At that instant she was seen. A tall, dark-haired chap on the far side
of the table glanced up and gave a sharp, startled exclamation.
Instantly the whole dozen whirled around and with one accord shot to
their feet.
Rolla stopped short.
There was a second's silence; then the white-bearded man, who seemed, to
be the leader of the group, said something peremptory in a deep,
compelling voice. Rolla did not understand.
He repeated it, this time a little less commandingly; and Rolla, after
swallowing desperately, inclined her head in the diffident way she had,
and said:
"Are ye friends or enemies?"
Eleven of the twelve looked puzzled. The dark-haired man, who had been
the first to see her, however, gave a muttered exclamation; then he
cogitated a moment, wet his lips and said something that sounded like:
"What did you say? Say it again!"
Rolla repeated.
The dark-haired man listened intently. Immediately he fell to nodding
with great vigor, and thought deeply again before making another try:
"We are your friends. Whence came ye, and what seek ye?"
Rolla had to listen closely to what he said. The language was
substantially the same as hers; but the verbs were misplaced in the
sentences, the accenting was different, and certain of the vowels were
flatted.
Pages:
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