Final Kingdom by Gilbert L. Morris Page B

get some medical aid for him . . .” Glori did appear repentant. She said, “We’ll be there soon, even at this slow pace. I’ll ride ahead and make sure things are ready. You can see the city from here.” She pointed toward a smudge that broke the flat horizon—evidently the city of Celethorn.
    As soon as Glori had ridden away, Beorn said sourly, “I wish that blasted woman would get lost!”
    â€œYou two really don’t get along, do you, Beorn? Are you a woman hater?” Jake asked.
    â€œI don’t trust her.”
    â€œWell, she doesn’t trust you.” Jake shrugged. “I guess that’s the way it is. Some people just don’t get along together.”
    â€œMy Uncle Seedy and his wife, Mamie, they didn’t get along together,” Reb remarked. “Stayed married for sixty years. Never had a pleasant day in their whole marriage.”
    â€œWhy did they stay married?” Jake asked.
    Reb stared at him in disbelief. “Why, they stayed married because they
was
married!
You Yankees ain’t got no idea of what marriage is really like. When a man gets married, he’s got the woman that will have to do him as long as they live. Didn’t you know that?”
    Abbey smiled. “I like that idea, Reb.” She wiped the perspiration from Dave’s brow and studied his face. “I think that’s the way it ought to be. One man and one woman, married as long as they live.”
    â€œThat’s the way it was done in Gum Springs, Arkansas.”
    â€œGum Springs, Arkansas. That doesn’t sound like a very big town,” Jake said. “I don’t remember that in my geography lessons. Where is Gum Springs?”
    â€œWhy, it’s only two miles from Wet Wash—down next to Two Egg,” Reb explained.
    â€œOh.” Jake nodded. “I should have known that, of course.”
    Beorn listened in silence to all of this. The wagon rolled on. The driver, from time to time, cast a venomous glance at the dwarf, who stared back at him with a pleasant smile.
    When they drew close enough to see the outlinesof Celethorn, Sarah stood up in the wagon and marveled at it. “That’s some city!” she said with wonder. “Look at it!”
    The wagon moved into the outskirts, and all the Sleepers expressed amazement. They were so used to rough villages built of whatever material was at hand— mostly logs or mud, and thatch for a roof—that Celethorn struck their eyes as a marvel.
    The buildings, Sarah saw, were all constructed of some smooth material that she could not identify. They did not appear to be painted, and yet she could not discern a seam anywhere. The structures rose from the ground in graceful towers with turrets on top. Many were large and had rounded domes that seemed to be made of glass. The sun caught these, and the reflection of its beams made the city sparkle like a fairyland.
    The streets were paved with a smooth, hard material over which the wagon wheels passed without a bump. The fronts of the buildings were pierced with glass windows, but Sarah could not see in through them.
    â€œI’ll bet those are like two-way mirrors,” Jake announced. “People inside can see out, but those of us outside can’t see in. Pretty neat!”
    They passed through a business district lined with the usual enterprises selling food and drink and clothing. There were also many signs advertising “spiritual doctors.”
    â€œSpiritual doctor? I wonder what
that
is,” Abbey remarked. “But the people do wear pretty clothes, don’t they?”
    She was looking at some citizens who stood watching the wagon trundle along the street. Their garments appeared to be made of silk and were of the brightest colors imaginable—red, orange, purple, vividgreen. The women wore tall, peaked hats, and the men rather flat, soft caps. All seemed to have long hair, and the men, young and