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He stood at the edge of the firelight, gazing out into the darkened forest. The wolf crouched beside him: alert, watching his face for any command. It was wholly plain that the gaunt woods creature had accepted him at once as his master; and that the bond between them, because of some secret similarity of spirit, was already far closer than between most masters and their pets.
They heard the buzzing of that winged cloud as it passed through the air above their heads; but such was the bees' intent interest in the village ahead, the two women were not spied as they hid among the bushes. By this time twilight was half gone. The firelight lit up the crowd of humans as they surged and danced about their new deity.
"One, two three yes, as good as four women and a child," he began, "to say nothing of the negroes, and that is not the worst of it; the hardest of all is the having people call me stingy, and the knowing that this opinion of me is encouraged and kept alive by the remarks and insinuations of my own sister," and in the red gleam of the firelight the bearded chin quivered for a moment as Hugh thought how unjust 'Lina was to him, and how hard was the lot imposed upon him.
With the firelight thrown full on the ivory pallor of her face, the effect she produced was almost unreal in its intensity of black and white an absence of colour which had in it all the warmth and the animation we are used to associate with brilliant hues.
"Where your gun?" demanded Pierre, pointing suspiciously to the boy's empty hands. "You no shoot without gun!" George drew an automatic from his pocket and held it up in the firelight. Pierre eyed it enviously. "We hunt with these things!" the boy said.
The warriors on the ground breathed perhaps a little heavily after so much feasting, and the fires were permitted to smolder down to coals. Wolves and panthers drawn by the scent of food crept through the thickets toward the faint firelight, but they were afraid to draw near.
"Where?" queried Maternus. "I don't see any brand marks." "On the left shoulder, each of them," Torix replied. "Humph!" Maternus commented, "rascally slaves and indulgent master, or canny owner of valuable, if restive, property." Just as he said this there was a yell at our left and Caulonius Pelops rushed in from somewhere beyond the firelight, probably from outside the cave.
The fire burned cheerily on the hearth, noiseless for the most part, but now and then purring like a cat full of happy content; the shadows showed themselves more and more boldly in the corners, daring the firelight to chase them to discover their secrets.
Turning, she gazed steadily at it the face of the man who had won her; but her own face in the firelight was white and still and wore a strange expression.
When he started on the dark trail that led to the clearing, I wondered at his courage it was so black beyond the firelight. While we sat alone I plead for a story, but the thoughts of Uncle Eb had gone to roost early in a sort of gloomy meditation. 'Be still, my boy, said he, 'an' go t' sleep. I ain't agoin' t' tell no yarns an' git ye all stirred up. Ye go t' sleep.
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