And I knew that I must strike now; and I leapt, and smote with the
Diskos; and the thing fell upon its side, and the great grey legs came
out of the hither bushes, and twitched and drew upwards; but the head
remained in the bush where I had been hid. And I stood away from the
thing whilst it died; and in mine hand the Diskos did spin and send
forth fire; as it were that it did live, and did know that it had slain
a great and horrid monster.
And presently the Grey Man was dead; and I went away from those bushes,
unto the far side of the fire-hole. And I stood with the Diskos held
high and spinning and sending out fire, that they within the Mighty
Pyramid might know that I had slain the Beast-Man; for it might be that
it lay too much in the shadow for them to look upon.
But the Master Monstruwacan spoke not again to me; for, indeed, it was
not meet to do so, except it might save me from a sure danger; for, as
you may know from my past tellings, there were Powers of the Night Land
that did hearken unto such matters; and it was like enough that there
had been overmuch done, even thus, for my further safety. Yet the thing
could not be helped.
And now that I was a little calmed, and eased from my fear, I could know
that all that the aether of the night was disturbed by the gladness of
the millions within the Great Redoubt; so that it was plain how great a
multitude had given note unto the fight; and their hearts to beat in
sweet sympathy and natural fear; so that I did feel companied and
befriended; though, as it may be thought, something shaken yet about the
heart.
Now, in a little time, I did gather unto me my wits and had myself to
order; and I looked to see how the hours did go, and I found that I had
surely slumbered through ten hours. And I reproached myself; for,
indeed, I had slept oversound by reason of my having lacked a regular
way and time, as I had with a proper wisdom made to be my rule. And I
resolved that I would obey the wit of my Reason in all the future time,
and make to eat and rest in due season, as you will wot that I did
before intend.
Then, with a self-reproachful heart, I went around the small fire-hole,
and caught up my cloak and other matters. And I turned me towards the
Mighty Pyramid, and did look once upwards along all the great slope,
where it did go measureless into the far blackness of the Everlasting
Night; and I made no salutation; for I had so resolved, as you will
know; moreover, I desired not to call forth any unneedful disturbance of
the aether of the world, which indeed must be, did I make to stir the
emotions of the Millions.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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