Chapter 27

But I soon had sterner duties to face. Pennekuk, in fact, appeared before our temple and none too humbly demanded sight of Ota, apparently to reassure himself as to her safety. And when she appeared before him, betraying no evidence of unhappiness, he drew closer and began pouring whispered messages into her ear. “I don’t altogether like the looks of that sour-faced young buck,” asserted Pareso as Ota’s brother retreated from the concourse, the sunlight glinting on his long spear-head and the bow strapped close to …