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. After a little, however, the man caught her way of talking and was able to approximate it quite well, so that she understood him readily.
"I seek," Rolla replied, "food and rest. I have traveled far and am weary."
"Ye look it," commented the man. His name, Rolla found out later, was Somat. "Ye shall have both food and rest. However, whence came ye?"
"From the other side of the world," answered Rolla calmly.