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Authors: Donald Smith
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though, we need to ask you some questions.”
Harry told Comet Elijah about the murders, including the peculiar poses of the bodies.
Blinn said, “It looks like it happened during the storm that came through here three nights ago. Where were you, exactly?”
“I went into my longhouse when the storm came up.” He pointed in the direction of his ragged home. “It was right around dark.”
“Did you see anyone?” said Harry. “Any travelers coming through here?”
“Now that I recollect, I heard hoof beats later in the night. Somebody riding by fast. The rain had stopped, but the wind was still blowing. Yes, I am sure I heard a horse. It went by too fast for me to hear what they were thinking.”
“They?” said Blinn.
“The man and the horse.”
Harry said, “Do you remember the direction the sound was coming from? Where they might have been headed?”
Comet Elijah made a pass through the air with a withered hand, signaling no. “I was under my blanket, trying to keep the rain off. But I may as well not have bothered. I was getting soaked. That night was not a nice time for me. We can talk more about it later on, if you’d like.”
Harry looked back toward the ruined camp, then at the pot of uncooked chicken.
“This is no way to live. You need to come and stay at my place. You and Noah here would make fine barn mates.” He introduced Noah and briefly told his story, how he had been left homeless by the murder of the Campbells.
“There’s plenty room in the barn,” Noah agreed. “It’s better even than a tavern. You can have your own pile of hay.”
“That’s a fine offer, but I want to spend a few more days in the woods.” He looked around. “Every one of these trees is an old friend. I see many have wounds from people draining off their life’s blood.”
“What about the Giant Head?” Blinn asked in a mocking tone. “Aren’t you afeared of getting gobbled up?”
“I may need to battle a monster tonight,” Comet Elijah said, nodding. “My ancestors would expect me to put up a good fight.” Giving it another moment of thought, he added with a sly grin, “Might do my ótkwareh some good, too.”
CHAPTER 7
57: In walking up and Down in a House, only with One in Company if he be Greater than yourself, at ye first give him ye Right hand and Stop not till he does and be not ye first that turns, and when you do turn let it be with your face towards him, if he be a Man of Great Quality, walk not with him Cheek by Joul but Somewhat behind him; but yet in Such a Manner that he may easily Speak to you.
—R ULES OF C IVILITY
VAPORS FROM A SIMMERING POT GREETED HARRY AND NOAH AT Natty’s house. It was well past midday. Blinn had started back to town to report to the sheriff the discovery of the old Indian. Natty was notat home, but judging from the stew’s rich and nearly done appearance, Harry reckoned he was not far away.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” said Noah, his eyes wandering around the dark interior. “It looks like something that grew out of the ground.”
The way Harry had it figured, Natty so missed his former life in the Albemarle, where the dividing line between outdoors and indoors was sometimes vague, that he tried to remake it here. Over time the house had taken on a wild, shaggy look, more like a dwelling in the man’s swampy homeland to the north. Thick garlands of hanging moss covered the walls inside and out. Their curling, dried-out tendrils gave the place a feeling of year-round autumn in another world. Worked into the moss were animal parts: snakeskins, antlers, turtle shells, bear and panther bones, and some other smaller, less easily identified objects, including one about the size of an apple that looked eerily like a jawless human skull.
Harry said, “Natty wanted his own place away from the main house, away from Mother, who can be a thorn in the side at times. My house is even farther away, near the edge of our family’s property.”
As
Harry told Comet Elijah about the murders, including the peculiar poses of the bodies.
Blinn said, “It looks like it happened during the storm that came through here three nights ago. Where were you, exactly?”
“I went into my longhouse when the storm came up.” He pointed in the direction of his ragged home. “It was right around dark.”
“Did you see anyone?” said Harry. “Any travelers coming through here?”
“Now that I recollect, I heard hoof beats later in the night. Somebody riding by fast. The rain had stopped, but the wind was still blowing. Yes, I am sure I heard a horse. It went by too fast for me to hear what they were thinking.”
“They?” said Blinn.
“The man and the horse.”
Harry said, “Do you remember the direction the sound was coming from? Where they might have been headed?”
Comet Elijah made a pass through the air with a withered hand, signaling no. “I was under my blanket, trying to keep the rain off. But I may as well not have bothered. I was getting soaked. That night was not a nice time for me. We can talk more about it later on, if you’d like.”
Harry looked back toward the ruined camp, then at the pot of uncooked chicken.
“This is no way to live. You need to come and stay at my place. You and Noah here would make fine barn mates.” He introduced Noah and briefly told his story, how he had been left homeless by the murder of the Campbells.
“There’s plenty room in the barn,” Noah agreed. “It’s better even than a tavern. You can have your own pile of hay.”
“That’s a fine offer, but I want to spend a few more days in the woods.” He looked around. “Every one of these trees is an old friend. I see many have wounds from people draining off their life’s blood.”
“What about the Giant Head?” Blinn asked in a mocking tone. “Aren’t you afeared of getting gobbled up?”
“I may need to battle a monster tonight,” Comet Elijah said, nodding. “My ancestors would expect me to put up a good fight.” Giving it another moment of thought, he added with a sly grin, “Might do my ótkwareh some good, too.”
CHAPTER 7
57: In walking up and Down in a House, only with One in Company if he be Greater than yourself, at ye first give him ye Right hand and Stop not till he does and be not ye first that turns, and when you do turn let it be with your face towards him, if he be a Man of Great Quality, walk not with him Cheek by Joul but Somewhat behind him; but yet in Such a Manner that he may easily Speak to you.
—R ULES OF C IVILITY
VAPORS FROM A SIMMERING POT GREETED HARRY AND NOAH AT Natty’s house. It was well past midday. Blinn had started back to town to report to the sheriff the discovery of the old Indian. Natty was notat home, but judging from the stew’s rich and nearly done appearance, Harry reckoned he was not far away.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” said Noah, his eyes wandering around the dark interior. “It looks like something that grew out of the ground.”
The way Harry had it figured, Natty so missed his former life in the Albemarle, where the dividing line between outdoors and indoors was sometimes vague, that he tried to remake it here. Over time the house had taken on a wild, shaggy look, more like a dwelling in the man’s swampy homeland to the north. Thick garlands of hanging moss covered the walls inside and out. Their curling, dried-out tendrils gave the place a feeling of year-round autumn in another world. Worked into the moss were animal parts: snakeskins, antlers, turtle shells, bear and panther bones, and some other smaller, less easily identified objects, including one about the size of an apple that looked eerily like a jawless human skull.
Harry said, “Natty wanted his own place away from the main house, away from Mother, who can be a thorn in the side at times. My house is even farther away, near the edge of our family’s property.”
As
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