He sat down and pulled his blanket over
him. He was sorting out the evidence against me and giving judgment.
It seemed at least an hour that he sat silent. And when he did speak
he brought no manna.
"You have sold yourself to the Iroquois wolf. You are a child. You
see only what is in front of your nose and forget what may come later.
You are a fox. You hand us over to the wolf, but what do you expect?
Has a wolf gratitude? No, but he has hunger. Fox meat is poor and
stringy, but the wolf has a large stomach. Let the fox beware."
I pulled myself to my feet, though my shoulder cried to me for mercy.
I jerked the chief's blanket aside.
"Outchipouac, I have listened. You have used an old trick. When a man
wishes to be rid of a dog he cries that it is mad; then he can kill it,
and no one will call him to account. So you. If you wish to break the
covenant between us, now is your time. You can call me a fox, you can
say that I have sold my honor to the Iroquois wolf. No one will check
you, for I am naked and ill, and you are powerful. But you will have
lied. This is my answer. I have called you 'brother;' I have kept the
bond unbroken. If there is a fox here it is the man who calls me one.
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