The preparations at the village on the Mountain of Fire were completed during the winter, and the little company of men, women and children made ready to go out into the unknown world as soon as a favorable day arrived. It was a more serious undertaking than any they had known or even heard of before. Even when their ancestors came to this place, so long ago that no one could remember when it was, it was after a lifetime of wandering; they were not used to anything else. This company was made up of people who had never in their lives been more than a day’s journey from the place where they were born, and what was more, hardly any of their forefathers had, for generations.
It was made still more difficult and doubtful by the fact that they were taking their women and children with them. There was no other way. There was not too much to eat in the vil[pg 95]lage, as it was, and there would be less, if the men went away for a year and left their families to be supported. Although the men would have preferred to go first and explore the land, the women were privately better pleased as it was. They felt that if their husbands were to be killed they wanted to die too. As for the children who were old enough to understand the situation, their feelings were mixed. It was exciting and delightful to be going to see new lands, and made them feel important and responsible, but when the time of leaving actually approached and they began to think of never seeing their old home again, they felt very sober indeed.
They left the mountain on the day that was later called the Ides of March, at the beginning of spring, and slowly they followed the shining river out into the valley. Two-wheeled carts drawn by the oxen were loaded with the stores and clothing they were able to take with them. The fighting men had their weapons all in order. The boys were helping drive the cattle and sheep, and the married women had the younger children with them. Every one who was able to walk, walked. The eldest girl in each of the families—none was over ten years old—had charge of one most important thing—the fire. The little maidens walked soberly together, feeling a [pg 96]great dignity laid upon them. Each carried a round, strong basket lined with clay and covered with a beehive-shaped lid of a peculiar shape. In this were live coals carefully covered with ashes, for the kindling of the next fire. No matter what happened, they must not let those coals go out.
“What-ever happened?” repeated a little yellow-haired girl, called Flavia because she was so fair. She was the daughter of Muraena the smith, and the youngest of the ten.
Ursula, the biggest girl, laughed. “If we were crossing a river and one of us got drowned, [pg 97]I suppose her fire would be lost,” she said teasingly. “But they wouldn’t excuse us for anything short of that.”
“But if it did go out—if all of the fires were put out?” persisted Flavia, walking a little closer to Marcia, whose word she felt that she could trust. She had visions of a dreadful anger of the gods,—another night of darkness and terror like the one they all remembered. “Should we never have a fire again, and have to eat things raw, and freeze to death, and let the wolves eat us up?”
“Certainly not,” answered Marcia reassuringly. “Father told me all about that when I was younger than you are. Don’t you remember how they kindled the fire in the new year?”
Flavia shook her yellow head. “I never noticed.” She had been so taken up with the chanting and the ceremonies that she had not seen how the fire actually blazed up on the altar.
“They do it with the terebra and the tabula. The tabula is a flat wooden block with a groove cut in it, and the terebra is a rubbing-stick that just fits the groove. They have some very fine chaff ready, and they move the stick very fast in the groove until it is quite hot. Don’t you know how warm your hands are after you rub them together? When there is a little spark it [pg 98]catches in the chaff, and then it is sheltered to keep it from going out, and fed with more chaff and dry splinters until the fire is kindled. They can always kindle a fire in that way.”