by G. A. Henty
CHAPTER VII: DEFEAT OF THE BRITONS
London was but a heap of ashes when Beric arrived there. It hadbeen a trading place rather than a town. Here were no Roman housesor temples with their massive stone work; it consisted only of alarge collection of wooden structures, inhabited by merchants andtraders. It lay upon a knoll rising above the low swampy groundcovered by the sea at high water, for not till long afterwards didthe Romans erect the banks that dammed back the waters and confinedthem within their regular channel. The opposite shore was similarlycovered with water at high tide, and forests extended as far as theeye could reach. London, in fact, occupied what was at high watera peninsula, connected with the mainland only by a shoulder extendingback to the hills beyond it, and separated by a deep channel onthe west from a similar promontory.
It was a position that, properly fortified by strong walls acrossthe isthmus, could have been held against a host, but the Romanshad not as yet taken it in hand; later, however, they recognizedthe importance of the position, and made it one of the chief seatsof their power. Even in the three days that he had been absentBeric found that the host had considerably increased. The tribesof Sussex and Kent, as they heard of the approach of the army, hadflocked in to join it, and to share in the plunder of London.
Another day was spent in feasting and rejoicing, and then the armymoved northward. It consisted now of well nigh two hundred thousandfighting men, and a vast crowd of women, with a huge train ofwagons. Two days later, news reached them of the spot where Suetoniushad taken up his position and was awaiting their attack, and thearmy at once pressed forward in that direction. At nightfall theybivouacked two miles away from it, and Beric, taking Boduoc withhim, went forward to examine it. It was at a point where a valleyopened into the plain; the sides of the valley were steep andthickly wooded, and it was only in front that an attack could wellbe delivered.
"What think you of it, Beric?" Boduoc asked.
"Suetonius relies upon our folly," Beric said; "he is sure thatwe shall advance upon him as a tumultous mob, and as but a smallportion can act at once our numbers will count but little. Theposition would be a bad one had we any skill or forethought. WereI commander tomorrow I should, before advancing to the attack, senda great number round on either side to make their way through thewoods, and so to attack on both flanks, and to pour down the valleyin their rear, at the same time that the main body attacked in thefront. Then the position would be a fatal one; attacked in frontand rear and overwhelmed by darts from the woods on the flanks,their position would be well nigh desperate, and not a man shouldescape."
"But we must overwhelm them," Boduoc said. "What can ten thousandmen do against a host like ours?"
"It may be so, Boduoc. Yet I feel by no means sure of it. Atany rate we must prepare for defeat as well as victory. If we arebeaten the cause of Britain will be lost. As we advance withoutorder we shall fly without order, and the tribes will disperse totheir homes even more quickly than they have gathered. Of one thingyou may be sure, the Roman vengeance will be terrible. We havebrought disgrace and defeat upon them. We have destroyed theirchief cities. We have massacred tens of thousands. No mercy willbe shown us, and chiefly will their vengeance fall upon the Iceni.When we return to the camp, go among the men and ask them whetherthey mean to fight tomorrow as they fought Cerealis, or whetherthey will fight in the fashion of the rest. I fear that, wild asall are with enthusiasm and the assurance of victory, they willnot consent to be kept in reserve, but will be eager to be in thefront of the attack. I will go with you, and will do my best topersuade them; but if they insist on fighting in their own way, thenwe will go to them one by one, and will form if we can a body, ifonly a hundred strong, to keep, and if needs be, retreat together.In speed we can outrun the heavy armed Roman soldiers with ease,but their cavalry will scour the plain. Keeping together, however,we can repel these with our lances, and make good our escape. Wewill first make for home, load ourselves with grain, and drivingcattle before us, and taking our women and children, make for theswamps that lie to the northwest of our limits. There we can defendourselves against the Romans for any length of time."
"You speak as if defeat were certain," Boduoc said reproachfully.
"Not at all, Boduoc; a prudent man prepares for either fortune, itis only the fool that looks upon one side only. I hope for victory,but I prepare for defeat; those who like to return to their homesand remain there to be slaughtered by the Romans, can do so. Iintend to fight to the last."
Upon rejoining the Sarci, Beric called them together, and asked themwhether they wished on the following day to rush into the battle,or to remain in solid order in reserve. The reply was, that theywished for their share of glory, and that did they hold aloofuntil the battle was done and the enemy annihilated they would bepointed out as men who had feared to take their share in the combat.When the meeting had dispersed Beric and Boduoc went among them;they said nothing about the advantage that holding together wouldbe in case of defeat, but pointed out the honour they had gained bydeciding the issue of the last battle, and begged them to remain ina solid body, so that possibly they might again decide the battle.As to disgrace, they had already shown how well they could fight,and that none could say that fear had influenced their decision.Altogether two hundred agreed to retain their ranks, and with thisBeric was satisfied. He then went off to find his mother, who wasas usual with the queen. She would not hear of any possibility ofdefeat.
"What!" she said. "Are Britons so poor and unmanly a race, that evenwhen twenty to one they cannot conquer a foe? I would not believeit of them."
"I don't expect it, mother, but it is best to be prepared forwhatever may happen." He then told her of the arrangements he hadmade.
"You may be right, Beric, in preparing for the worst, but Iwill take no part in it. The queen has sworn she will not survivedefeat, nor shall I. I will not live to see my country bound inRoman chains. A free woman I have lived, and a free woman I willdie, and shall gladly quit this troubled life for the shores ofthe Happy Island."
Beric was silent for a minute. "I do not seek to alter yourdetermination, mother, but as for myself, so long as I can lifta sword I shall continue to struggle against the Romans. We shallnot meet tomorrow; when the battle once begins all will be confusion,and there would be no finding each other in this vast crowd. Ifvictory is ours, we shall meet afterwards; if defeat, I shall makefor Cardun, where, if you change your mind, I shall hope to meetyou, and then shall march with those who will for the swamps ofEly, where doubtless large numbers of fugitives will gather, forunless the Romans drive their causeways into its very heart theycan scarce penetrate in any other way."
So sure were the Britons of victory that no council was held thatnight. There were the enemy, they had only to rush upon and destroythem. Returning to his men, Beric met Aska.
"I have just been over to your camp to see you, Beric. I have talkedwith Boduoc, who told me frankly that you did not share the generalassurance of an easy victory. Nor do I, after what I saw the otherday--how we dashed vainly against the Roman line. He tells me thatyour men, save a small party, have determined to fight tomorrow inthe front line with the rest, and I lament over it."
"It would make no difference in the result," Beric said; "in sogreat a mass as this we should be lost, and even if we could makeour way to the front, and fall upon the Romans in a solid body, ournumbers are too small to decide the issue; but at least we might,had the day gone against us, have drawn off in good order."
"I will take my station with you," Aska said; "I have, as all theIceni know, been a great fighter in my time; but I will leave itto the younger men tomorrow to win this battle. My authority mayaid yours, and methinks that if we win tomorrow, none can say thatyou were wrong to stand aloof from the first charge, if Aska stoodbeside you."
Thanking the chief warmly for the promise, Beric returned to theSarci. Feasting was kept up all night, and at daybreak the Britonswere on foot, and forming in their tribes advanced within halfa mile of th
e Roman position. Then they halted, and Boadicea withher daughters and the chiefs moved along their front exhortingthem to great deeds, recalling to them the oppression and tyrannyof the Romans, and the indignity that they had inflicted upon herand her daughters; and her addresses were answered by loud shoutsfrom the tribesmen. In the meantime the wagons had moved out anddrew up in a vast semicircle behind the troops, so as to enablethe women who crowded them to get a view of the victory. So greatwas the following that the wagons were ranged four or five deep.Beric had drawn up the men who had agreed to fight in order, in asolid mass in front of the tribe. He was nearly on the extreme leftof the British position. Aska had taken his place by his side. Hismother, as in her chariot she passed along behind Boadicea, wavedher hand to him, and then pointed towards the Romans.
"Look, Aska," he said presently; "do you see that deep line ofwagons forming all round us? In case of disaster they will blockup the retreat. A madness has seized our people. One would thinkthat this was a strife of gladiators at Rome rather than a battlebetween two nations. There will be no retreat that way for us ifdisaster comes. We must make off between the horn of the crescentand the Romans. It is there only we can draw off in a body."
"That is so, Beric," the chief said; "but see! the queen has reachedthe end of the lines, and waves her spear as a signal."
A thundering shout arose, mingled with the shrill cries ofencouragement from the women, and then like a torrent the Britonsrushed to the attack in confused masses, each tribe striving tobe first to attack the Romans. The Sarci from behind the companyjoined in the rush, and there was confusion in the ranks, many ofthe men being carried away by the enthusiasm; but the shouts andexhortations of Beric, Aska, and Boduoc steadied them again, andin regular order they marched after the host. In five minutes theuproar of battle swelled high in front. Beric marched up the valleyuntil he arrived at the rear of the great mass of men who wereswarming in front of the Roman line, each man striving to get tothe front to hurl his dart and join in the struggle. The Romans haddrawn up twelve deep across the valley, the heavy armed spearmenin front, the lighter troops behind, the latter replying with theirmissiles to the storm of darts that the Britons poured upon them.With desperate efforts the assailants strove to break through thehedge of spears; their bravest flung themselves upon the Romanweapons and died there, striving in vain to break the line.
For hours the fight continued, but the Roman wall remained unbroken andimmovable. Fresh combatants had taken the place of those in frontuntil all had exhausted their store of javelins. In vain the chiefsattempted to induce their followers to gather thickly together andto make a rush; the din was too great for their voices to be heard,and the tribesmen were half mad with fury at the failure of theirown efforts to break the Roman line. Beric strove many times tobring up his company in a mass through the crowd to the front. Thepressure was too great, none would give way where all sought toget near their foes, and rather than break them up he remained inthe rear in spite of the eager cries of the men to be allowed tobreak up and push their way singly forward.
"What can you do alone," he shouted to them, "more than the othersare doing? Together and in order we might succeed, broken we shouldbe useless. If this huge army cannot break their line, what couldtwo hundred men do?" At last, as the storm of javelins beganto dwindle, a mighty shout rose from the Romans, and shoulder toshoulder with levelled spears they advanced, while the flanks givingway, the cavalry burst out on both sides and fell upon the Britons.For those in front, pressed by the mass behind them, there wasno falling back, they fell as they stood under the Roman spears.Stubbornly for a time the tribesmen fought with sword and target;but as the line pressed forward, and the horsemen cut their waythrough the struggling mass, a panic began to seize them.
The tribes longest conquered by the Romans first gave way, and themovement rapidly spread. Many for some time desperately opposedthe advance of the Romans, whose triumphant shouts rose loudly; butgradually these melted away, and the vast crowd of warriors becamea mob of fugitives, the Romans pressing hotly with cries of victoryand vengeance upon their rear. Beric's little band was swept awaylike foam before the wave of fugitives. For a time it attempted tostem the current; but when Beric saw that this was in vain he shoutedto his tribesmen to keep in a close body and to press towards theleft, which was comparatively free. Fortunately the Roman horsehad plunged in more towards the centre, and the ground was openfor their retreat.
Thousands of flying men were making towards the rear, but witha great effort they succeeded in crossing the tide of fugitives,and in passing through outside the semicircle of wagons. Here theyhalted for a moment while Beric, climbing on the end wagon, surveyedthe scene. There was no longer any resistance among the Britons.The great semicircle within the line of wagons was crowded by athrong of fugitives behind whom, at a run now, the Roman legionswere advancing, maintaining their order even at that rapid pace.Outside the sweep of wagons women with cries of terror were flyingin all directions, and the horses, alarmed by the din, were plungingand struggling, while their drivers vainly endeavoured to extricatethem from the close line of vehicles.
"All is lost for the present," he said to Aska, "let us make forthe north; it is useless to delay, men; to try to fight would be tothrow away our lives uselessly, we shall do more good by preservingthem to fight upon another day. Keep closely together, we shallhave the Roman cavalry upon us before long, and only by holding toour ranks can we hope to repel them."
Many of the women from the nearest wagons rushed in among the men,and, placing them in their centre, the band went off at a steady trot,which they could maintain for hours. The din behind was terrible,the shouts of the Romans mingled with the cries of the Britonsand the loud shrieks of women. The plain was already thick withfugitives, consisting either of women from the outside wagons ormen who had made their way through the mass of struggling animals.Here and there chariots were dashing across the plain at full gallop.Looking back from a rise of the ground a mile from the battlefield,they saw a few parties of the Roman horse scouring the plain; butthe main body were scattered round the confused mass by the wagons.
"There will be but few escape," Aska said, throwing up his armsin despair; "the wagons have proved a death trap; had it not beenfor them the army would have scattered all over the country, andthough the Roman horse might have cut down many, the greater numberwould have gained the woods and escaped; but the wagons held themjust as a thin line of men will hold the wolves till the huntersarrive and hem them in."
The carts crowded with women, the plunging horses in lines threeor four deep had indeed checked the first fugitives; then came theothers crowding in upon them, and then before a gap wide enough tolet them through could be forced, the Roman horse were round andupon them.
The pause that Beric made had been momentary, and the band kepton at their rapid pace until the woods were reached, and they weresafe from pursuit; then, as they halted, they gave way to theirsorrow and anguish. Some threw themselves down and lay motionless;others walked up and down with wild gestures; some broke intoimprecations against the gods who had deserted them. Some calleddespairingly the names of wives and daughters who had been amongthe spectators in that fatal line of wagons. The women sat in agroup weeping; none of them belonged to the Iceni, and their kinsfolkand friends had, as they believed, all perished in the fight.
"Think you that the queen has fallen?" Aska asked Beric.
"She may have made her way out," Beric said; "we saw chariotsdriving across the plain. She would be carried back by the firstfugitives, and it may be that they managed to clear a way throughthe wagons for her and those with her. If she is alive, doubtlessmy mother is by her side."
"If the queen has escaped," Aska said, "it will be but to die byher own hand instead of by that of the Romans. I am sure that shewill not survive this day. There is nothing else left for her,her tribe is destroyed, her country lost, herself insulted andhumiliated. Boadicea would never demand her life from the Romans."
> "My mother will certainly die with her," Beric said, "and I shouldsay that all her party will willingly share her fate. For the chiefsand leaders there will be no mercy, and for a time doubtless allwill be slaughtered who fall into the Roman hands; but after atime the sword will be stayed, for the land will be useless to themwithout men to cultivate it, and when the Roman hands are tiredof slaying, policy will prevail. It were best to speak to the men,Aska, for us to be moving on; will you address them?"
The old chief moved towards the men, and raising his hand, calledthem to him. At first but few obeyed the summons, but as he proceededthey roused themselves and gathered round him, for his reputationin the tribe was great, and the assured tone in which he spokerevived their spirits.
"Men of the Sarci," he said, "this is no time for wailingor lamentation; the gods of Britain have deserted us, but of thisterrible day's defeat none of the disgrace rests upon you. Thehonour of the victories we won was yours, and though but a smallsubtribe, the name of the Sarci rang through Britain as that ofthe bravest in the land. Had all of your tribe obeyed their youngchief and fought together today as they have fought before, it maybe that the defeat would have been averted; but you stood firmlyby him when the others fell away, and you stand here without theloss of a man, safe in the forest and ready to meet the Roman again.You are fortunate in having such a leader. I may tell you that hadhis counsel prevailed you would not now be mourning a defeat. I,an old chief with long years of experience, believed what he said,young though he is, and saw that to fight in a confused multitudeon such a field was to court almost certain defeat.
"Thus then I placed myself by his side, relying upon his skillin arms and your bravery, and throwing my fortune in with yours.I was not mistaken. Had you not firmly kept together and followedhis instructions you too would have been inclosed in that vastthrong of fugitives hemmed in among the wagons, slaughtered by theRoman footmen in their rear and cut down by their horse if theybroke through the line of wagons. You may ask what is there tolive for; you may say that the cause of Britain is lost, that yourtribe is well nigh destroyed, that many of you have lost your wivesand families as well. All this is true, but yet, men, all is notlost. Great as may have been the slaughter, large numbers must haveescaped, and many of you have still wives and families at home.Before aught else is thought of these must be taken to a place ofsafety until the first outburst of Roman vengeance has passed.
"Had Beric been the sole leader of the Britons from the first therewould be no need of fearing their vengeance, for in that case noneof their women and children would have been slain, and they wouldbe now in our hands as hostages; but that is past. I say it onlyto show you how wise and far seeing as well as how brave a leaderin battle is this young chief of yours. While all others weredreaming only of an easy victory over the Romans he and I have beenpreparing for what had best be done in case of defeat. To returnto your homes would be but to court death, and if we are to dieat the hands of the Romans it is best that we should die fightingthem to the end. We have therefore arranged that we will seek arefuge in the Fen country that forms the western boundary of theland of the Iceni; there we can find strongholds into which theRomans can never force their way; thence we can sally out, and inturn take vengeance. There will rally round you hundreds of otherbrave men till we grow to a force that may again make head againstthe Romans. There at least we shall live as free men and die asfree men."
A shout of approval broke from the men.
"You need not starve," Aska went on. "The rivers abound with fishand the swamps with waterfowl. There are islands among the swampswhere the land is dry, and we can construct huts. Three days since,when he foresaw that it might be that a refuge would be needed,Beric despatched a messenger home with orders that a herd of threehundred cattle and another of as many swine should be driven to thespot near the swamps for which we propose to make, and they willthere be found awaiting you."
There was again a chorus of approval, and one of the men steppingforward said, "Beric is young, but he is a great chief. We willfollow him wherever he will take us, and will swear to be faithfuland obedient to him." Every man raised his right arm towards thesky, and with a loud shout swore to be faithful to Beric.
"You are right," Aska said. "It is of no use to obey a chief onlywhen ranged in battle; it is that which has ruined our country.There is nothing slavish in recognizing that one man must rule,and in obeying when obedience is necessary for the sake of all. Asone body led by one mind you may do much; as two hundred men swayedby two hundred minds you will do nothing. I shall be with Beric,and my experience may be of aid to him. And if I, a chief of highstanding among the Iceni, am well content to recognize in him theleader of our party, you may well do the same. Now, Beric, stepforward and say what is next to be done."
"I thank you," Beric said when the shout of acclamation that greetedhim when he stepped forward had subsided, "for the oath you havesworn to be faithful to me. I pretend not to more wisdom thanothers, and feel that in the presence of one so full of years andexperience as Aska it is a presumption for one of my age to givean opinion; but in one respect I know that I am more fitted thanothers to lead you. I have studied the records of the Romans, oftheir wars with the Gauls and other peoples, and I know that theirgreatest trouble was not in defeating armies in the field but ofovercoming the resistance of those who took refuge in fastnessesand harassed them continually by sorties and attacks. I know wherethe Romans are strong and where they are weak; and it is by the aidof such knowledge that I hope that we may long retain our freedom,and may even in time become so formidable that we may be able towin terms not only for ourselves but for our countrymen.
"The first step is to gather at our place of refuge those belongingto us. Therefore do you choose among yourselves twenty swift runnersand send them to our villages, bidding the wives and families ofall here to leave their homes at once, taking only such gear as theycan carry lightly, and to make with all speed for Soto, a villagein the district of the Baci, and but a mile or two from the edgeof the great swamp country. It is there that the herds have beendriven, and there they will find a party ready to escort them. Letall the other women and children be advised to quit their homesalso, and to travel north together with the old men and boys. Bidthe latter drive the herds before them. It may be months beforethey can return to their homes. It were best that they should passaltogether beyond the district of our people, for it is upon theIceni that the vengeance of the Romans will chiefly fall. By presentsof cattle they can purchase an asylum among the Brigantes, and hadbest remain there till they hear that Roman vengeance is satisfied.
"Let them as they journey north advise all the people in ourvillages to follow their example. Let those who will not do thistake shelter in the hearts of the forests. To our own people myorders are distinct: no herd, either of cattle or swine, is to beleft behind. Let the Romans find a desert where they can gatherno food; let the houses be burnt, together with all crops thathave been gathered. Warn all that there must be no delay. Let theboys and old men start within five minutes from the time that youdeliver my message, to gather the herds and drive them north. Letthe women call their children round them, take up their babes, makea bundle of their garments, and pile upon a wagon cooking pots andsuch things as are most needed, and then set fire to their housesand stacks and granaries and go. Warn them that even the delay ofan hour may be fatal, for that the Roman cavalry will be spreadinglike a river in flood over the country. Beg them to leave the beatentracks and journey through the woods, both those who go north andthose who will meet us at Soto. Quick! choose the messengers; andsuch of you as choose had best hand to the one who is bound for hisvillage a ring or a bracelet, or some token that your wives willrecognize, so that they may know that the order comes from you."
Twenty young men were at once chosen, and Boduoc and two of theolder men divided the district of the Sarci among them, allottingto each the hamlets they should visit. As soon as this was decidedthe rest of the band gave the messengers th
eir tokens to theirfamilies, and then the runners started at a trot which they couldmaintain for many hours. The rest of the band then struck off inthe direction in which they were bound. With only an occasionalhalf hour for food and a few hours at night for sleep they pressednorthward. Fast as they went the news of the disaster had precededthem, carried by fugitives from the battle.
At each hamlet through which they passed, Aska repeated the advicethat had been sent to the Iceni. "Abandon your homes, drive theswine and the cattle before you, take to the forests, journey farnorth, and seek refuge among the Brigantes. A rallying place forfighting men will be found at Soto, on the edge of the great swamps;let all who can bear arms and love freedom better than servitudeor death gather there."
Upon the march swine were taken and killed for food withouthesitation. Many were found straying in the woods untended, theherdsmen having fled in dismay when the news of the defeat reachedthem. As yet the full extent of the disaster was unknown. Some ofthe fugitives had reported that scarce a man had escaped; but thevery number of fugitives who had preceded the band showed that thiswas an exaggeration. But it was not until long afterwards that thetruth was known. Of the great multitude, estimated at two hundredand thirty thousand, fully a third had fallen, among whom werealmost all the women and children whose presence on the battlefieldhad proved so fatal, and of whom scarce one had been able toescape; for the Romans, infuriated by the massacres at Camalodunum,Verulamium, and London had spared neither age nor sex.
On their arrival at Soto they obtained for the first time news ofthe queen. A chief of one of the northern subtribes of the Icenihad driven through on his chariot and had told the headman of thehamlet that he had been one of the few who had accompanied Boadiceain her flight.
At the call of the queen, he said, the men threw themselves onthe line of wagons in such number and force that a breach was madethrough them, horses and wagons being overthrown and dragged bodilyaside. The chariot with the queen and her two daughters passedthrough, with four others containing the ladies who accompaniedher. Three or four chiefs also passed through in their chariots,and then the breach was filled by the struggling multitude, thatpoured out like a torrent. The chariots were well away before theRoman horse swept round the wagons, and travelled without pursuitto a forest twenty miles away. As soon as they reached this thequeen ordered the charioteers to dig graves, and then calling uponthe god of her country to avenge her, she and her daughters andthe ladies with them had all drunk poison, brewed from berries thatthey gathered in the wood. The chiefs would have done so also, butthe queen forbade them.
"It is for you," she said, "to look after your people, and to wagewar with Rome to the last. We need but two men to lay us in ourgraves and spread the sods over us; so that after death at leastwe shall be safe from further dishonour at the hands of the Romans."
When they had drunk the poison the men were ordered to leave themfor an hour and then to return. When they did so the ladies wereall dead, lying in a circle round Boadicea. They were buried inthe shallow holes that had been dug, the turf replaced, and deadleaves scattered over the spot, so that no Roman should ever knowwhere the queen of the Iceni and her daughters slept.
Although Beric had given up all hope of again seeing his motheralive, the news of her death was a terrible blow to him, and hewept unrestrainedly until Aska placed a hand on his shoulder. "Youmust not give way to sorrow, Beric. You have her people to look to.She has gone to the Green Island, where she will dwell in happiness,and where your father has been long expecting her. It is not at adeath that we Britons weep, knowing as we do that those that havegone are to be envied. Arouse yourself! there is much to be done.The cattle will probably be here in the morning. We have to questionthe people here as to the great swamps, and get them to send to theFen people for guides who will lead us across the marshes to somespot where we can dwell above the level of the highest waters."
Beric put aside his private grief for the time, and several of thenatives of the village who were accustomed to penetrate the swampsin search of game were collected and questioned as to the country.None, however, could give much useful information. There was alarge river that ran through it, with innumerable smaller streamsthat wandered here and there. None had penetrated far beyond themargin, partly because they were afraid of losing their way, partlybecause of the enmity of the Fen people.
These were of a different race to themselves, and were a remnantof those whom the Iceni had driven out of their country, and who,instead of going west, had taken refuge in the swamps, whither theinvaders had neither the power nor inclination to follow them.
"It is strange," Aska said, "that just as they fled before uscenturies ago, so we have now to fly before the Romans. Still, asthey have maintained themselves there, so may we. But it will benecessary that we should try and secure the goodwill of these peopleand assure them that we do not come among them as foes."
"There is no quarrel between us now," the headman of the hamletsaid. "There has not been for many generations. They know that wedo not seek to molest them, while they are not strong enough tomolest us. There is trade between all the hamlets near the swampsand their people; they bring fish and wildfowl, and baskets whichthey weave out of rushes, and sell to us in exchange for wovencloth, for garments, and sometimes for swine which they keep uponsome of their islands.
"It is always they who come to us, we go not to them. They arejealous of our entering their country, and men who go too far insearch of game have often been shot at by invisible foes. They takecare that their arrows don't strike, but shoot only as a warning thatwe must go no farther. Sometimes some foolhardy men have declaredthat they will go where they like in spite of the Fenmen, and theyhave gone, but they have never returned. When we have asked themen who come in to trade what has become of them they say 'they donot know, most likely they had lost their way and died miserably,or fallen into a swamp and perished there;' and as the men havecertainly lost their lives through their own obstinacy nothing canbe done."
"Then some of these men speak our tongue, I suppose?" Aska said.
"Yes, the men who come are generally the same, and these mostlyspeak a little of our language. From time to time some of ourmaidens have taken a fancy to these Fenmen, and in spite of all theirfriends could do have gone off. None of these have ever returned,though messages have been brought saying they were well. We thinkthat the men who do the trading are the children of women who wentto live among them years ago."
"Then it is through one of these men that we must open communicationswith them," Aska said.
"Some of them are here almost daily. No one has been today, andtherefore we may expect one tomorrow morning. This is one of thechief places of trade with them. The women of the hamlets roundbring here the cloth they have woven to exchange it for theirgoods, others from beyond them do the same, so that from all thispart of the district goods are brought in here, while the fish andbaskets of the Fenmen go far and wide."