the other women.”
“Oh, men do not eat with women in this place?” Dave said. Surprise and then displeasure showed on his face.
King Celevorn eyed him. “We have heard some of your ideas from the two females. They tell us that women have great rights in the place where you live. It is not so here.”
Josh saw the girl Enid, who was serving, look up quickly. She met the eyes of Teanor, and he managed a faint smile.
Conversation went on around the table for some time, and then Josh and the others were led to theirquarters. The boys were placed in one tree house large enough for all of them, so before they went to sleep they sat and talked about the situation.
Josh said, “This is a fine mess! I’m worried about Sarah.”
“We’ll just have to hope she’s all right,” Jake said quickly.
“Teanor doesn’t think so,” Josh said glumly. “These Earth Dwellers must be a vicious bunch.”
“Well, we can’t do anything tonight,” Wash said. “The best thing we can do is get a good night’s sleep.”
They were all exhausted from their long trip. Even Josh fell asleep almost at once.
The next morning, Abbey met them as they left their house. “Bad news,” she said. “A messenger just came back. King Celevorn sent someone to see if they could find any trace of his son and Sarah.”
“And did they find them?” Josh asked. But he saw Abbey’s face was filled with apprehension.
“They found them all right. He’s a good scout. The best among the Cloud People.”
“Well,
tell
us, Abbey! For crying out loud!” Wash cried. “What about them?”
“We’re not sure, but it looks like they are being held prisoner by the Earth Dwellers.”
“What does that mean?” Dave asked.
“It means,” Abbey said, “they’re liable to be sacrificed to the Earth Dwellers’ god. That’s what it means.”
Shock ran through Josh Adams. He was very close to Sarah Collingwood. He knew that their priority had to be to set her free. He also saw that if they could help the king’s son, it might give them better access to King Celevorn.
“We’ve got to do something quick,” he said.
“It’s not going to be easy,” Abbey said. “I’ve been listening a lot since Sarah and I came here, and the Earth Dwellers are under the power of a high priest named Nomus. The king there has absolute confidence in him, and I’m afraid for Sarah and for the king’s son.”
Josh Adam’s lips grew thin. “We’ll do something,” he promised. “I don’t know what yet, but we’ll do something.”
11
The Miracle Shot
S arah found herself becoming more and more attached to Lomeen, the daughter of Chief Maroni. Lomeen had no brothers or sisters and seemed to be a very lonely girl. The two of them spent much time together.
One day Sarah was helping Lomeen grind corn. It was a very primitive operation. The total machinery consisted of a large stone that had been hollowed out and a smaller, round stone that could be held in the hand. She watched Lomeen put a handful of corn in the hollow and then pound it with the small rock until she had made cornmeal.
“It would be nice if you had a mill, Lomeen.”
“What is a mill?”
“Oh, it’s a machine that grinds corn up into small bits. You can even make flour out of it.”
“What is flour?”
Sarah laughed and picked up some of the fragments. “This is what we’d call cornmeal, but if you kept grinding it, you’d get corn flour. Very good to cook with.”
Lomeen listened as Sarah described a grain mill. Then she sighed. “We don’t have anything like that.”
“I’ll tell you what would be good, if you’ve never tried it,” Sarah said.
“What is that, Sarah?”
“We’ll make hominy and then grits.”
Lomeen, of course, had no idea of what either hominy or grits was.
Sarah decided to teach her. She had learned on her uncle’s farm back in OldWorld. The first thing she did was to put a hole in the bottom of an old wooden churn and fill the churn with
“Oh, men do not eat with women in this place?” Dave said. Surprise and then displeasure showed on his face.
King Celevorn eyed him. “We have heard some of your ideas from the two females. They tell us that women have great rights in the place where you live. It is not so here.”
Josh saw the girl Enid, who was serving, look up quickly. She met the eyes of Teanor, and he managed a faint smile.
Conversation went on around the table for some time, and then Josh and the others were led to theirquarters. The boys were placed in one tree house large enough for all of them, so before they went to sleep they sat and talked about the situation.
Josh said, “This is a fine mess! I’m worried about Sarah.”
“We’ll just have to hope she’s all right,” Jake said quickly.
“Teanor doesn’t think so,” Josh said glumly. “These Earth Dwellers must be a vicious bunch.”
“Well, we can’t do anything tonight,” Wash said. “The best thing we can do is get a good night’s sleep.”
They were all exhausted from their long trip. Even Josh fell asleep almost at once.
The next morning, Abbey met them as they left their house. “Bad news,” she said. “A messenger just came back. King Celevorn sent someone to see if they could find any trace of his son and Sarah.”
“And did they find them?” Josh asked. But he saw Abbey’s face was filled with apprehension.
“They found them all right. He’s a good scout. The best among the Cloud People.”
“Well,
tell
us, Abbey! For crying out loud!” Wash cried. “What about them?”
“We’re not sure, but it looks like they are being held prisoner by the Earth Dwellers.”
“What does that mean?” Dave asked.
“It means,” Abbey said, “they’re liable to be sacrificed to the Earth Dwellers’ god. That’s what it means.”
Shock ran through Josh Adams. He was very close to Sarah Collingwood. He knew that their priority had to be to set her free. He also saw that if they could help the king’s son, it might give them better access to King Celevorn.
“We’ve got to do something quick,” he said.
“It’s not going to be easy,” Abbey said. “I’ve been listening a lot since Sarah and I came here, and the Earth Dwellers are under the power of a high priest named Nomus. The king there has absolute confidence in him, and I’m afraid for Sarah and for the king’s son.”
Josh Adam’s lips grew thin. “We’ll do something,” he promised. “I don’t know what yet, but we’ll do something.”
11
The Miracle Shot
S arah found herself becoming more and more attached to Lomeen, the daughter of Chief Maroni. Lomeen had no brothers or sisters and seemed to be a very lonely girl. The two of them spent much time together.
One day Sarah was helping Lomeen grind corn. It was a very primitive operation. The total machinery consisted of a large stone that had been hollowed out and a smaller, round stone that could be held in the hand. She watched Lomeen put a handful of corn in the hollow and then pound it with the small rock until she had made cornmeal.
“It would be nice if you had a mill, Lomeen.”
“What is a mill?”
“Oh, it’s a machine that grinds corn up into small bits. You can even make flour out of it.”
“What is flour?”
Sarah laughed and picked up some of the fragments. “This is what we’d call cornmeal, but if you kept grinding it, you’d get corn flour. Very good to cook with.”
Lomeen listened as Sarah described a grain mill. Then she sighed. “We don’t have anything like that.”
“I’ll tell you what would be good, if you’ve never tried it,” Sarah said.
“What is that, Sarah?”
“We’ll make hominy and then grits.”
Lomeen, of course, had no idea of what either hominy or grits was.
Sarah decided to teach her. She had learned on her uncle’s farm back in OldWorld. The first thing she did was to put a hole in the bottom of an old wooden churn and fill the churn with
Similar Books
