Shortly we came to an enclosure that still bore its roof. I went and
peered into this strange square place, and Dy-lee kindly handed me a
long torch of bound reeds soaked in black oily matter and lighted, the
purpose of his carrying which on this bright morning I had not hitherto
understood. Now I realized that he meant me to see everything there
was to be seen, whether open or hidden from the light; and I smiled my
thanks as I took the brand. Dy-lee and his two dogwolves followed me
into the place.
The roof was of stone, or perhaps of _a_ stone, for I could detect no
crack or joined place in all its surface. It was shored up by lesser
stones, long and thick and ornamented with carvings that resembled
the tendrils of the burrowflower. These must have been scratched into
the rock with a metal tool, I think; though it certainly would have
taken the whole lifetime of a man to accomplish all the carving I saw
there. I had never seen or heard of anyone carving deliberate designs
in anything before. The effect was lovely, albeit startling. Our
glen-folk decorated many things with dyes made of vegetables and roots
and minerals; but none had ever thought to adorn wood or stone with
carvings. And here again I was astonished, for after the first moment
or two, it seemed a natural and beautiful thing to do. It was like the
shaking of the hands, something that was surprising only at the first
acquaintance.
* * * * *
While I stared about me, Dy-lee passed into a far corner and began to
clear away a great heap of trash, broken wood, old discarded sleeping
furs, and other useless articles, which had been piled in a haphazard
fashion there. I followed him across the floor and saw that he had
cleared a space in the center of which was a square slab of stone set
into the floor, with a huge ring embedded in one side of it. This ring
he now grasped, and began to tug and haul at it, grunting with the
strain. The block of stone moved upward, fell, moved and fell again,
and it seemed it would take him an age to lift it free. So I put my
hand on the ring beside his. He relinquished it to me, I think out of
curiosity to see how powerful I was; and it was then I discovered that
I was much the stronger, for the slab came up out of its hole smoothly
and easily to my tug. Dy-lee straightened and said something in an
awe-struck voice.
"That is the result of a hunter's life, friend Dy-lee," I said,
grinning. "If you stalked with a bow and a hatchet, rather than a pack
of dogwolves, you would be as strong as I."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account