CHAPTER V
LODRIX LOST
“Look!” said Lodrix, darting off toward a deer whose antlers he saw in the distance.
The men smiled at one another, proud to see their chief’s son fond of the hunt.
They did not follow, for they wished to see if Lodrix could kill the deer alone.
They turned toward a mound which held the tomb where their former chiefs were buried.
This tomb was a small stone room which the Lake-Dwellers had built, and then covered with soil.
They thought of the time when they had carried Lodrix’s grandfather to this stone room. The men had stood about with lighted torches, and the women with their hair hanging over their faces had shed many bitter tears for the dead chief.
Then, after they had put the bronze and stone weapons beside their chief, they had gathered about the hill and chosen a new one.
They always chose for their new chief the bravest and strongest man of all the tribe. The brave and strong chief they chose that day was Lodrix’s father.