The Fallen Star | Page 7

called the cave of Oderlin; and he bade the leaders place the armed men on either side the cave, to the right and to the left, among the hushes.
So they watched silently till the night deepened, when they heard a noise in the cave and the sound of feet, and forth came an armed man; and the spear of Morven pierced him, and be fell dead at the month of the cave. Another and another, and both fell! Then loud and long was heard the warcry of Alrich, and forth poured, as a stream over a narrow bed, the river of armed men.
And the Sons of Oestrich fell upon them, and the foe were sorely perplexed and terrified by the suddenness of the battle and the darkness of the night; and there was a great slaughter.
And when the morning came, the children of Oestrich counted the slain, and found the leader of Alrich and the chief men of the tribe amongst them, and great was the joy thereof.
So they went back in triumph to the city, and they carded the brave son of Osslah on their shoulders, and shouted forth, "Glory to the servant of the star."
And Morven dwelt in the council of the wise men.
Now the king of the tribe had one daughter, and she was stately amongst the women of the tribe, and fair to look upon. And Morven gazed upon her with the eyes of love, but he did not dare to speak.
Now the son of Osslah laughed secretly at the foolishness of men; he loved them not, for they had mocked him; he honored them not, for he had blinded the wisest of their elders.
He shunned their feasts and merriment and lived apart and solitary.
The austerity of his life increased the mysterious homage which his commune with the stars had won him, and the boldest of the warriors bowed his head to the favorite of the gods.
One day he was wandering by the side of the river, and he saw a large bird of prey rise from the earth, and give chase to a hawk that had not yet gained the full strength of its wings. From his youth the solitary Morven had loved to watch, in the great forests and by the banks of the mighty stream, the habits of the things which nature had submitted to man; and looking now on the birds, he said to himself, "Thus is it ever; by cunning or by strength each thing wishes to master its kind."
While thus, moralizing, the larger bird had stricken down the hawk, and it fell terrified and panting at his feet.
Morven took the hawk in his hands, and the vulture shrieked above him, wheeling nearer and nearer to its protected prey; but Morven scared away the vulture, and placing the hawk in his bosom, he carried it home, and tended it carefully, and fed it from his hand until it had regained its strength; and the hawk knew him, and followed him as a dog.
And Morven said, smiling to himself, "Behold, the credulous fools around me put faith in the flight and motions of birds. I will teach this poor hawk to minister to my ends."
So he tamed the bird, and tutored it according to its nature; but he concealed it carefully from others, and cherished it in secret.
The king of the country was old and like to die, and the eyes of the tribe were turned to his two sons, nor knew they which was the worthier to reign.
And Morven passing through the forest one evening, saw the younger of the two, who was a great hunter, sitting mournfully under an oak, and looking with musing eyes upon the ground.
"Wherefore musest thou, O swift footed Siror?" said the son of Osslah; "and wherefore art thou sad?"
"Thou canst not assist me," answered the prince, sternly; "take thy way."
"Nay," answered Morven, "thou knowest not what thou sayest; am I not the favorite of the stars?"
"Away, I am no graybeard whom the approach of death makes doting: talk not to inc of the stars; I know only the things that my eye sees and my ear drinks in."
"Hush," said Morven, solemnly, and covering his face; "hush! lest the heavens avenge thy rashness. But, behold, the stars have given unto me to pierce the secret hearts of others; and I can tell thee the thoughts of thine."
"Speak out, base-born!"
"Thou art the younger of two, and thy name is less known in war than the name of thy brother; yet wouldst thou desire to be set over his head, and to sit at the high seat of thy father?"
The young man turned pale.
"Thou hast truth in thy lips," said he, with a faltering voice.
"Not from me, but from the stars, descends the truth."
"Can the stars grant my