ted toward the rafters.
Their zanphs lay watching them, and the two squires stood up
uncertainly. Then Rosk said in a hollow, unreal voice, "This man is to
be guarded closely. He must not be allowed to escape. It would be better
if he were killed now, rather than kept for the hunt. He is the most
dangerous rebel we have ever found."

The Mink realized that the gods were using Rosk as a dummy, speaking
through his lips.

Ewyo said, looking at the globes, that burnt with a dull golden radiance
in the upper gloom, "It would be better if he were hunted down. He is
the 'Savior' the ruck has been waiting for all these years, they think,
and if we slew him in this chamber, his death would never be believed.
He should be hunted before the whole town, and torn to pieces by the
dogs."

The globes, through Rosk's lips, said, "That is so. Hunt him, then; but
if he escapes, you die and your family's status is reduced to that of
the lowest rucker's." They floated toward the door, which Ewyo hastened
to open for them. The sound of Dawvys' groans came in, and Revel
strained again at his bonds.

* * * * *

Ewyo's pale eyes darted toward him. "What a fox you'll make," he
gloated. "We'll run you in my own lands, which are the best for the game
in all this country. We'll run you naked, I think, and allow the ruck to
gather on the hills and watch you scuttle from afar. Their precious
savior! A naked, frightened, harried rabbit, instead of a bold fighting
mink! How'll they like _that_? How much talk of treason will there be
for the next ten years, after _that_? Precious little, Revel of the
Ruck!"

He called his servants. "Take him and bind him with two dozen thick
thongs, and have twenty men sit in a circle round him all night. Give
him plenty of food and water--by Orbs, give him a beaker of my wine!
We'll have a fox tomorrow to remember for a lifetime!"

CHAPTER IX

And now the squire has trapped the Mink,
And now he sets him free,
And now the Mink is hunted down
On hill and vale and lea.

He pants and gasps, his legs grow weak,
His eyes with sweat are blind;
In squire's halloo and hound's mad bark
He hears his death behind!

--Ruck's Ballad of the Mind

They took Revel to the top of a hill just behind Ewyo's mansion. He was
stripped to the buff, but on his feet were stout sandals of horsehide in
triple thickness, so that he could run well