passages and valleys became narrower and narrower. There
was little feed for the animals or, water. If it had not been for
the water they brought with them, they would have perished.
38 But upward they climbed, day after day, mile after mile, and
the grumbling started again. But The Old Fox ignored them, his
eyes were ever eastward.
39 One day they were travelling north, along a narrow valley,
that was rather pleasant and easy going. There was feed for the
animals, and a few springs here and there.
40 Suddenly, The Old Fox stopped. Off to the east was a hill.
Slowly he climbed it, and looked down the other side. There, was
a narrow passage heading off into the distance. "This is
it!" he cried, "This is the way!"
41 "But Lord," said one of the Elders, "we cnnot
get our carts up over this hill. And the passage is so narrow.
Let us continue the way we are going. Perhaps there is an easier
passage further on."
42 "There is no other passage," The Old Fox told them,
"THIS IS THE WAY! The Lords have said we go this way. THIS
IS THE WAY TO GO! Bring shovels, rakes, hoes. This hill is
nothing but wind-blown sand. Move it, if it is in our way. Move
it, and go the Way The Lords intend us to go."
43 The Elders agreed, and soon the people worked fevorishly. In
the blazing heat they moved the hill, took it down, basket by
basket, until the passage was cleared.
44 "Let the cattle graze here, for a day or so,"
ordered The Old Fox, "until all the ox carts are in the
passage. Then drive them in behind us. Also, leave some men
behind to cut feed and empty three carts. Fill them with every
barrel we can find and put water in them. Let them follow after
for the animals."
45 So it was, again the people journeyed. Now, this passage was
so narrow that they could not put up their tents. And the people
slept on their beds where they could throw them down. Here and
there there was a hidden spring, and a little grass but the
passage was mostly barren rock, seeming to go almost straight up
into the sky.
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