"Do your howling afterward," he said. "This isn't just a whim on Sawyer's part. Something's happened. Shut up and listen."
Now they were alarmed and uneasy. They watched Sawyer climb the stand, their faces dark-bronze in the smoky light, their eyes glistening.
Sawyer said, "Twist—come up here."
Twist pushed his way to the stand and got on it. Burr moved closer to Price, his hand curled lightly around the haft of the knife in his belt.
Sawyer said, "Tell them."
Perfectly at ease, aware of his importance but not impressed by it, Twist told the story of the landing of Price's plane in the Forbidden Belt, and what had been done with both of them afterward. He told only the simple facts, scrupulously avoiding any attempt to incite his listeners for or against Price.
The simple facts were enough. They heard them, the men of the Great Lakes and the southern bayous, the plains riders and the hillmen and hunters and farmers, and their reactions were various and wonderful after the first shock of incredulous amazement. Twist had to stop to let the tumult die down, and when he could make himself heard again he said,
"Yes, it was just what I said, a plane, and I flew in it. Not one of those whistling fliers, but a plane—so." He made a graphic pantomime with his hands and a remarkably accurate motor sound. "Now I guess that's all," he said, and stepped back.
Sawyer said, his words carrying clearly to the farthest man, "The Vurna have turned our lands upside down to find the plane. They haven't found it. Last night Arrin—" A furious snarl greeted that name, so apparently it was well known, "—Arrin gave me three days to surrender the plane and the man who flew it. I've brought him here, instead."
He held up his hands, to quell the rising voices. "Listen! I'm not finished yet. Arrin had some other things to say. He said, if you are planning an attack on the Citadel, forget it. He said, We will slaughter you without mercy."