Not that there was anything particularly religious about the place or in their behavior. All twelve seemed to be silent only because they were voraciously hungry. A meal was spread on the table. Except for the garments, the twelve might have been so many harvest hands, gathered for the evening meal in the cook-house. From the white-bearded man who sat at the head of the table and passed out large helpings of something from a big pot, to the fair-haired young fellow at the foot, who could scarcely wait for his share, there was only one thing about them which might have been labeled pious; and that was their attitude, which could have been interpreted: "Give us this day our daily bread--and hurry up about it!" Apparently Rolla was convinced that these men were thoroughly human, and as such fairly safe to approach. For she allowed her curiosity to govern her caution, and proceeded to sidle through the doorway. Half-way through she caught a whiff of the food, and her sidling changed to something faster. At that instant she was seen. A tall, dark-haired chap on the far side of the table glanced up and gave a sharp, startled exclamation. Instantly the whole dozen whirled around and with one accord shot to their feet. Rolla stopped short. There was a second's silence; then the white-bearded man, who seemed, to be the leader of the group, said something peremptory in a deep, compelling voice. Rolla did not understand. He repeated it, this time a little less commandingly; and Rolla, after swallowing desperately, inclined her head in the diffident way she had, and said: "Are ye friends or enemies?" Eleven of the twelve looked puzzled. The dark-haired man, who had been the first to see her, however, gave a muttered exclamation; then he cogitated a moment, wet his lips and said something that sounded like: "What did you say? Say it again!" Rolla repeated. The dark-haired man listened intently. Immediately he fell to nodding with great vigor, and thought deeply again before making another try: "We are your friends. Whence came ye, and what seek ye?" Rolla had to listen closely to what he said. The language was substantially the same as hers; but the verbs were misplaced in the sentences, the accenting was different, and certain of the vowels were flatted. After a little, however, the man caught her way of talking and was able to approximate it quite well, so that she understood him readily. "I seek," Rolla replied, "food and rest. I have traveled far and am weary." "Ye look it," commented the man. His name, Rolla found out later, was Somat. "Ye shall have both food and rest. However, whence came ye?" "From the other side of the world," answered Rolla calmly. Instantly she noted that the twelve became greatly excited when Somat translated her statement. She decided to add to the scene.