measure sweet, he was certain of the
wisdom of the Ancient--for the dream and the thoughts of prayer were
double strong.

They were double strong that morning as he came from the river bath,
and the face of Yahn--and the thought of her love--brought strangely
that dream face to him in which there was no madness such as the
Apache had shown him when at his feet in prayer.

The tombe sounded softly from a far terrace where special prayer was
being made for the growing things, gray doves fluttered home with food
to their young, and little brown children--not so much clothed as the
birds!--climbed ladders to look in the dove cotes on his roof, and see
the nurslings there lift clamoring mouths for worms or other
treasure.

A woman weaving a blanket of twisted skins of rabbits worked in the
open with her primitive loom in an arbor before her door, beside her a
man whirled a distaff and spun the coarse hemp of which the warp was
made. Maids and mothers with water jars on their heads walked in
stately file from a spring near the river's edge--and above all the
serene accustomed life of that Indian village, could be heard the
drone of the grinding songs--in the valley of P[=o]-s[=o]n-ge there
was ever corn for the grinding, and the time of hunger had come not
often to Povi-whah.

Tahn-te felt a certain consciousness of the great content to which the
grinding songs and the steady beat of the prayer drum made music. He
knew better than the others, the worth of that peace, and quiet
plenty, for to the south he had seen hunger stalk in the trail of the
white conquerors, and no woman weaving a robe could be sure that it
would ever keep her children from the cold. The men of iron had
entered doors as they chose and carried thence all manner of things
pleasing to their fancy.

But the life of Povi-whah was a different life, and Tahn-te was glad
often to know that it was his land. The great medicine Mesa of the
Hearts stood like a guardian straight to the east and at morning its
shadow touched the terraces.

Strange mystic rites belonged to that place where the Ancient Others
had made high sacrifice. Great medicine was there for the healing of
all the nations--and the secret of it was with the gods. He was glad
as he looked at it that it was so close to his own people--if a day of
need should come they would have the sacred place more close than any
other people.

As he breathed a prayer and walked to his own door he met Po-tz