elf,' If I do not fetch this great Chief's
tribe to help him, he will be slain by his enemies who are coming up on
all sides with spears. Now I see why the great Chief pretended not to
notice me! He feared that his enemies were hiding in the bushes and
would see him. Therefore he turned to me his back, and let the wise and
wonderful child draw the terrible picture showing me his difficulties.
I will away and get help for him from his tribe.' He did not even ask
Taffy the road, but raced off into the bushes like the wind, with the
birch-bark in his hand, and Taffy sat down most pleased.
Now this is the picture that Taffy had drawn for him!
'What have you been doing, Taffy?' said Tegumai. He had mended his spear
and was carefully waving it to and fro.
'It's a little berangement of my own, Daddy dear,' said Taffy. 'If you
won't ask me questions, you'll know all about it in a little time, and
you'll be surprised. You don't know how surprised you'll be, Daddy!
Promise you'll be surprised.'
'Very well,' said Tegumai, and went on fishing.
The Stranger-man--did you know he was a Tewara?--hurried away with the
picture and ran for some miles, till quite by accident he found Teshumai
Tewindrow at the door of her Cave, talking to some other Neolithic
ladies who had come in to a Primitive lunch. Taffy was very like
Teshumai, especially about the upper part of the face and the eyes,
so the Stranger-man--always a pure Tewara--smiled politely and handed
Teshumai the birch-bark. He had run hard, so that he panted, and his
legs were scratched with brambles, but he still tried to be polite.
As soon as Teshumai saw the picture she screamed like anything and flew
at the Stranger-man. The other Neolithic ladies at once knocked him down
and sat on him in a long line of six, while Teshumai pulled his hair.
'It's as plain as the nose on this Stranger-man's face,' she said. 'He
has stuck my Tegumai all full of spears, and frightened poor Taffy so
that her hair stands all on end; and not content with that, he brings
me a horrid picture of how it was done. Look!' She showed the picture to
all the Neolithic ladies sitting patiently on the Stranger-man. 'Here is
my Tegumai with his arm broken; here is a spear sticking into his back;
here is a man with a spear ready to throw; here is another man throwing
a spear from a Cave, and here are a whole pack of people' (they were
Taffy's beavers really, but they did look rather like people) 'com
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