once, so deep down in his mind that he was scarcely aware of it, a little warning hammer began to beat. ‘Danger! danger!’ He was not quite sure that he trusted these men.
He thrust the doubt away as base ingratitude to Aristobulo, who had been friendly to him in this town of strangers. And then Aristobulo himself, who had been deep in argument with a barrel-chested man beside him, turned to draw Beric into the talk. Wonderful talk it was, too, when they changed their tongue for his benefit and he could understand it—shining talk that they tossed from one to another like a bright ball: of sea monsters and sea fights and voyages whole moons out of sight of land. One man, it seemed, had sailed half the world over in search of a magical golden fleece, and had the most incredible adventures on the way; while Aristobulo himself told of birds with heads like beautiful women, whose sweet singing lured seamen to their deaths.
‘I suppose,’ said Aristobulo, looking round at his comrades and from them to Beric—‘I do suppose as I am the only man save one that has heard that song and lived. It was this way. Ye see, the Captain I was serving with—not Phanes—was a very wily man, and when he knew that we were drawing near to the island where these Sirens sing, he gave orders that all of us were to stop our ears with beeswax, that we might not hear, while he was bound to the mast and his ears left free, so that he might hear the song but not go to it. So it was
done, and we held to our course, and by and by we sees the island in the distance, and then we sees by the Captain’s face that he’s begun to hear the song. Lit up, it did, like as if he saw his heart’s desire before him. And then he began to struggle to get free of his bonds, but they was too surely tied; pull and strain at them, he did, and we could see him crying out to us to untie him, but a’ course we couldn’t hear nothing. Presently we come close alongside the island: little and low it was, and flowery, and there on it stood the three Sirens, like great birds, and their heads as the heads of women with long golden hair. And all among the little bright flowers there was bones a-lying—the bleached white bones of sailor men! Now the beeswax in my left ear weren’t stuffed home as surely as it should a’ been, and suddenly a trickle of the song that the Sirens were singing got through—faint like the sea in a shell, it was, but ’twas enough! I pulls out the bit of wax, and the song comes flooding in, so sweet as never mortal song in this world, and up I jumps to fling myself overboard and go to it, for I hadn’t got no choice. But my mate sees what’s in the wind, and he ups with his fist and catches me such a blow under the ear that I goes out like a candle. And the next thing I know, the island is only a shadow in our wake, and the Captain sitting on the deck and sobbing like a babe.’ Aristobulo wagged his head sadly. ‘But there’s times when I wish I’d never heard that song: comes between me and my vittles, now and again, it do.’
‘But not to-night, eh, lad?’ said the barrel-chested man, with an eye on the cheese, and there was a general laugh; and another man put in: ‘Talking of cheese—that minds me of the time …’
So it went on. And as Beric listened, gradually the little warning hammer beat softer and softer yet; and ceased to beat at all.
Presently Phanes lounged to his feet, stretching until the little muscles cracked behind his shoulders. ‘Time we got back to the ship, lads,’ he said. ‘Herope and Castor will be growing tired of being left in sole charge of the live-stock.’
‘What live-stock is that?’ Beric asked his new friend curiously, as they all struggled to their feet.
‘Only a few leash of hunting dogs being shipped to Rome, and some poultry for the voyage. The hounds fight if they get a chance,’ said Aristobulo.
The men who were nearest to them, and caught his words, glanced at each other with
He thrust the doubt away as base ingratitude to Aristobulo, who had been friendly to him in this town of strangers. And then Aristobulo himself, who had been deep in argument with a barrel-chested man beside him, turned to draw Beric into the talk. Wonderful talk it was, too, when they changed their tongue for his benefit and he could understand it—shining talk that they tossed from one to another like a bright ball: of sea monsters and sea fights and voyages whole moons out of sight of land. One man, it seemed, had sailed half the world over in search of a magical golden fleece, and had the most incredible adventures on the way; while Aristobulo himself told of birds with heads like beautiful women, whose sweet singing lured seamen to their deaths.
‘I suppose,’ said Aristobulo, looking round at his comrades and from them to Beric—‘I do suppose as I am the only man save one that has heard that song and lived. It was this way. Ye see, the Captain I was serving with—not Phanes—was a very wily man, and when he knew that we were drawing near to the island where these Sirens sing, he gave orders that all of us were to stop our ears with beeswax, that we might not hear, while he was bound to the mast and his ears left free, so that he might hear the song but not go to it. So it was
done, and we held to our course, and by and by we sees the island in the distance, and then we sees by the Captain’s face that he’s begun to hear the song. Lit up, it did, like as if he saw his heart’s desire before him. And then he began to struggle to get free of his bonds, but they was too surely tied; pull and strain at them, he did, and we could see him crying out to us to untie him, but a’ course we couldn’t hear nothing. Presently we come close alongside the island: little and low it was, and flowery, and there on it stood the three Sirens, like great birds, and their heads as the heads of women with long golden hair. And all among the little bright flowers there was bones a-lying—the bleached white bones of sailor men! Now the beeswax in my left ear weren’t stuffed home as surely as it should a’ been, and suddenly a trickle of the song that the Sirens were singing got through—faint like the sea in a shell, it was, but ’twas enough! I pulls out the bit of wax, and the song comes flooding in, so sweet as never mortal song in this world, and up I jumps to fling myself overboard and go to it, for I hadn’t got no choice. But my mate sees what’s in the wind, and he ups with his fist and catches me such a blow under the ear that I goes out like a candle. And the next thing I know, the island is only a shadow in our wake, and the Captain sitting on the deck and sobbing like a babe.’ Aristobulo wagged his head sadly. ‘But there’s times when I wish I’d never heard that song: comes between me and my vittles, now and again, it do.’
‘But not to-night, eh, lad?’ said the barrel-chested man, with an eye on the cheese, and there was a general laugh; and another man put in: ‘Talking of cheese—that minds me of the time …’
So it went on. And as Beric listened, gradually the little warning hammer beat softer and softer yet; and ceased to beat at all.
Presently Phanes lounged to his feet, stretching until the little muscles cracked behind his shoulders. ‘Time we got back to the ship, lads,’ he said. ‘Herope and Castor will be growing tired of being left in sole charge of the live-stock.’
‘What live-stock is that?’ Beric asked his new friend curiously, as they all struggled to their feet.
‘Only a few leash of hunting dogs being shipped to Rome, and some poultry for the voyage. The hounds fight if they get a chance,’ said Aristobulo.
The men who were nearest to them, and caught his words, glanced at each other with
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