l if I deceive ye."

Then the elders communed together; and they went forth and summoned the
men of arms, and all the young of the tribe; and each man took the sword
and the spear, and Morven also. And the son of Osslah walked first,
still looking up at the star, and he motioned them to be silent, and
moved with a stealthy step.

So they went through the thickest of the forest, till they came to the
mouth of a great cave, overgrown with aged and matted trees, and it was
called the Cave of Oberlin; and he bade the leaders place the armed men
on either side the cave, to the right and to the left, among the bushes.

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 he fell dead at the mouth of
the cave. Another and another, and both fell! Then loud and long was
heard the war-cry 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 carried 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 honoured them not, for he
had blinded the wisest of their leaders. 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 favourite 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 waters, 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 grea