“Speak of Bennett,” Bigfellow asked, for he, like the others who came and went,
whatever the camp which had sent them on Downeblow, had passed through the human
camp, had known Bennett Jacint; and there had been great mourning in the Upabove
when the news of Bennett’s death had come to them.
“I speak,” Satin said, for she, newest here, had the telling of this tale, among
tales that the hisa told in this place, and she warmed quickly to the story.
Every evening since their coming, the talk had not been of the small doings of
the hisa, whose lives were always the same, but of the doings of the
Konstantins, and how Emilio and his friend Miliko had made the hisa smile again…
and of Bennett who had died the hisa’s friend. Of all who had come to the
Upabove to tell this tale, there was none to tell it who had seen, and they made
her tell it again and again.
“He went down to the mill,” she said, when she came to that sad time in the
story, “and he tells the hisa there no, no, please run, humans will do, humans
will work so river takes no hisa. And he works with his own hands, always,
always, Bennett-man would work with his own hands, never shout, no, loves the
hisa. We gave him a name—I gave, because he gave me my human name and my good
spirit. I call him Comes-from-bright.”
There was a murmuring at this, appreciation and not censure, although it was a
spirit-word for Sun himself. Hisa wrapped their arms about themselves in a
shiver, as they did each time she told this.
“And the hisa do not leave Bennett-man, no, no. They work with him to save the
mill. Then old river, she is angry with humans and with hisa, always angry, but
most angry because Lukas-mans make bare her banks and take her water. And we
warn Bennett-man he must not trust old river, and he hears us and come back; but
we hisa, we work, so the mill will not be lost and Bennett not be sad. Old
river, she come higher, and takes the posts away; and we shout quick, quick,
come back! for the hisa who work. I-Satin, I work there, I see.” She thumped her
chest and touched Bluetooth, embellishing her tale. “Bluetooth and Satin, we
see, we run to help the hisa, and Bennett and good mans his friends, all, all
run to help them. But old river, she drinks them down, and we come too late in
running, all too late. The mill breaks, ssst! And Bennett he reaches for hisa in
arms of old river. She takes him too, with mans who help. We shout, we cry, we
beg old river give Bennett back; but she takes him all the same. All hisa she
gives back, but she takes Bennett-man and his friends. Our eyes are filled with
this. He dies. He dies when he holds out arms for the hisa, his good heart makes
him die, and old river, bad old river she drink him down. Humans find him and
bury him. I set the spirit-sticks above him and gave him gifts. I come here, and
my friend Bluetooth comes, because it is a Time. I come here on pilgrimage,
where is Bennett’s home.”
There was a murmured approval, a general swaying of the bodies which ringed
them. Eyes glistened with tears.
And a strange and fearful thing had happened, for some of the strange Upabove
hisa had moved into the back fringes of the crowd, themselves swaying and
watching.
“He loves,” one of them said, startling others. “He loves the hisa.”
“So,” she agreed. A knot swelled into her throat at this admission from one of
the terrible strange ones, that they listened to the burden of her heart. She
felt among her pouches, her spirit-gifts. She brought out the bright cloth, and
held it in gentle fingers. “This is my spirit-gift, my name he gives me.”
Another swaying and a murmur of approval.
“What is your name, storyteller?”
She hugged her spirit-gift close to her breast and stared at the strange one who
Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233