"He was consulting with the spirits in the night when he sent forth those fire-devils?"
Another nod.
"Wow! And the spirits told him to build a wall across the entrance, and to make a fence across the river?"
"That was wisely done, as you see, mother."
"Haw! Tell me why the spirits told him to move the village to a place which is further from this cave;" and she looked through narrowed eyes.
"Ohe!" said Venning, "that was also wise. The old village stood on low ground, the new village is on high ground."
"And a tall man sees over the head of a small one," she answered, with a scornful laugh.
"Wait, mother of wisdom. If the enemy secured the gates and flooded the valley, which would be safer—the village on low ground, or the village on a hill?"
"Yoh! It is strong medicine." She sat looking at them for some time in silence. "It is only the great one who can make medicine?"
Compton looked thoughtful.