They led me to
a town where there were many other such men, and treated me very well,
giving me sweet things to eat till I grew fat and my skin shone. Then
in the evening I was taken away, and we marched all night to the mouth
of a great cave. In this cave sat a horrible old man about whom danced
robed people, performing the rites of the White Devil.
"The old man told me that on the following morning I was to be cooked
and eaten, for which reason I had been made so fat. There was a canoe
at the mouth of the cave, beyond which lay water. While all were
asleep I crept to the canoe. As I loosed the rope one of the priests
woke up and ran at me. But I hit him on the head with the paddle, for
though only a boy I was bold and strong, and he fell into the water.
He came up again and gripped the edge of the canoe, but I struck his
fingers with the paddle till he let go. A great wind was blowing that
night, tearing off boughs from the trees which grew upon the other
shore of the water. It whirled the canoe round and round and one of
the boughs struck me in the eye.
Pages:
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326